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The mini BTEs are by far the most commonly fitted style of hearing aid today.
Behind–the-ear hearing aids sit at the top and behind the outer ear. They’re connected to a tube which sends the sound into the ear canal and toward your eardrums. BTEs come in many different colours so you can choose one to blend in with your hair colour and skin tone, or you could dare to be different and wear your personality on your ear!
Mini BTEs are designed to hide behind the outer ear and discreetly direct sound into the ear canal via an ultra thin tube not much thicker than a hair. The thin tube is connected to a soft dome which sits inside the ear canal but doesn’t block the ear canal. This is what we call an “open fitting”. Most people find this style of aid very comfortable to wear and best of all, they can still make use of their natural hearing because everyday sounds and air still enter the canal and travel past the dome, just like they do when you’re not wearing an aid. The mini BTEs are also the least noticeable of the BTE styles and generally best suit mild to moderate hearing losses.
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Receiver-in-the-Canal (RIC) or Receiver-in-the-Ear (RITE)
RIC hearing aids look a lot like mini BTEs. The difference is that the speaker of the hearing aid is incorporated into the soft dome sitting in the ear canal. A wire runs through the thin tube and connects the speaker to the rest of the hearing aid behind the ear. The main advantage of RIC aids is that they have a little more oomph than mini BTEs, however they can be a bit more prone to moisture and wax damage.
BTE hearing aids with earmoulds are designed to fit a wide range of hearing losses from mild to severe and profound. Their size varies depending on how powerful they are, the more powerful they need to be, the bigger they are. All tend to be larger than the mini BTEs or RIC BTEs. Sound gets sent from the aid to the ear canal via a tube which is connected to a custom made earmould. The earmoulds vary in size depending on how severe the hearing loss is and can come in different colours. The BTEs also come in a wide range of colours to match hair or skin tone. Because of their slightly longer shape and design they often have more features, controls and power than in-the-ear styles.
