What are the Benefits of ITC Hearing Aids?

Choosing a hearing aid is a process that tends to require a huge amount of time and research. Though hearing aids can be genuinely life-changing devices, ensuring that you find the perfect device for your preferences and requirements requires significant research and plenty of assistance from your audiologist.

As you will no doubt be aware, there are a number of different styles of hearing aids to consider; and in-the-canal (or ITC) devices are among the most popular currently on the market. If you have never used an ITC hearing aid before but are considering such a device for your next hearing aid, then this could well be the perfect choice, especially given you can look forward to enjoying the following benefits.

1. Custom design ensures comfort

ITC hearing aids sit in the ear canal itself, which means that this style of device cannot be one size fits all. Instead, each device has to be made especially for the eventual user. The fact that the design is customized tends to result in devices that are very comfortable to wear, with many users able to completely forget that the device is in place.

2. Difficult to see in the ear

Often, hearing aid users are self-conscious about how visible their devices may be to others; concerns that ITC hearing aids are able to nearly eliminate. Unlike larger devices which sit behind the ear or cover a large portion of the outer ear, ITC hearing aids are placed in the ear canal itself, covering very little of the outer ear. While this placement does not mean that the devices are completely invisible, they are usually very difficult to detect.

3. Use dual microphones

For many people with hearing loss, engaging in conversation in a loud environment (such as a shopping mall where music is being played or a crowded restaurant) can be difficult. To address this issue, ITC devices often use dual microphone technology, which helps to improve directional sound quality and make it easier to hear speech even in relatively loud surroundings.

4. Suitable for most degrees of hearing loss

Despite their relatively small size, ITC hearing aids are suitable for most degrees of hearing loss, from mild through to mildly-severe. In fact, some ITC devices may even be suitable for severe hearing loss. 

5. Good balance between visibility and number of features

With hearing aids, there is usually a delicate balance to be struck between visibility and the number of features that the device can contain. As a general rule, the larger a device is, the more features it is able to offer, which is obviously advantageous to the overall user experience. However, the bigger a device is, the more likely it is to be visible when worn. ITC devices offer a good size balance; they are small enough to be considered very discreet, but they are not too small, and most will feature a range of different features and innovative functionality options.

If you wish to experience the above benefits of ITC hearing aids for yourself, then it’s well worth speaking to your audiologist for further assistance in this regard.