Hearing Aid Brands

The most obvious reasons for people suffering from hearing problems are blockage of the ear canal, exposure of the ear to ototoxic drugs, ear infections, etc. Such people, who are hard of hearing, wear a hearing aid for proper perception of sounds. The device is attached from behind the ear and it extends slightly inside the ear canal to ensure adequate grip and hearing. The speakers are placed inside the ear canal. Scientifically, it is described as an electroacoustic body consisting of different components of circuits for amplification of sound. There are different types of hearing aids brands available, and it should be noted that the brand also plays a major part in how effective they can be.

Users normally suffer from an annoying problem known as occlusion effect. Regular hearing aids brands give a sensation to ear of being plugged and the voice resounds, as if the person is talking inside a barrel. Hearing aids brands of inferior quality produce this effect and the ear canals get frequent blockage due to occlusion effect. The other problem of conventional hearing aids is their big size. But today, different types of hearing aids are designed with latest computer microchips and digital circuitry.

Different Brands of Hearing Aids

From the core shapes of 'ear trumpet', sophisticated designs of hearing aids have evolved. Before purchasing a hearing aid, you should do a hearing aid comparison, in order to know the types and quality of the brands. For your knowledge I shall first tell you the classification based on technology. They are analog hearing aids, digital hearing aids and programmable hearing aids. The most advanced form are the programmable hearing aids as they can be re-programmed by an audiologist in case there is any change in your level of hearing capacity or hearing loss.

According to styles, hearing aids are of four types. They are:

1. Completely In The Canal (CIC)
2. In The Canal (ITC)
3. In The Ear (ITE)
4. Behind The Ear (BTE)

CIC is the smallest type of hearing aid that is almost invisible. As compared to CIC, the battery size of ITC is a bit bigger. ITE is normally preferred by old people as they are comparatively larger in size with bigger sound amplifiers. BTE is the best hearing aid for children as it has a robust design and full bodied casing. Whatever your selection criterion is, you must opt for the best brand of hearing aid to get best results.

From hearing aid reviews, people have ranked some of the brands having all qualities of a good hearing aid. The following hearing aids brands hold the best position in the market as of today:

• GN Resound Air Plus
• Oticon Dual Connect V
• Phonak Exelia Art
• Rexton Calibra 1 PRO

A few other good brands are Starkey S 11 BTE-ITC, Sonic I Touch 12, Unitron Element 16 and Widex Aikia. The list below shall give you the comprehensive details of the brand names.

• MicroTech Axio
• Oticon Agil Pro
• MicroTech Hear Lens
• Phonak Exelia Art
• Phonak Naida IX
• Phonak Audeo IX
• ReSound Live 9
• ReSound Dot 30 Squared
• ReSound Dot 30
• Resound Azure
• ReSound Dot 30
• Siemens Motion 500 / 501
• Siemens Motion 500 / 501
• Sonic Innovations Velocity 12
• Siemens Pure 500 / 501
• Starkey Zon .7
• Starkey Destiny 1600
• Unitron Next 16
• Widex Mind 330
• Widex Inteo
• Unitron Passport
• Widex Passion 115
• Unitron Latitude 16
• MicroTech Axio 16 ST
• MicroTech Vector 16
• MicroTech Curve m5
• Microtech Radius 1200
• Oticon Dual W
• Oticon Epoq W
• Phonak Certena
• Rexton Bridge 12
• Rexton Gem 12
• Oticon Dual m7
• Microtech Radius 800
• MicroTech Vector iM12
• Phonak Naida III
• Siemens Nitro
• Sonic Innovations Velocity 6
• Unitron Latitude 4
• Rexton Gem 12

The starting price of a good quality hearing aid is about US $1600. Depending upon the brand name and quality, the cost can soar up to US $3500. I would suggest you to take necessary advice from a reputed audiologist before making a choice between the premium quality of hearing aids brands.