HEARING AIDS

Your Hearing Explained

Ealing Hearing Centre

SIGNS OF HEARING LOSS

We know it’s not always easy to recognise if you‘re losing your hearing or even make time to discuss about it but it is important to seek professional hearing care advice if you experience any of the below.

Difficulty hearing people clearly
Misunderstanding what people say
Asking people to repeat
Watching TV loudly / Listening to music loudly
Concentrating hard to hear what people are saying

TYPES OF HEARING LOSS

CONDUCTIVE
A CONDUCTIVE hearing loss occurs when the natural movement of sound through the external or middle ear is blocked or damaged.

Causes include:
- Glue ear/Ear infections
- Wax build up
- Eardrum damage
SENSORI-NEURAL
A SENSORI-NEURAL hearing loss occurs when there is damage within the inner ear or auditory nerve, which delivers sound to the brain. It is the cause of more than 90% of hearing loss in adults.

Causes include:
- Genetics
- Viral/Bacterial infections
- Noise exposure
- Ageing (most common)
MIXED

A comprehensive hearing test will determine the type of hearing loss you may have which will allow us to treat it correctly.

TYPES OF HEARING AIDS WE OFFER

With so many different hearing aids available, it can be difficult to know which one is right for you. At Ealing Hearing Centre, we are a fully independent practice which means we are not affiliated or tied down to specific hearing aid manufacturers. We select the best solution for you considering your lifestyle and budget, irrespective of manufacturers. With over 25 years’ experience in the industry, we make it easy for you to reach a decision with our experience and expert knowledge.

Our range of aftercare services are flexible and put you in control of your care. There are a host of hearing aid types and technologies available:

INVISIBLE-IN-THE EAR (IIC)

These hearing aids are extremely discrete and are invisible to the eye. They cannot be seen on the outside of the ear. They are custom made and fitted to the size and shape of your canal and hearing requirements. They are fully automated with no need to manually adjust the settings.
IN-THE-EAR (ITE)

Slightly bigger than the IIC, these hearing aids are also considered on the smaller side of hearing aids. There are many types ranging from styles that fill the entire ear (In-The-Canal/ITC) to styles that sit in the ear canal (Completely-In-Canal/CIC). They are easy to handle and come in a range of sizes. Dependent on size, they can house many electronic features such as volume control and multi directional microphones.
RECEIVER-IN-CANAL/RECEIVER-IN-THE-EAR (RIC/RITE)

These hearing aids are small and feather-light and most popular for those wanting a cosmetic solution. Designed as an open fit hearing aid, an extremely thin tube with a speaker at the end is placed into the ear canal. RIC hearing aids house an ergonomic design that disappear behind your ear, making you forget that you are wearing them as you don’t experience that ‘plugged up’ feeling. Sound can continue to flow to the ear canal naturally resulting in an astonishing improvement to your hearing, especially in background noise.
BEHIND-THE-EAR (BTE)

This traditional style of hearing aid is powerful and is worn behind the ear. These are usually prescribed for severe-profound hearing loss due to the level of power they provide. They are not as bulky and obtrusive as they once were, although they are visible, they are particularly beneficial for those needing a lot more volume and clarity.

With technology advancing, most hearing aids at Ealing Hearing Centre offer rechargeable and Bluetooth options. We will guide you in finding the correct features tailored to your needs.