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HOW DO YOU CARE FOR YOUR BTE HEARING AIDS AT HOME ON A ROUTINE BASIS LIKE A PRO?

BTE hearing aids are pricey devices for the general public, so learning how to clean and maintain them at home is a good practice to extend their life. Compared to most electronics, hearing aids are used in a more demanding environment. Here is a list of  BTE  hearing aid  care things you can do every day to help keep your hearing aids working properly.If you have any questions about hearing aids, please feel free to contact us through medical12@spiethgroup.com for help.   BTE Hearing Aid Care Checklist Daily ●Using a battery tester, check the battery.  Replace the old battery with a new one immediately if the battery is low or does not work at all. Leaving old batteries in your hearing aid can lead to corrosion, which can be severe enough to cause the hearing aid to stop working. Therefore, it is a good idea to carry a spare battery with you to prevent the hearing aid from suddenly running out of power and not working. ●Examine the microphone connector for debris (dirt, wax). If block

BTE VS. RIC HEARING AIDS: WHICH ONE IS MORE SUITABLE FOR ME?

If you have started thinking about purchasing an additional medical device that will help you hear, it is absolutely normal to worry about which one to choose and which one to keep.There are several types of hearing aids available on the market today, but the two most popular types are  receiver-in-the-canal  (RIC) and  behind-the-ear  (BTE) hearing aids. Although these two styles look similar in appearance and have some similar features and benefits, having a few critical differences sets them apart.   Similarities between  BTE  hearing aids and  RIC  hearing aids RIC and BTE hearing aids both have a hard case or housing which is located behind the ear. The case houses most (or in some cases all) of the hearing aid’s electronic components, such as the microphone, amplifier, digital chip and speaker. The two styles also come with a headset placed in an earbud, which can be either a custom ear cup or a non-custom ear dome. The headset is connected to the hearing aid via a tube, ear hook

SEVEN THINGS YOU NEED TO PAY ATTENTION TO BEFORE YOU BUY A HEARING AID

If you are currently planning to purchase   hearing aids , here are some considerations for a smooth purchase of the right hearing aid for you.   Go for a physical exam. Going to your doctor to exclude correctable causes of hearing loss, such as ear wax or infection. And get your hearing tested by an audiologist (hearing specialist).   Seek a recommendation from a reputable audiologist. Ask your doctor for a referral if you don’t know a good audiologist. An audiologist will evaluate your hearing, assist you in selecting the most suitable hearing aid and adjust the device to match your needs. If you have hearing loss in both ears, you can get the best results with two hearing aids.   Inquire about a probation period. Hearing aids are often available for a trial period. Allow some time for you to get used to the device and make a decision about whether it is appropriate for you. Have your audiologist put the trial cost in writing, whether that amount is included in the final cost of the

HOW DO I HANDLE FEEDBACK SOUNDS FROM MY HEARING AIDS?

No matter how stylish or advanced your   hearing aids  are, you are bound to hear whirring sounds when you use them. While sometimes these sounds are normal, sometimes it indicates that something is wrong with your device. Although the quality of sound you experience in your hearing aid device may be very good, these whirring sounds (called feedback sounds) may affect your hearing experience in some way. There are many newer digital hearing aids available today that come with feedback reduction. When sound is returned to the microphone from the receiver, it creates a feedback sound and therefore re-amplifies, causing a whirring sound. It creates headache-inducing screeching or squealing sounds, and those sounds are annoying!   Causes of feedback sound ●Excessive accumulation of ear wax ●Poorly fitted or improperly installed hearing aid tubes ●Cracked or broken tubes ●Deformed sound disassembled microphone ●Excessive volume at certain frequencies   Types of Feedback Sounds Hearing aid d

THE BEST ADVICE YOU COULD EVER GET ABOUT CIC HEARING AIDS

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Introduction of CIC hearing AIDS One of your primary concerns when you find yourself in need of hearing aids may be visibility to others; one study found that making hearing aids virtually invisible increased the likelihood of people purchasing them by 30-40%. If a less conspicuous option is what you find yourself gravitating toward, completely in the ear canal (CIC) hearing aids are the prudent and ideal choice. Just as the name implies,  CIC hearing aids  are located completely inside your ear canal, which makes them very small and discreet. They are invisible to passersby except when someone is looking directly into your ear. The CICs are custom made as they are made from a mold taken from your ear canal. That means you’ll feel comfy with them, and they won’t move around inside your ear. Here’s how they work Sound flows into your ear canal, where CIC hearing aids process and amplify it, then send it into your ear canal to your eardrum. They are slightly different from invisible-in-t

HOW CAN THE POSITION OF THE MICROPHONE AFFECT THE PERFORMANCE OF THE HEARING AID?

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The position of the hearing aid microphone can have an important effect on its performance. In their study, Lybarger and Barron (1965) found that in   BTE hearing aids , those with the microphone at the top performed better than those with the microphone at the bottom. In addition, Berland and Nielson (1969) reported that among the three types of hearing aids, ITE, BTE and supra-aural, the gain was 7-10 dB higher in the 2000 and 5000 Hz frequency range compared to the other two types of hearing aids due to the advantage of the microphone position of the ITE hearing aid. This is mainly due to the action of the pinna and the position of the ITE microphone in the ear. The microphone setup of the ITE has a superior localization ability compared to the BTE, whether worn in one or both ears, in quiet or in noisy environments (Orton and Preves, 1979). Also, the former showed a 7% superiority in word recognition (Randolph et al., 1977). In addition, the high frequency response of microphones l

RIC HEARING AIDS – “TREASURE” MODEL

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The RIC is an open fitting digital hearing aid that has gained worldwide popularity since its introduction at the turn of the century. The appeal of RIC hearing aids The  RIC hearing aid  is placed behind the ear in a body that contains the microphone, amplifier and processing chip, while the receiver (speaker) is placed in the ear canal via a thin wire connection. This design means that the size can be smaller than traditional behind-the-ear hearing aids and produces a more natural sound with less acoustic feedback (whistling). Ability to hear high frequency sounds The first symptom of hearing loss for most people with hearing loss is the absence of high frequency sounds (e.g. finding themselves unable to hear an electric bell, birds chirping in the park, etc.). RIC hearing aids excel at amplifying high frequency sounds, while still producing a natural sound effect. Therefore it is very suitable for people with early detection of hearing problems or mild to moderate hearing loss, but