Digital Hearing Aid Styles & Technology

Hearing aids come in a variety of shapes, styles and technologies. Which one is right for you? That answer depends on your individual hearing loss and your personal listening needs. We will work with you to determine the very best solution for you, your lifestyle, and your budget.

Hearing aids are available from a variety of manufacturers in a variety of sizes and shapes, from instruments that fit behind the ear to instruments that fit within the ear canal. Electronic circuitry has advanced significantly, allowing patients greater sound comfort and improved speech recognition in noisy situations.

Digital Hearing Aids

ReSound Linx Quattro™ hearing aids (the Receiver in Canal model is shown above along with the iPhone App) provide a hearing experience beyond compare with a full family of high performing hearing solutions that can include direct streaming from iOS and Android™ devices as well as the world’s most advanced rechargeable hearing solution (charger shown below).

Not only does Starkey's Livio AI (left) sound incredible, but as the world’s first Healthable hearing aid, it enables users to take a proactive approach to their hearing and wellness with brain and body activity tracking, and more. Its Mask Mode feature helps make it easier to hear people who are wearing face masks. Starkey Livio Edge AI (right) also contains the power of artificial intelligence, giving you never-before-possible sound performance in the most challenging listening environments. Choose from a standard rechargeable style — or the world's first custom rechargeable hearing aid.

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Digital Hearing Aids are adjusted via a computer connection, provide the most flexibility, allowing the Audiologist to custom fit the response of the device to a specific hearing loss. We will help you choose the best instrument according to your needs and your budget.

Hearing aids have developed from "clunky ear prosthetics" to amazingly sophisticated devices that can be both comfortable and virtually invisible!

Depending on the level of technology that you prefer, modern hearing devices have the ability to:

digitally process sound in a way that sounds very natural.

adapt and automatically adjust to different listening environments.

filter out background noise to focus on the sounds you want to hear.

be programmed to suit the types of listening environments you experience.

connect wirelessly to your TV, cell phone, MP3 player and more.

After we provide you with our recommendations to help you hear better and answer your questions, we'll provide you with information the latest, most comfortable, hearing aids available.

Types or Styles of Hearing Aids

It's important to us that you know that hearing aids are a lot different than they were even five years ago. If you're picturing a really obvious instrument that sits on your ear and whistles, you're in for a very pleasant surprise!

Modern hearing aids are tiny (in some cases virtually invisible!), sophisticated devices with an array of special functions that can "zoom in" on sounds you want to hear and "cancel out" noise that makes it difficult to understand conversation.

Plus, they can be programmed to suit your personal listening needs. If you like to attend the theater, eat in restaurants, have a family barbecue, go to a basketball game, run marathons—we can work with you to find a hearing aid that fits YOUR lifestyle.

hearing aid IIC ReSound

Invisible In the Canal (IIC)

IIC hearing instruments are the smallest of the "in the ear" hearing aids. They are designed to sit deeply in the ear canal, which not only makes them nearly invisible but also places the microphone and speaker close to the eardrum, making the sound quality more natural. Background noise is also more effectively filtered out.

Receiver in the Canal (RIC)

RIC hearing instruments feature the same barely visible, comfortable fit as "open fit" instruments. However, the receiver that delivers the sound processed by the hearing device is placed inside the ear canal, resulting in more natural sound. Traditional "open fit" or BTE devices channel the sound from the hearing instrument itself through an acoustic tube, which can cause distortion.

Open Fit or Open Ear

"Open fit" instruments are comfortable to wear, offer a wide array of features, and people barely notice you are wearing them. The "open fit" device is a tiny instrument that sits behind the ear and delivers sound through a thin acoustic tube. An added benefit of "open fit" instruments is that a custom ear mold is not required.

Completely in the Canal (CIC)

These instruments are tiny and fit, literally, completely in the ear canal.

Canal Style or In The Canal (ITC)

These instruments fit in the ear canal and are somewhat visible.

hearing aid ITE ReSound

Full Shell/In the Ear (ITE)

These instruments fit slightly in the canal and fill the ear with a shell. This style is a good option for those with dexterity issues.

Behind the Ear (BTE)

These instruments sit behind the ear and have a tube that connects the instrument to a custom made mold that fits in the ear.

Images courtesy of ReSound.

Personalized Solutions within Your Budget

We dispense a variety of hearing instruments, including entry level to premium level digital, from leading manufacturers such as Oticon, Phonak, ReSound, Signia, Sonic Innovations, Starkey, and Unitron, to ensure that we are able to provide our patients with the most options and benefits. We also fit most other manufacturers and brands based on lifestyle, needs and budget. Please ask us if you have a question about a specific manufacturer or brand. We also offer an extensive complement of assistive listening devices with Bluetooth® connectivity.

Convenient Financing Options

What often keeps people from reconnecting with conversations and the other sounds of life they have been missing out on is a concern that they can't afford hearing aids. We will work with you to find the best solution for your budget. We also offer financing plans available through . Click here to find out more.

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