A new generation of smaller and more discreet hearing aids, including the recent development of open fit hearing aids (also known as open ear hearing aids), is providing hearing assistance to more consumers who need it than ever.
Open fit hearing aids are extremely popular because they are small and nearly invisible to an observer. They work via a clear tube that comes from behind the ear and rests in the ear canal. Unlike with standard hearing aids, there is no earmold to occlude the ear canal when open fit hearing aids are worn – the clear tube is extremely thin and leaves the canal open. Open fit hearing aids are also lightweight – many users find that after a few minutes of wearing them, they cannot feel them at all.
Open fit hearing aids have one major limitation: they are not appropriate for many people with more severe hearing loss and are best used by those with high-frequency hearing loss and normal low-frequency hearing. However, a recent modification to open fit hearing aids, known as speaker-in-the-ear (SIE) hearing aids, can make these discreet hearing aids available to people with more severe hearing loss. A new product from Bristol, Pa.-based
America Hears, the Freedom32 SIE 312, is the first SIE hearing aid to include advanced technology and features previously only found in the most powerful hearing aids.
Like open fit hearing aids, SIE hearing aids – also known as a receiver-in-the-ear hearing aid or RITE – are extremely lightweight and essentially invisible. They consist of a small plastic casing that sits on top of and behind the wearer’s ear and houses all of the electronic components of the hearing aid except for the speaker. A thin clear tube is attached to this case, through which very thin wires are run to attach to the speaker, which is located in the end of the tube. From this sound tube, there is a retention line that rests in the bottom of the bowl of the user’s outer ear to keep the hearing aid securely in place.
The Changing Times
The America Hears Freedom32 SIE 312 is a SIE hearing aid that features sound-processing software utilizing a 32-channel digital signal processor. Equipped with a 312 battery that lasts approximately twice as long as smaller batteries in other hearing aids with the same form factor, Freedom32 SIE integrates dynamic directional microphones that make it easier to hear in noisy environments, such as crowded restaurants, and dynamic feedback cancellation that improves music and other listening experiences.
Like all other America Hears products, the new Freedom32 SIE is available direct from the manufacturer over the Internet, arrives programmed to the customer’s individual hearing profile, and includes the company’s unique Virtual Office software that enables users to make additional adjustments on their personal computers at home. Customers can also download free adjustments over the Internet from their America Hears audiologist after one or more telephone consultations.
SIE hearing aids can be programmed to accommodate two distinct hearing losses: a sloping high-frequency loss and a more severe hearing loss covering a wider range. As with open fit hearing aids, this type of hearing aid does not require an earmold, so it leaves the ear canal unoccluded, providing a more natural sound quality to the user’s own voice. For those who have a high-frequency loss, the unoccluded ear will hear low-frequency sounds naturally, through the ear canal, offering a more natural sound quality than a hearing aid that fills the ear canal.
For individuals who have a wider range of severe hearing loss, meaning there is a loss in the low frequencies as well as the high frequencies, having the receiver placed down in the ear canal will provide more gain and thus fit a greater hearing loss than standard open fit hearing aids. Because the speaker is in the ear canal, the sound does not need to travel down the acoustic tube, which means that these nearly invisible hearing aids are able to provide improved sound quality for those with this type of severe hearing loss.
Another benefit of a SIE hearing aid is that it is much easier to insert into the ear than a custom hearing aid, because the SIE hearing aid is one-third the size of a custom fitting. This means that this hearing aid can now be an option for users with severe hearing loss and limited mobility.
Enhancing the Hearing Aid
The America Hears Freedom 32 SIE 312 digital hearing aid features the technology and capabilities that enable it to deliver advanced performance:
- Open fit speaker-in-the-ear (SIE) design eliminates cosmetic stigma with a small processing unit that sits on the ear connected with a near-invisible wire connected to a speaker that sits deep within the ear canal.
- Industry-leading 32-channel sound processing is powered by the advanced Voyageur2 digital signal processing (DSP) platform from Sound Design Technologies and ADRO sound processing software developed in conjunction with Dynamic Hearing, Ltd.
- Virtual Office PC software and programming kit bundled with the hearing aid enables users to adjust their hearing-aid settings at home and/or download adjustments from America Hears’ audiologists.
- Miniature components enable use of a powerful 312 battery that lasts up to twice as long as smaller batteries used in other open fit hearing aids with the same form factor.
- Dynamic directional microphones adjust to the user’s hearing environment to provide improved rejection of unwanted noise or improved signal-to-noise ration, enabling better speech comprehension in noisy environments.
- Dynamic feedback canceller improves music and other listening experiences.
- Scrolling digital volume provides easy, accurate, instant, touch-sensitive amplification settings.
The fitting range for SIE hearing aids covers a wide range hearing loss, with up to 60 decibels (dB) amplification in the low frequencies and 80dB in the high frequencies. Those with more severe hearing loss and requiring this greater gain can still take advantage of a SIE hearing aid with the addition of a dome tip ear plug, or custom earmold, which other open fit hearing aids may not allow. While other users may not require an earmold with this type of hearing aid, it can help to meet the increased gain requirement of those with severe hearing loss with less risk of feedback.
Transitioning to a Patient-Focused Model
The technology to purchase hearing aids online has revolutionized the digital hearing aid industry. In the past, those who were hard of hearing sought care through a system that was centered on the provider. The patient made an appointment, traveled to the clinician’s office, sat through a battery of hearing tests, spent hours being fitted for an appropriately-sized hearing aid, only to leave empty-handed because the hearing device still needed to be manufactured and shipped. When the hearing aid finally did arrive, if it was not adjusted properly, the patient was back to square one.
Ordering hearing aids online solves all those problems. When your new Freedom32 SIE hearing aid arrives, it is programmed to your personal hearing profile on the audiogram you have faxed to America Hears. It arrives ready to use right out of the box. If it is not properly adjusted, you sit down in the comfort of your own home with the Virtual Office software that comes with your new hearing aid and, with some assistance over the phone and online with one of our America Hears audiologists, you can tweak the hearing aid until it is just right. This process is called patient-focused, in-home hearing aid fitting.
The digital hearing aid industry, like many others, is adapting to the ever-changing and increasingly technology-dependent world in which we live. As technology has simplified business, travel and entertainment, it is also simplifying the previously complicated world of patient healthcare every day. Whether buying a new digital hearing aid or looking for adjustments or accessories, consumers can now get everything they need for their hearing aids online.
For many years, we did not question the need to make several appointments and wait weeks for the medical products that we needed because that was all we knew. Now, because there is technology available that opens up avenues to alternative distribution options, many manufacturers and healthcare suppliers have already changed the way they do business to adapt to it, allowing you to order hearing aids online. Their efforts will not be in vain because, as with cell phones, MP3 players, and hundreds of other electronic products, hearing-aid consumers want it right, and they want it now, especially when it comes to something as important as their health.
After years of conducting business as a manufacturer-focused industry, digital hearing aid distribution is now transitioning to a patient-focused model. Thanks to technology and the innovative pioneers who are utilizing it, this new model is progressively becoming the norm for hearing-aid distribution as more and more consumers are ordering their hearing aids online.
— Henry Smith is the CEO and founder of Bristol, Pa.-based America Hears. Questions and comments can be directed to editorial@therapytimes.com. 
