IN THE EAR (ITE)

ITE hearing aids are worn in the ear canal and are usually custom-fit. An impression of your ear is taken by your hearing care professional at the time of your hearing aid consultation. ITE’s are typically available in different skin tones to blend in with your outer ear. Some types of ITE hearing aids fit quite deeply within the ear canal, while others protrude to the outer ear.

BEHIND THE EAR (BTE)

BTE hearing aids are worn behind or on top of the outer ear. Sound gets routed down into the ear canal either via tubing and custom-fit ear mould or via a receiver-in-the-ear (RIC) style coupled with a dome. BTE styles are available in a variety of colours to match your skin tone or to display your unique personality.

ITE and BTE devices come with standard hearing aid batteries that need to be replaced anywhere between 5 and 14 days, depending on the duration of use of the hearing aids and the use of the streaming function. Learn more about the differences between rechargeable and non-rechargeable hearing aids in your consultation.

IN THE CANAL (ITC)

ITC hearing aids are worn in the lower portion of the outer ear. This makes them comfortable and easy to use. Because they are slightly larger than CIC and IIC styles, they tend to have a slightly longer battery life and can fit a wider range of hearing losses. Their size also allows them to host additional features such as directional microphones for better speech understanding in noisy environments as well as manual controls like a volume wheel, if desired.

COMPLETELY IN CANAL (CIC)

CIC and Invisible In Canal (IIC) hearing aids are the smallest and most discreet hearing aids available. The wearer places the hearing aid deeply inside the canal. It is removed by tugging on a tiny pull-out string. These styles are typically for people with mild to moderate hearing loss. Because of their size, they do not usually come with any manual controls such as volume wheels or program buttons.