There are 2 styles of hearing aids:
Behind-the-Ear (BTE) or
In-the-Ear (ITE).
Behind-the-Ear (BTE) Hearing Aids
The behind-the-ear style is recommended for babies and children because they fit a wider range of hearing losses than in-the-ear hearing aids.
- Batteries for behind-the-ear hearing aids are larger and last longer than in-the-ear hearing aids.
- Safety is another reason to choose behind-the-ear style. The BTE hearing aid has a soft plastic earmold that fits inside the ear canal. In-the-ear hearing aid cases are made from hard plastic. If an in-the-ear hearing aid is damaged during play, the hard plastic may hurt a child's ear canal.
- BTE hearing aids connect with and work easily with
FM systems to help children with hearing loss hear their teachers in the classroom better.
- With a larger hearing aid case there is more room for special features that can be used as the child ages (i.e. telecoil and Bluetooth compatibility).
- BTE hearing aids come in more color options than ITE hearing aids.
In-the-Ear (ITE) Hearing Aids
In-the-ear (ITE) hearing aids come in many sizes but are not appropriate for children younger than 14 years of age.
- Children's ears grow rapidly during the early childhood years. With a behind-the-ear hearing aid, the only part that needs replacing as a child grows is the earmold. An in-the-ear hearing aid would require re-casing of the hearing aid each time they outgrow their current hearing aid. Recasing requires a hearing aid to be sent in to the manufacturer, leaving the child without the hearing aid.
- Due to the hard plastic material, safety is a concern, as mentioned above.
- In-the-ear hearing aids are not as easily compatible with the FM systems often used in classrooms. It often requires a component that must be worn around the child's neck.
- The smaller ITE hearing aids are often not large enough for special features that can be used as the child ages (i.e. telecoil and Bluetooth compatibility).
