Are the new miniature open-fit hearing instruments for you? Over the past several months, many of our patients have asked if they would be able to benefit from these new "mini," behind-the-ear (BTE), devices. So, who will benefit most from this advanced, miniaturized, technology?

As many of you may know, traditional BTE style hearing aids have a larger receiver that sits behind the ear coupled with a thin tube and earmold which directs sound into the ear canal. Often this type of aid will cause one to feel plugged up (occluded) or one's voice to sound hollow. The open-fit BTE instrument, by contrast, features advanced processing technology in a miniature aid, also connected by a thin tube to an earmold that rests comfortably in the ear canal. This design causes little to no occlusion or hollow sound sensations. Our patients report experiencing a very natural sound quality of their own voice as well as other's voices sounding much clearer. Any interfering background noise often amplified by traditional hearing aids is far less noticeable with the open-fit aids.

So who can wear this exciting new technology? If your hearing loss is severe the open fit aids may not provide enough benefit (amplification) for adequate audibility of voices, or enough gain or amplification of low-pitched sounds. For those with mild to moderate losses but good low-pitch hearing, the open-fit instrument may be the best option for both the hearing loss and for cosmetic appeal. The miniaturized size of the open-fit aid is cosmetically appealing because of the array of colors or its virtually invisible position on the ear. With the very sophisticated signal processing of these instruments such as the Widex "Passion" open-fit instrument with its patented integrated signal processing (ISP) system, unwanted sound also is reduced to enhance speech clarity in background noise. For any of our patients who think they are a candidate and would like to try the "mini" open-fit instruments, we can provide, at no charge, listening demonstrations in our office. Please call the office location nearest you for an appointment. Widex Passion is available with RC3-1 remote control.