A device that amplifies sound and directs it into the ear canal. A hearing aid usually consists of a microphone, amplifier and receiver. Hearing aids come in 4 basic styles: In the Ear (ITE), behind the ear (BTE), body aid and eyeglass hearing aid. Body aids are seldom used except for profound losses. Eyeglass hearing aids had their heyday in […]

This refers to the amount of sound that is blocked by a person’s head before it can reach the opposite ear. This reduction in sound is an issue for people who only have hearing in one ear, or for people who choose to wear a hearing aid in only one ear.

This is the term used to describe the sense of relief and improvement some people experience just because someone is doing something for their condition.

See Hearing Assistive Technology.

A cochlear implant sound processor model from Advanced Bionics. It is a BTE style. It works together with the HiRes 90K implant and with the earlier CII Bionic Ear implant, and can use high resolution sound processing strategies such as the Fidelity 120. The Harmony processor includes a built-in telecoil.

A term used to describe people with hearing loss. Their losses can range from slight to profound. Hard of hearing people understand some speech with or without hearing aids.