The Best Hearing Aid Type for You Activity of Choice

When you are getting a hearing aid fitted, there are a lot of things that you need to take into consideration, and your audiologist will always help you with many of those decisions. One of the main things that need to be considered is what kind of lifestyle you lead, what activities you tend to get involved in and which hearing aids are going to be best for those types of activities. In this article, we'll take a look at how you and your audiologist might best approach hearing aids, but first let’s take a quick recap of the types of devices out there.

The types of hearing aids

Some of the main types of hearing aids are:

• Behind-the-ear (BTE) hearing aids sit comfortably behind the ear and are the most common hearing aids in everyday usage.
• In-the-ear (ITE) devices generally are worn in the bowl of the ear, and tend to be battery-operated, which can be useful but also not ideal for some situations.
• In-the-canal (ITC) hearing aids are like a smaller ITE and are generally chosen for being more discreet and less cumbersome than some other types.

Those are the main types of hearing aids that you might come across when you are looking to have one fitted. But how can you decide which is right for you and your lifestyle?

Your lifestyle

First of all, you need to spend some time analyzing your lifestyle, so that you can determine what kind of hearing aid is likely to be best for your needs. Are you someone who generally is not very active, perhaps working at a desk all day? Or are you up and about, taking part in sports and other activities? You need to get very clear on this to make sure that you get the right kind of hearing aid fitted.

Your audiologist is almost certainly going to ask some questions related to these issues, to help you to work out what might be best for you. It’s important that you answer them honestly, so that you can work together to really get to the bottom of what type of hearing aid is best for you and the activities that you generally take part in.

ITE hearing aids

So, what kind of activities are ITE hearing aids best for? Generally, people who comfortably and successfully wear ITE hearing aids are those who are busy and on-the-go. If you move around a lot, you need a hearing aid which is not going to get in the way and which can survive intact if you are exercising. An ITE is generally going to be the best choice for that kind of lifestyle.

BTE hearing aids

As we have seen, BTE hearing aids are the most common type of hearing aid, so they are likely to be chosen by many people as a potential hearing aid option, regardless of lifestyle choice or type of activity that might be taking place in the person’s life. But are they especially good for something or other? Generally, these are best for those who are just getting used to wearing a hearing aid and they are often chosen as a first hearing aid for that reason. But really, they are just a decent all-rounder.

ITC hearing aids

In-the-canal hearing aids are the most discreet of all, and the least likely to fall out of the ear with strenuous activity, so they are obviously generally going to be preferred by those who lead particularly active lifestyles. Your audiologist may refer an ITC hearing aid if you are likely to be moving around a lot or if you are concerned about it being on display where it might be important not to be seen – such as if you are performing, for instance.

An ITC might also be a good choice if you don’t have the confidence to wear one that is more on display and your audiologist should take that into account as well.

Whichever type of hearing aid you end up having, it is important that you have a full understanding of your options and what a difference it will make to your life in general. If you are curious about this and you would like some help and assistance with hearing aids and hearing loss concerns in general, please consider getting in touch with the Hearing Aid Consultants of North Mississippi. You can call us at (662) 234-1337 and we will always be more than happy to help you.