Body Worn (BW)
These are as the name implies worn on the body rather than only in or on the ear. Typically they are the size of a cigarette pack and can clip on to the user’s belt or fit in a shirt pocket. They then have wires that lead to speakers which are fitted in the ears. They were how all hearing aids used to be but with miniaturisation of electronic components they are used now in specialist cases. No longer widely distributed but still available through the NHS they tend to be used for hearing loss in young children or for people requiring extreme power.
This is a very wide product category encompassing the style that most non-users associate with term “Hearing Aid”. The large, pink banana hanging behind one’s ear with thick tubing disappearing into a heavy mould is the archetypal BTE. The power BTEs issued through the NHS are still of this type but nowadays behind the ear hearing aids can be very small, come in variety of colours and deliver sound through fine micro tubing. With such an array of options this style is the most popular on the UK market. An interesting offshoot of the classical BTE was the Receiver In The Canal (RIC) which is a product where the body of the device sits behind the ear but the receiver (speaker) sits inside the ear canal. Connected by a wire encased in plastic these can have size and performance advantages but can prove expensive to maintain with the receiver position in the canal.
This self-descriptive term could be applied to everything that is not either Body Worn or Behind The Ear but the term tends to be applied to the large products which fill either the whole bowl (concha) of the ear of half of it. These variants are known as either Full Shell or Half Shell. Still relatively large they can include twin microphone, telecoils, multiple programmes, volume controls and a broad spectrum of functionality.
In The Canal (ITC)
These hearing aids are designed to fit in the ear canal rather than the ear concha. They tend to be custom made based upon an impression taken from the individual, although there are some that are a standard fit. They are smaller than the half shells or full shells and so typically do not have either the power, battery life or functionality of their bigger brothers.
Completely In The Canal (CIC)
A well fitted CIC should be almost invisible and seated totally inside the canal. By no means suitable for all ears these tiny devices have some limitations but can be very discreet. Inserted and extracted by use of a cord they require nimble fingers as well as the right size ear.
Bone Anchored Hearing Aids (BAHA)
These are specialist hearing aids which are attached to plates which are surgically placed beneath the skin on the back of the head, behind the ear. They may be recommended in cases where the inner ear is relatively intact, but there are problems on the outer or middle ears.
