Types of Hearing Aids
For some forms of hearing loss, a hearing aid is the best form of treatment. Whilst a hearing aid won’t cure your hearing loss, it can certainly improve the clarity of your hearing and help you stay connected.
Choosing the right type of hearing aid for you
Hearing aids are available in a whole range of sizes, styles and colours. Whatever your lifestyle or personality, there is a hearing aid for you. Our highly skilled and experienced hearing aid dispensers can advise you on which type of hearing aid will make the greatest difference to your hearing.
So what types of hearing aid are available?
Receiver in Canal
Small and discreet, the speaker of a receiver-in-canal hearing aid is placed inside the ear canal. Uses wires instead of plastic tubes.
Rechargeable Hearing Aids
Rechargeable hearing aids mean that you can stop buying disposable batteries. The built-in rechargeable battery just needs to be charged overnight, ready to use the next day.
Behind the ear
Easy to use and available in a range of colours, behind-the-ear hearing aids are the most common. A clear tube connects the outer casing to a plastic mould or soft bud in your ear.
Wireless accessories
A range of wireless accessories can help you to connect to your smartphone, tune into the TV and transform your hearing aid into headphones.
In the ear
Custom made to fit your ear, in-the-ear hearing aids are easy to adjust. They sit comfortably in your outer ear and are only visible from the side.
NHS Hearing Aids
While available without charge, NHS hearing aids provide you with less choice and a lower quality of sound.
What hearing aid is right for me or my loved one?
information and advice
When it come to finding the perfect hearing aid, the key is choosing one that can support your level of hearing loss. Some of the smaller and less powerful types of hearing aids aren’t really suitable for someone with severe or profound hearing loss. A hearing aid dispenser will be able to tell you which types of hearing aid are suitable for your range of hearing loss.
Once you’ve narrowed down the types of hearing aid which cater your level of hearing, you should consider which one will best suit your lifestyle. For example, if you struggle with your fine motor skills (such as: buttoning clothes, turning pages in a book), making adjustments to the settings of a smaller hearing aid might be quite difficult for you. It is worth asking your hearing aid dispenser to let you try turning any dials or pressing any buttons before you buy.
Many hearing aid dispensers will often let you have a trial period of your new hearing aid. Don’t be afraid to ask! It is a great way of learning whether that hearing aid is truly right for you.
Contact UsWhat are the treatments for hearing loss?
information and advice
As well as hearing aids, other forms of hearing loss treatment are available. Depending on your type of hearing loss you may not even require a hearing aid. This is particularly the case with temporary conductive hearing loss- when a removable blockage is impacting on your hearing.
For example, one of the most common causes of hearing loss is an excess buildup of earwax. By simply softening the earwax yourself or having a professional do so, it can easily be removed and your hearing restored.
Inner ear (sensorineural) hearing loss is often best treated with hearing implants rather than hearing aids. Hearing aids electronically amplify sounds to make them louder and clearer. Unfortunately, this won’t make much difference to your hearing if the nerves or hair cells are severely damaged. Instead, a hearing implant can provide the necessary sound signals for your brain to interpret and understand.
In addition to these physical treatments it may also be beneficial for you to learn sign language or lip-reading.