Factors to Consider
Bear in mind here our earlier discussion of “personal requirements” and “factual limits”.
The most significant considerations here are your hearing loss characteristics, the size of your ear canal and your technical requirements. For the vast majority of hearing aid candidates, the best style of hearing aid is the Behind-The-Ear (BTE) with a receiver (loudspeaker) in the ear canal. This is often known simply as a RIC. The Behind-The- Ear hearing aid style is time proven to deliver the best balance of desirable characteristics to the hearing-impaired user compared to an In-The-Canal (ITC) style of hearing aid. A very severe hearing loss and/or a small ear canal clash (factual limits) with achieving optimal outcomes and it is every Audiologist’s duty to counsel you on these matters.