Types of Hearing Aid

BTE - The hearing aid sits behind your ear and there is a mould in your ear. 
ITE - The hearing aid sits completely in the ear. 
RIC - The hearing aid sits behind your ear and the receiver is in your ear. 

Signs of Hearing Loss 

✔  Turning the TV and radio up
✔  Unable to understand speech in background noise
✔  Asking people to repeat themselves. 
✔  Misunderstanding people
✔  Avoiding difficult situations where you struggle to hear
✔  Difficulty on the telephone
✔  Other people notice you are not hearing well

Communication tips if you have hearing loss

✔  Look at the person you are listening to. This will help with lip reading, facial expressions and gestures
✔  Move closer to the person you are listening to
✔  Make sure your environment is quiet and lighting is good
✔  Ask the person to slow down and speak more clearly
✔  If you miss what is being said, ask the person to repeat it or say it differently
✔  Nobody hears every word. Try to stay calm, if you become anxious, you may miss more and find it harder to follow the conversation

Communication tips if you are speaking to someone with hearing loss

✔  Make sure you have their attention
✔  Speak slowly and clearly but do not shout
✔  If they don’t understand what you have said try using different words that might be clearer or easier to hear
✔  Choose a quiet place to speak to them with good lighting
✔  Look at the person you are speaking to so that they can lip read

Conductive Hearing Loss

Disruption of the mechanical part of the ear found in the outer and middle ear, which can be caused by:

• Wax
• Perforation
• Otosclerosis
• Infection

Sensorineural Hearing Loss

Damage to the inner ear, which can be caused by:

• Natural ageing process
• Noise exposure
• Head trauma
• Hereditary factors

Mixed Loss

Combination of conductive hearing loss and sensorineural hearing loss.