Types of Hearing Aids for Portland Residents

Choosing a hearing aid may be one of the most daunting parts of being diagnosed with hearing loss. Your Portland Audiologist will walk you through all the styles and will help you determine which one will best fit with your type and degree of hearing loss.

In order to determine your degree of hearing loss, a series of hearing tests will be performed in Portland OR. These tests range from simple pure-tone testing that asks you to raise your hand every time you hear a tone to Auditory brain stem response (ABR) testing which involve a series of electrodes being places around your head.

Once this testing is complete, your Portland audiologist will review the hearing aid styles that will work for you. There are six main styles of hearing aids

Completely-in-the-canal (CIC) is the smallest style. It sits inside the ear canal and is practically invisible. It cannot contain any additional features because of its small size. This style can be used by those with mild to moderate hearing loss.

In-the-canal (ITC) style sits half in the canal and half outside of it. This style is slightly more visible than the CIC and it can contain only a few additional features. This style can be used by those with mild to moderate hearing loss.

In-the-ear (ITE) style sits in the outer part of the ear and can be either full shell or half shell. This style can contain even more additional features and contains a larger battery than the ITC model. This is the smallest style that can be used by those with mild to severe hearing loss.

Behind-the-ear (BTE) style of hearing aid has two parts, one that sits within the ear canal and one that sits behind the ear. The parts are connected with tubing. This style can fit the largest number of additional features and contains the biggest battery. It is appropriate for all types of hearing loss

Receiver-in-canal (RIC) is very similar to BTE, except the two parts in this style are connected with a thin wire instead of tubing. This creates a slightly less visible style. This style can contain almost as many additional features as the BTE and has just as long of a battery life.

Last but not least, the final style is open fit. This is similar to the RIC as it has two parts that are connected with a thin wire. The part the goes into the ear canal is smaller than the RIC and actual leaves half the canal open. This allows low-frequency sounds to enter the ear naturally while high-frequency ones are still processed by the hearing aid.

I know what you are thinking, “wow this is a lot of information!” Good thing you do not have to go through this decision making process alone. Your Portland audiologist will be there every step of the way guiding you towards the best hearing aid for you.