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All Types of Hearing Aids

The kind of hearing aid that will best suit your requirements will depend on the type of hearing loss you have and on its severity.

People with conductive hearing loss need only amplification and have more choices in instruments. Acquiring a hearing aid for a person with sensorineural hearing loss is more complicated. These patients have difficulty discriminating between speech sounds and intensifying the volume is not sufficient help for their problem. Then there are those who have a mixed hearing loss, both conductive and sensorineural.

Another factor to consider is the severity of the loss. One of the least severe is a mild flat loss. A person with this type loss feels that all sounds are softer than they once were. They just need enough volume increase so they don't need to strain to hear. Other people have a mild loss but the loss is on high frequency sounds. While it is easy for them to hear speech, they have difficulty understanding, as they may not be able to hear the high frequency sounds that make up the word.

When an individual has a moderate hearing loss it will definitely interfere with day-to-day activities unless they wear a hearing aid. The hearing aid also needs to be strong and well fitted. High frequency loss is very common. It is usually the result of aging or noise damage. People with a high frequency loss have difficulty hearing the TV or attending movies. The also find it difficult to engage in conversations in noisy environments such as restaurants and social gatherings. Those individuals having a severe hearing loss need a good physical fit and have fewer choices when purchasing hearing aids.

There are several different types of hearing aids available. On the body aids look like a transistor radio. The case connects to a speaker that snaps onto an ear mold. Due to having a large speaker and battery it is quite powerful and could be a good choice for people with a severe loss. It is also inexpensive. A behind the ear or BTE aid consists of a plastic case containing all the electronic components and rests behind the ear with a tube that goes over the ear to connect to a mold within the ear. It is easy to repair and easy to adjust the volume. In the ear aids have the components contained in small plastic cases that fit inside the air. Although they are less visible, the controls are more difficult to adjust. An in the canal aid fits mostly inside the canal. It is less visible but the controls are difficult to adjust.

The most recent type of hearing aid to come on the market is the digital hearing aid. This hearing aid contains a very small digital computer. By using a remote control, it is possible to program the aid to adjust to different environments such as a crowded shopping mall or noisy coffee shop. Another advantage of the digital aid is the dispenser can program the aid to adjust to the patient's type of hearing loss such as a low-frequency loss or a high-frequency loss.

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