Behind-the-Ear Hearing Aids
Behind-the-Ear (BTE)
The behind-the-ear hearing aids can assist a mild through profound hearing loss. They fit comfortably behind the ear, following the contour of your ear. These hearing aids may house a volume control and program button. A custom ear mold is used to direct the sound from the hearing aid into your ear. The ear mold also secures the hearing aid in your ear.
Open Fit BTE (Mini BTE)
The Mini BTE or Open Fit BTE is a more discreet BTE that fits behind the ear, following the contour of your ear. This style uses an ultra-thin tubing to direct the sound from the hearing aid into your ear. The tubing connects to a soft tip or a small custom mold that is usually not visible and does not block the ear. This allows more natural sound to enter the ear around the tip while amplified sound is delivered through the thin tubing. This is recommended for a mild to moderate high frequency hearing loss. This miniature BTE and thin tubing is very cosmetically appealing.
Receiver in Canal (RIC)
RIC hearing aids are Mini BTE aids that have the speaker of the hearing aid incorporated in the ear tip. This hearing aid looks similar to the Mini BTE fitting behind the ear and following the contour of the ear. This is recommended for a mild to severe hearing loss. This style of hearing aid is very discreet. However, due to the speaker being located in the ear, it is more susceptible to damage from ear wax.
CROS/BiCROS
The CROS/BiCROS hearing aid is recommended when an individual has normal or aidable hearing loss in one ear and little to no hearing remaining in the other ear. A hearing aid is worn in the better ear to correct for the hearing loss in that ear. An additional microphone is worn on the poorer ear. This microphone picks up the sound on the poorer side and transmits the sound to the hearing aid worn on the better ear.
Available as a behind or in the ear model. Click here to see In-the-Ear models.
What’s an ITE?
In-the-ear (ITE) hearing aids are custom fit to the shape of the inside of your ear. Here are four ITE models to learn about.