Completely In The Canal (CIC):
These are the smallest size of hearing aids, practically invisible to an observer. Custom designed to fit the wearer's ear, CIC hearing aids fit deep inside the ear canal and most closely resemble the natural hearing process.
CIC designates a size of hearing aids, but does not describe the circuit inside the shell. CIC hearing aids can have conventional, programmable analog, or digital technology housed within their tiny casing.
CIC hearing aids are meant for people with ear canals large enough to accommodate the insertion depth of the device into the ear and for people with mild to moderate hearing loss. They are usually not recommended for people with dexterity problems because they are very small instruments with tiny batteries.
In the canal (ITC):
These hearing aids fit into the ear canal. They are only slightly larger than the completely-in-the-canal (CIC) hearing aid but smaller than the in-the-ear (ITE) hearing aid. The ITC style is available in the programmable, digital, and conventional hearing aids.
In The Ear (ITE):
These hearing aids can be used for a wide range of hearing losses. Due to their size, ITE hearing aids allow for larger sound amplifiers and more features such as a telephone switch. They are also much easier to handle. This type of hearing aid fills the outer ear. The hearing aid case is custom made out of a hard plastic material. As shown, the hearing aid case houses all of the miniaturized hearing aid parts.The ITE style is available with programmable, digital, and conventional technology.
Behind The Ear Hearing Aids (BTE):
BTE hearing aids (sometimes called 'post-aural' hearing aids) fit behind the ear and the sound is channeled by a small tube into the ear canal.
The child generally wears an earmould to seal the ear off and to hold the tube in place. Smalller and thinner tubes (TM 'Slimfit') are now available which do not require an earmould. These are suitable for certain children and specific types of hearing loss. Your audiologist will explain to you what is suitable for your child.
Body Worn Hearing Aids (BW):
BW hearing aids are the hearing aids that you might associate with days gone by.
These hearing aids are still manufactured and they can on occasions still be very useful in some circumstances. Generally however these aids are not used very much with babies and children.
Phonak hearing aids*
The right hearing aid for every child.
Fitting children with hearing aids is challenging. Factors, such as the age at which hearing impairment was diagnosed, the degree of hearing loss, the child's home, educational environment and the child's specific needs have a direct bearing on the best possible amplification solution. Extensive and versatile, the Phonak range provides optimum solutions for infants and young people for every hearing need.
Ranges of technological sophistication Made-to-measure technology The Phonak range includes a wide choice of children's hearing aids at varying levels of technological sophistication; this guarantees optimum fitting in terms of frequency response, maximum power output and available dynamic range. Selection of the best signal processing strategy is also extremely important. Children with different levels of hearing impairment can benefit from different types of signal processing strategies including linear and non-linear. A choice of processing strategy is either available separately in analogue hearing aids or combined within the same model in programmable and digital hearing systems. The microphone: a critical element in a hearing system The choice of the right microphone can improve hearing performance. This is why Phonak has developed children's hearing aids with directional microphones. Phonak AudioZoom multi-microphone technology offers the ultimate in microphone choice. Featured in PiCS Mark 2 hearing computers and in Claro and Perseo digital hearing aids AudioZoom enables users to enjoy the benefits of both directional and omnidirectional modes depending on the environment. Use of a remote control, access via the user switch or automatic switching make it easy to enjoy this feature. Experience and clinical studies have shown that even young children can handle AudioZoom technology with ease and benefit from it immensely. A question of size hearing aid dimensions are determined not only by the size of the child's ear but by the acoustic characteristics required of the instrument. Children with profound hearing loss often have only minimal residual hearing in the lower frequencies. Therefore, it is vitally important to ensure that they receive sufficient low-frequency amplification. Sufficiently powerful, low-distortion amplification in the low frequencies requires the use of large receivers, which outperform smaller receivers in many important respects (increased gain capability and lower distortion). Small receivers are suitable for hearing impairments requiring less gain in the low-frequency range. Apart from the fact that they can be housed in a smaller case, small receivers offer better high-frequency amplification. Adding a touch of color Selection of bright cheerful colors for all children's hearing aids Children love color and unlike many adults, have a more relaxed attitude towards hearing aids. To give children the chance to choose, Phonak offers models in a wide choice of bright, cheerful colors. We believe that the choice of the right children's hearing aid is not only achieving the best acoustic fit but also offering the most modern and fun-colored system.
* text taken from the Phonak.com website.