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Behind The Ear Hearing Aids (BTE) |
Wind noise is more of an issue with a behind-the-ear or BTE hearing aids than with a canal hearing aid, but for many patients the difference is not that great. To really avoid wind issues, you may need to go to the smallest sized hearing aids known as completely-in-the-canal or CIC hearing aids.
There are many good reasons to use a BTE hearing aid, including the possibility for greater power which may be necessary as the years go by. Although the CIC hearing aid and other in-the-ear styles usually have as many internal controls as the BTE, the number and accessibility of external controls may be limited.
Also, the BTE hearing aid offers the greatest potential to avoid the plugged sensation that bothers some hearing aid users.
As far as the number of channels go, most people have their hearing tested at 6 to 7 frequencies. That has always been considered enough detail to define a person's hearing sensitivity. As long as the hearing aid has nice, sharp filtering, there is no reason why 16 channels can provide a closer match to the patient's hearing than 6 or 8 can.
