Buying a new hearing aid means that you will be confronted with many different styles, and many different brands. Where do you turn, and how do you know exactly which one is the best choice for you? Your hearing specialist will certainly be there to provide you with specific advice according to your hearing impairment condition, and what they may recommend as a solution. Be sure to check your budget beforehand. Sometimes cheaper hearing aids are not the best but if you are opting for a more expensive hearing make sure you know all about the costs and features available.
One of those options may be ITE, or in the ear hearing aids. These are highly popular, due to their small size and ease of use and their ability to be used for a range of hearing impairment conditions.
What Are ITE Hearing Aids?
ITE, or in-the-ear hearing aids are a style of hearing aid that, as the name implies, are worn completely inside the ear. They are generally made for people who have hearing loss that is considered to be mild to severe in nature. These hearing aids are made of a shell which is molded to fit the specific ear shape of the wearer, with all the components located inside this shell. ITE hearing aids are not totally invisible however, even though the main device is placed into the ear canal. This is because the actual faceplate is still somewhat visible in the concha of the ear. However, depending upon the shape of your ear canals, an ITE may be less visible in the ear of some people than others, and they are certainly much less obtrusive than BTE (behind the ear) style hearing aids.
ITE hearing aids are one of the most commonly used types and are now being made small and smaller, with newer technology and additional features which make them very easy to program and customize according to individual needs. Children, however, are rarely fitted with an ITE hearing aid as their ear canals are continually growing and therefore it would not be an economical or practical solution until they are past this growth stage.
Hansaton Hearing Aids
Hansaton Hearing Systems create what they call intelligent hearing systems. Their focus is on making hearing aids that are so small as to be invisible, including those which are specifically developed for children’s ears, in their Hansaton Junior range. They also offer solutions for tinnitus, another hearing condition which is different from a hearing impairment, but no less distressing for the sufferer.
The main hearing aids from this company makes use of their exclusive XearA technology, which is an extremely sensitive technology that has the ability to introduce more hearing effects gradually, allowing the user to make a gradual transition to ideal hearing. There are five different designs of this in the ear system, each made for a different level of hearing impairment. The company is also able to produce a customized ITE hearing aid that perfectly fits the users unique ear shape.
Hansaton also has a behind the ear hearing aid, called the X-Micro. This is a small hearing aid for its type, and is available in seven different colors. They achieved this smaller BTE size by receiver in the ear, instead of in the hearing system. This makes the X-Micro much smaller than traditionally styled behind the ear hearing aids.
Interton Hearing Aids
Interton is a company who offers “a hearing aid for every need and every budget”. They provide a free online hearing test, although you should always confirm the status of your hearing with your audiologist before deciding on a hearing aid. The company was founded in Germany in 1962 and their aim is to provide hearing solutions to people who may not necessarily be able to afford a very expensive device.
Share, Crisp and Cosmo are three lines of hearing aids available from Interton. Crisp has been designed as a discreet hearing aid that works well for deciphering speech in environments that may be noisy or confusing for the hearing impaired. It features wireless technology for phone and television hearing, without the need to increase volume. They have aimed to create the Crisp hearing aid with very similar features and capabilities of much more expensive hearing aids, with a lower price tag.
The Share line of hearing aids is considered the value for money option from Interton, with three models at different price points. These hearing aids provide basic hearing enhancement and includes nano coating and feedback cancellation. Share is suited for most daily situations, has four channels and two program choices.
Miracle Ear Hearing Aids
Miracle Ear is considered to be one of the most well known hearing aid brands in the USA. They have more than 1200 throughout the United States and sell a variety of hearing aid types including in-the-ear (ITE), in-the-canal (ITC), behind-the-ear (BTE), receiver-in-canal (RIC), and completely-in-the-canal (CIC).
One of the unique technologies that has been developed by Miracle Ear includes what they call ClearVation. It is said to be focused on improving comfort and clarity so that each individual has a personalized hearing experience. It does this by learning the preferences of the wearer in order to set just the right amount of amplification. Once the hearing aid has been fitted, it automatically and continually adapts to the person’s ears, brain and individual hearing habits through the use of unique algorithms and a microprocessor that is able to carry out 250 million instructions per second.
Other benefits of Miracle Ear’s ClearVation technology is the way it uses frequency compression to make speech heard more clearly, and the elimination of annoying whistling, squeaking and other feedback sounds with the use of enhanced feedback cancelling.
One of the stand out products from Miracle Ear is their Miracle-Ear Aquavi hearing aid, which is waterproof and dustproof, as well as shockproof. This makes it a very durable hearing aid that is suited for active people, or those who may live or work in less than ideal conditions. Miracle Ear lists this hearing aid as being able to withstand being submerged in up to three feet of water.
MD Hearing Aid
MDHearingAid is a hearing aid company that has a line of products that were developed by Ear, Nose, & Throat Physician Sreekant Cherukuri, MD. Dr. Cherukuri became concerned that people who required a hearing aid but could not afford the ones that were available, were missing out on the quality of life that they were entitled to, simply due to their financial circumstance. He then set out to develop a hearing aid type device that could be purchased and used by almost anyone who wanted one. This is how the line of MDHearingAid was born, with the MDHearingAid PRO being the flagship product.
Whichever brand or style of hearing aid you choose to purchase, you will quickly notice the new lease on life it gives you – allowing you to live normally, interact with others without difficulty, and gain confidence in yourself as your hearing impairment becomes a thing of your past thanks to the ever advancing technology of hearing aids.