Hearing aids come in many different shapes and sizes but the conventional style with which most people are familiar is the behind-the-ear hearing aid. This type of hearing aid consists of a case, a tube and an ear mold. The plastic case sits behind the ear and contains the battery and amplification mechanism. The tube then connects this to the ear mold which sits inside the ear. The sound is routed from a small hole within the plastic casing, through the tube and amplified into the wearer's ear.
Some people don't like behind-the-ear hearing aids because they have a tendency to be rather uncomfortable. An alternative option for those with mild to severe hearing difficulties is an in-the-ear hearing aid. This type of aid sits inside the concha (outer ear bowl) and is custom fitted for each wearer. People who have severe hearing loss may, however, have problems related to feedback when wearing in-the-ear hearing aids. In these situations, a different type of hearing aid may be more suitable.
While the behind-the-ear style of hearing aid may suit many users, the sound quality can sometimes be poor. The receiver in the canal (RIC) hearing aid, however, solves many of these problems. Rather than the speaker being placed in the plastic casing and the sound traveling through a plastic tube, the speaker is placed directly in the molded ear piece, reducing distortion and sound quality problems. In addition, the plastic box and tubing are far less noticeable, giving cosmetic benefits.
For those users who seek a solution to having to keep visiting a hearing professional to have hearing aids adjusted or who want a more permanent solution, extended wear hearing aids are fitted deep inside the ear canal and are designed to be worn for several months at a time. This allows the user to adjust the settings and tweak the volume without help. Some users report that these hearing aids can be very uncomfortable and fiddly, requiring specialist ear plugs when showering and do not allow the user to swim underwater.
In some extreme cases, or where the user suffers from unilateral or conductive hearing loss, a bone anchored hearing aid may be fitted. This type of hearing aid is surgically implanted in the skull and transmits sound through conduction. The sound processing unit processes the sound and bypasses the outer and middle ear, passing the vibrations straight to the inner ear for processing into hearing. This type of hearing aid is technically a sound processor and not a hearing aid in terms of medical insurance and is used in extreme or specialized cases.
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