The Best Advice You Could Ever Get About CIC Hearing Aids

Introduction of CIC hearing AIDS

One of your primary concerns when you find yourself in need of hearing aids may be visibility to others; one study found that making hearing aids virtually invisible increased the likelihood of people purchasing them by 30-40%. If a less conspicuous option is what you find yourself gravitating toward, completely in the ear canal (CIC) hearing aids are the prudent and ideal choice.

Just as the name implies, CIC hearing aids are located completely inside your ear canal, which makes them very small and discreet. They are invisible to passersby except when someone is looking directly into your ear.

The CICs are custom made as they are made from a mold taken from your ear canal. That means you’ll feel comfy with them, and they won’t move around inside your ear.

Here’s how they work Sound flows into your ear canal, where CIC hearing aids process and amplify it, then send it into your ear canal to your eardrum.

They are slightly different from invisible-in-the-canal (IIC) hearing aids, which are located in the second curve of the ear canal and are barely visible even when you look directly into your ear.

Reasons for the popularity of CIC hearing aids

Anthropological reports on CICs suggest that they are often popular with users for a variety of reasons.

For one thing, they are virtually invisible (which many people often consider to be their main benefit). This may be especially important to you if you are young or if you are somewhat embarrassed by the sight of wearing a hearing aid.

Secondly, CICs offer an excellent level of comfort. Because CIC hearing aids are small and custom-made, they should sit naturally in your ear without feeling too tired.

CICs are also recognized as effective hearing aids that provide you with a fairly natural sound experience. This is because there is nothing in the way of your outer ear, so you can still collect sound here and have some natural interaction with your eardrum before moving to the receiver.

For the same reason, you can also hear the source of the sound – the hearing aid sits below the ear canal, leaving the vital function of the outer ear unobstructed. CIC users often have no problem detecting sound directionality.

Because the CIC is small and there is no bulky device to get in the way of your phone, you can talk naturally without having to move around your device. This also means you can wear headphones, such as over-the-ear headphones and helmets, as you normally would. This allows you to still easily engage in all your favorite hobbies.

Finally, the positioning of the CIC also means that you’ll experience less wind noise interference than with other hearing aid types

Disadvantages of CIC hearing aids

The small size of the CIC limits its features and functionality. This means that if you have severe or very severe hearing loss, CICs cannot fit the number of processors and the size of amplifiers needed to provide you with a high-powered hearing aid.

Also due to their size, you will find that CICs use very small batteries, and you will need to replace these batteries frequently. It is critical that this also means that they are only powerful enough to contain basic technical features, reducing the number of useful features that can be included in the device.

Because the CIC is located in your ear canal, the manufacturer has no control over the hearing aid itself. This means that you need to make adjustments via an external controller, such as a remote control on your smartphone or a dedicated app. While some people prefer to adjust their hearing aids via a remote control or smartphone, others prefer to control the housing itself.
It should be acknowledged that having the CIC located in the ear canal means that the natural moisture and potential buildup of earwax in the ear can damage the hearing aid. This increased vulnerability means that CICs require more care than larger out-of-the-ear models.

CIC hearing aids that fill the ear canal (and are too small to contain ventilation holes) can cause the ear to become occluded. This is characterized by feeling like your voice seems loud or your ears are blocked.

If you were born with an abnormal ear or an ear canal that is abnormally shaped, a CIC may not be right for you. If this is the case, you will need to choose another option.

Since custom designs and miniature components are key to CICs, you may find them to be a more expensive option.