subject: Hearing Loss And Hearing Aids [print this page] Hearing loss is a reduction of hearing of a person. This causes a person to shy away or be scared of dealing with others. Although hearing loss is a demoralizing condition, there are still chances to recover hearing through the help of hearing aids.
Hearing aids restore the ability to hear with great flexibility. This means that when a person using a hearing aid hears a sound that is too loud or too low, he can adjust the sound to be able to hear clearly.
In the early years, hearing aids are not as efficient and convenient as of today. The first hearing aid does not use electricity and the first electric model was too big to be carried around. For about two hundred years ago, hearing aids look like ear trumpets - large horns used to direct sound to the impaired person that provide basic sounds without using electricity.
Today, hearing aids come in portable, lightweight and adjustable models. Instead of those large trumpets in your ear, some hearing aids now can be placed deep in the ear.
There are different types of hearing aids. Here are the following:
1.(BTH) Behind- The- Ear which sits behind the ear. When the sound comes in the hearing aid, it passes through a plastic tube that is connected to your ear. This is the least expensive type of hearing aid.
2.(ITE) In- The- Ear which sits inside the ear. This offers a lot more of comfort than BTH because this does not have large sections and plastic tubes that connects to the ear. ITEs are smaller and a little bit more costly than BTHs.
3.(ITC) In- The- Canal hearing aids are smaller than ITE hearing aids and require a lot of skill to control but is more efficient when the patient gets used to it. ITCs cost more than ITEs and BTHs.
4.(CIC) Completely- In- Canal are the smallest hearing aids ever made and require tool to remove them. The good thing about these hearing aids is that they are unnoticeable and provide a good feedback, but they are the most expensive.
5.(MC) Mini- Canals are a bit larger than CICs. These are the ones recommended to patients when they cannot afford CICs. These aids have very small volume wheel and easy to remove.
6.(PAC) Post- Auricular- Canal hearing aids are created to separate the processor and the receiver to make a smaller hearing aid. This means that the small processor sits behind the ear and the receiver and speaker sit deep down the canal.
These different kinds of hearing aids can simply amplify sounds- those that the person wants and needs to listen to. They can stream out frequencies in order that the person has no trouble using them.
In choosing the best hearing aids, have your hearing checked first by an ENT specialist. Do not wait for the moment that you will completely lose your audibility. The earlier you purchase hearing aids, the better the results.
