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RIC vs ITE hearing aids

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Hey all,
i’ve been using hearing aids for over 25 years now (i’m 31 yo). I started with hearing aids back in 90’s and than used hearing aids untill today.

My left ear is after a surgery to widen the ear canal, and my right ear’s canal is extremely narrow due to Treacher Collins Syndrome. I was very happy with my hearing aids from widex. I am currently trialing Oticon Own 1’s but due to my left ear being after surgery it simply hurts me to wear those. Also Oticon was the only manufacturer that actually managed to make ITC hearing aids for me, others said theres either not enough room for all the components or that they are not able to make sure they won’t just fall out. I started using oticon own with connectclip to connect to my computer that i use for few hours a day (gamer). I’ve been blown away with how good the sound is while streaming in comparison to just wearing over the ear headphones. So much in fact, that when i put headphones on instead of streaming it sounds horrible. I might never be able to go back to not streaming sound directly to the hearing aids.

The problem is that i’ve run out of options for ITE hearing aids with bluetooth capabilities so naturally i started thinking about hearing aids. Now im at the point where either i give up on bluetooth capabilities and i focus on sound quality alone, or go ric and get hopefuly get both. Is there anyone that can recommend which style of hearing aids would be better for my hearing loss (not focusing on bluetooth). There is really no way for me to seek help with audiologists, as hearing loss treatment from where i come from is really poor (there is one audi that does rem in entire city of 500,000 citizens).

Please help!

4 people in this conversation3 min readJump to latest

so far I tried several hearing aids, but my case is a little more complicated , my speech ability is below 20%. now the best fit for me is phonak . The has a capability of about 105 db with a receiver gain of 70 . you can make a full . with the highest receiver, because rIC and Full cell are almost the same, different from BTe. it goes back again to what level of distraction you’re experiencing.

I would think any style should be able to cover your hearing loss. I would think it would be easier to get a custom mold to fit than a custom made hearing aid, so I’d lean toward . With RIC you get the latest technology and streaming.

In reply to @MDB

Not digging here, but ‘any’ ?

There’s half a dozen types that wouldn’t produce anywhere near enough LF for this loss. Now, you could make a case that the fitting wouldn’t necessarily be helped by having a ‘good’ low frequency output, but that’s a different argument.

The size of receiver required here means too much space in a super narrow canal. So, it’s either a surgically fitted EAM stent, potential down the line, or….

A decent #13 , tubed comfortable carved shell or canal mould and get the accessories/phone doing their thing. At least until the surgery settles down.

Noted. Here’s what I was thinking. It has been pointed out to me that Starkey Picasso can cover profound losses. can too as well as with custom molds and . So, in my mind any “style” of hearing aid could cover the loss. Agree that lots of different specific hearing aids wouldn’t work, but as far as covering the loss, it seems like “any” could work. Defer to your expertise regarding narrowness of canal and what would work.
How many different “types” of hearing aids do you are there if a half dozen wouldn’t fit the loss? I think I’m just using a broader brush.

My ‘half a dozen’ is on the basis that most and (and even ) with a big enough Receiver/mould wouldn’t necessarily fit a super narrow canal. Especially if we’re talking about low to mid range power receivers.

Thanks alot guys.

Another question would be, what kind of vents are typically prescribed for reverse slope hearing loss? Closed? My audiologists are super confused looking at my .

Pressure vent to 0.8mm. Anything bigger is probably unnecessary unless you have an odd occlusion issue.

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