Common Styles of Hearing Aids and Terminology:

Full Shell Style - Takes up most of the ear and is more powerful for more severe hearing loss.

Half Shell Style - Is about half the size of a full shell instrument and takes up about half of the ear. Moderate power range and still has room for directional microphone technology for background noise management.

Canal Style - Fits into the ear canal and only the face can be seen in the ear. Less power than a half shell makes this an excellent choice for a mild to moderate hearing loss.

Completely-In-Canal (CIC) Style - Small and discreet hearing technology. Usually has less power for mild hearing loss, but several companies offer a power CIC, depending on ear canal size.

Invisible Style - Less powerful, than larger models, but good for mild to moderate hearing loss. Sits deeply into the ear canal.

Over-The-Ear (OTE) - Smaller and less conspicuous than larger hearing aids, these small instruments sit at the top of the ear. Originally designed to meet the needs of those suffering from high frequency hearing loss. A small tube comes down to the ear canal with a universal tip at the end. This style leaves the ear canal more open and is often said to be more comfortable and more natural sounding because you continue to hear the sounds you normally would without a hearing aid and amplification is mixed into the areas where you need it.

Receiver-In-Canal (RIC) - The speaker of the hearing aid sits in the ear canal which allows this style to be extra small in size. Instead of a tube coming down to the ear, it is a small wire that connects to the speaker sitting in your ear canal. The power of this instrument is in the speaker in the ear and they are interchangeable, so changes in hearing loss can be accommodated with the same hearing aid, just by changing the speaker.

Behind-The-Ear (BTE) - Usually the most powerful of hearing aids and therefore, mostly, reserved for those with severe to profound hearing loss. These instruments use a traditional tube and earmold to couple sounds with the ear.