Completely in the canal or CIC’s are often inquired about at a hearing aid evaluation. Many times people like the attractiveness of the small size. Although, that is definitely a benefit, that is about where the benefits end. One of the many jobs that I have is to find the most appropriate hearing aids for a person. Sometimes that does not always mean that there is enough power in the hearing aid for the loss, alot of times it means, how user friendly will the aid be for the particular individual? Some of the less desirable features of CIC’s are the small battery, it only lasts about 4-5 days which can be more of an accumulated cost over time. Also, the smaller device means that people with limited vision or dexterity may have difficulty with insertion and removal of the actual instrument itself as well as the battery. Also, if a person has decent low pitched hearing, which many times they do, by placing a custom fit device in their ear, we are creating a hearing loss because we just put a fancy amplified plug in their ear and blocked off the good residual hearing they still have. Also the shell is shaped for the way that a persons ear was shaped when I made the impression and 4-5 years from now their ear will be a different shape and the device will have a more sloppy fit than what we want/need. Additionally, a CIC only physically has enough room on it for one microphone, which means that it is more limited in its abilities to reduce background noise in a noisy social situation. Since may times listening in noise is second only to clarity of voices, I would highly recommend a hearing aid with two microphones. If cosmetics are a concern for you, there are definitely cosmetically friendly alternatives that function much better and are much more user friendly. Call us today to find out more.
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