Custom Hearing Instruments

 Behind-The-Ear (BTE) Instruments

 Types of Circuits

In-the-Ear or ITE: Worn in the bowl of the ear, with circuit and ear mold together in a single piece, the ITE takes natural advantage of the shape of the ear to channel sound down the canal to the eardrum.

In-the-Canal or ITC: Worn in the canal of the ear, this small cosmetically appealing hearing instrument also takes advantage of the shape of the ear to channel incoming sound directly into the ear canal. Some options may be limited by physical size of the ear canal.

Completely-In-the-Canal or CIC: Virtually undetectable when worn down in the ear canal, these tiny hearing instruments offer great cosmetic appeal. The physical limitations imposed by very small ear canals may restrict options.

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Behind-The-Ear (BTE) BTE hearing instruments are designed with miniature size components and offer more power and features that may be more appropriate. These instruments use a slim tubing that hooks into a custom mold that fits in your ear canal.

Open Fit BTE The Open Fit digital BTE is designed with a tiny high precision tubing and soft tip that offers added comfort and is virtually invisible. The Open Fit BTE's unique design enhances speech understanding and reduces background noise.

BTE Sizes BTEs come in two different sizes and require different battery sizes. Standard size BTEs are bigger but offer more power and require a #675 battery size. Miniature size BTEs are more popular, offer plenty of options and require a #13 size battery.

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Linear vs. Compression Linear Circuit: Linear hearing instruments are designed to add the same predetermined amount of amplification to all sounds the hearing instrument receives. Compression Circuit: Compression hearing instruments are designed to automatically adjust the amount of amplification to your comfortable level, reducing unwanted noise, resulting in a more comfortable listening experience.

Analog vs. Digital Both Analog and Digital instruments convert acoustic energy (sound) into electrical energy, amplify it and return it to acoustic energy for presentation to your ear. A digital system does this with a series of 1's and 0's. This allows your hearing health professional to adjust the sound to your specific needs while providing you with a virtually distortion free hearing instrument.

Non-Programmable vs. Programmable Non-Programmable Circuit: Non-Programmable hearing instruments utilize manually adjustable screw-like controls, called potentiometers. Your hearing instrument provider will adjust these controls to meet your individual hearing needs. These controls can be compared to manually changing the contrast or tint of your television picture. Programmable Circuit: Programmable hearing instruments are adjusted by a computer. This allows your hearing health professional to provide a more precise fitting.

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