Choosing the Right Hearing Aid Style #

There are two major hearing aids styles:

ITE (In The Ear)

BTE (Behind The Ear)

ITE #

ITE hearing aids sit completely in the ear canal. Most people will decide for an ITE
because they are small and hardly noticeable. The most common factors that speak
against ITEs are

• Not enough volume/gain
• Too much feedback
• Susceptible to earwax clogging the speaker

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If the patient needs more volume or you can’t get rid of feedback when wearing the hearing aid, one should consider wearing a BTE. This is also a good option when patients have issues handling the tiny ITE.

BTE #

A behind-the-ear (BTE) hearing aid hooks over the top of your ear and rests behind the ear. A tube connects the hearing aid to an earpiece called ear dome that fits in the ear canal.

A behind-the-ear hearing aid:

• Doesn’t plug the ear like the in-the-ear hearing aid styles, often making the own voice sound better to the wearer
• May be more difficult to insert into the ear
• Is larger than an ITE but modern BTEs are barely visible
• Can have directional microphones
• Is capable of more amplification than are other styles