When a person has been diagnosed with a hearing loss and hearing aids have been recommended, there are basically two things to consider:  how they look and how they work.  How hearing aids work  will be discussed in future articles, but in the how they look category two options are available, custom fit and open fit.  A custom model involves an ear impression with the aid totally in the ear, while an open fit instrument sits up behind the ear with only a small tube delivering sound to the ear canal.  Although many people still wear custom fit hearing aids, a good portion of the hearing aid market is switching to open fit amplification if it works for their hearing loss because of comfort, sound quality, and ease of use.
 
First, let's talk about comfort.  Stick a finger in both ears and talk!  Do you hear your own voice?  Can you hear your jaw moving?  That is called the occlusion effect.  It's a term used by hearing aid people to describe this stuffy feeling.  It happens a lot of the time when a custom fit hearing aid is sitting in an ear.  Although hearing aid companies have made great strides in venting to release pressure and  the manufacturing process for better fit, let's face it, a person still has something stuck in their ear.  Since it is impossible to help a person hear better if they aren't wearing the hearing aids due to a comfort issues, fit and feel is a big part of hearing aid use.
 
Sound quality is also a very important factor.  Hearing aids in general have a bad reputation.  Most people looking into hearing aids come with preconceived biases:  the aids whistle, they can't be worn with the phone, and they turn everything up!  Although the technology is doing a fantastic job of addressing these problems, the open fit hearing aids take most of these issues out of the mix from the beginning.  They provide a natural acoustic effect because they are not blocking the ear canal with a piece of plastic the way a custom fit model does, so the low tones and a person's own voice don't become stuck in the head consequently interfering with the brain's ability to hear the good speech sounds it wants and needs to hear. 

 

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