History
Total Hearing Care
Debbie F. Schirico
Dr. Jill E. Copley
Erika Porter |
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Please keep in mind that there is not one particular hearing instrument or brand that will
work for all types and ranges of hearing loss.
What may work best for
a friend of yours may not be best for you.
Your audiologist will offer expert advice on the
type that is most appropriate for your hearing loss.
The type selected will
depend on your individual hearing
loss and the physical characteristics of your ear canal.
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What Size Hearing Instruments Are
Available? |
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Essentially, there are five basic styles of hearing instruments:
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Completely-In-The-Canal (CIC)
fits entirely in the ear canal.
Cosmetically, this instrument is the least visible.
However, it is not suitable for all types and degrees of hearing loss.
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In-The-Canal (ITC) fits within the canal portion of the ear.
This style is often referred to as a canal, half shell, or miniature canal device.
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In-The-Ear (ITE)
fits into the canal and extends into the
outer part of the ear, completely filling the ear. This style is also referred
to as a full concha or low profile device.
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Behind-The-Ear (BTE)
fits neatly behind the ear and is
connected to the ear mold in the ear by a short plastic tube.This hearing instrument
is easier to manipulate and it is generally used for a variety of hearing losses
as well as precipitous high frequency losses.
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Over-The-Ear (OTE)
or Open Fit BTE is a miniaturized BTE
device that sits on top of the ear with a slim tube or wire fitting close to the
head and a small dome that slides into the entrance of the ear canal.
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What type of technology is available?
Total Hearing Care is committed to providing you with the
most technologically advanced products in the world developed by the top manufacturers
in research and development.
Digital instruments have a computer chip in them, which
allows sound to be processed 150 million times per second, and provides the listener
with clear and distinct speech sounds.
The newest digital devices include products designed
to be trendy and virtually invisible, assist speech understanding in the presence
of background noise, provide excellent fidelity and noise reduction, and adjust
automatically to environmental changes in sound.
Our practice works with
over 15 different hearing instrument manufacturers to give you the sound you want
and expect. (Basic Digital $900-$2500 and Advanced Digital $2200 - $3600 per ear)
Programmable hearing instruments are analog technology
that can be programmed using a computer.
Conventional analog technology are devices that
are set at the manufacturer and do not allow for setting changes by the audiologist.
While analog devices can still be found, digital technology is scientifically proven
to function better for the majority of hearing losses, and the pricing of basic digital products is very similar to analog devices($800
- $2400 per ear). |
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