Friday, May 6, 2011

The Types Of Hearing Aids

By Owen Jones


It is very difficult for some individuals to admit to themselves that their hearing is not what it used to be. In some ways, it is a more difficult admission to make than that one must have spectacles. After all, you can sort of fudge things as your hearing goes by lip reading or turning up the sound.

You have to be honest with yourself, if you know that something is wrong or if your partner tells you that the TV is too loud. You can kid yourself that you are not losing your hearing, but you cannot hoodwink others. Well, not for very long anyway.

So, in the end, your choice is to admit your problem to yourself or say that everybody else is incorrect. The rational solution is to go to a doctor and have your hearing tested. And, although I do not want to forecast the outcome, the probability is that your hearing will be found deficient, although it may be found that you have a disease of the ear, which when put right will restore your hearing.

Otherwise, the alternatives are: a life of struggle; using a hearing trumpet or wearing an electronic hearing aid. The obvious answer is to opt for the electronic hearing aid which is fairly small and unobtrusive. Barely noticeable, in fact.

Once you make a decision that you need a hearing aid, then the difficulty of choice commences. There are basically four types of hearing aids and they can then be either analogue or digital. The four designs are:

Completely In the Canal (CIC): these devices are almost invisible, because they are custom made. They are most appropriate for those suffering from mild to moderate loss of hearing.

In The Canal (ITC): this device is larger and will deal with a wider scope of hearing impairment.

In The Ear (ITE): these systems are tailor-made to match the patient's ear and are a little bigger than the ITC models.

Behind The Ear (BTE): this is the most common kind of hearing aid and can be adjusted to suit many kinds of impaired hearing.

There are some people who should not wear a deaf aid just because their hearing is not up to mark. The main category here is children. Children take different paths to adulthood and one of these routes involves a slower development of their hearing.

This is especially true of the under sevens. If you think that your child may fall into this bracket, you should consult a doctor. It could be the result either of a hearing impairment of a disease.

Deaf aids have come a very long way from the days of cupping one's hands behind one's ears or using a hearing trumpet. They have even come a very long way from the huge battery hearing aids of the twenties and thirties.

Nowadays, you have the choice of analogue or digital hearing aids. Analogue devices are very good, but going digital is the same as making the transition from vinyl records to CD's.




About the Author:



No comments:

Post a Comment

Check this link for other related articles:

My Random Articles

Yey Health