In-the-ear hearing aids are easy to handle, are placed in the ear canal, and are available in various sizes. The basic sizes are shown below and are:
- Full Shell: This fits in the entire concha (bowl like part of your outer ear) and is clearly visible.
- Half Shell: This fits in half the the concha of your ear and is only visible if people try to look at your ear.
- In-the-Canal: This is practically not visible by others and is removed with a transparent, removal string.
- Completely In-the-Canal: This is the smallest of the ITE types and is not visible by others.
Devon Hearing would first make an impression of your ear and custom make the hearing aids so they are custom fitted into your ear to fit like a glove. These hearing aids are available in different skin colors so they blend in with your ear. The face plate of these aids has a battery access door and sometimes a volume control knob or program control button.
Want to know more about ITE hearing aids?
ITE hearing aids have basically four different variations based on size. There is the full shell which fills the whole concha (i.e. bowl-like portion of your outer ear), the half shell which fill about half this amount, the ITC which is a variation that only fits in the canal, and lastly the CIC which fits only in the canal but can go deeper and is less visible.
Full shell: An impression is taken and these hearing aids are custom made to ‘fit like a glove’ for the user. They can typically use one of two battery types allowing the batteries to last up to 10 days (with nightly removal). The face plate of the aids is large so a radio button for volume control and a program button can be included for manual operation by the user.
Half shell: Using the same impression, this size is sometimes selected when vanity is more important and/or if the user is active and a full shell hearing aid will cause perspiration and itchiness of the ear.
In-The-Canal: This can also use the same impression and this is for users who definitely do not want people to see their hearing aid. Usually, there is a small, clear string protruding about 1/4″ from the face plate so the hearing aid user can easily remove these aids.
Completely-In-The-Canal: Again, this can use the same impression and these are the smallest hearing aids supplied for in your ear. There is a small removal string just so the user can access them for removal. Since they are so small, they only can use miniature batteries which only last 3-4 days at most.
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