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Open fit hearing aids

Over the past year, audiologist Sue Wittrup has had incredible success with a new concept of hearing aid technology. The concept is called 'open fit', and it is meant for people with mild to moderate high frequency  hearing loss. Often, these people hear well most of the time, but miss the clarity of conversation in meetings, at a distance, or in noisy places such as restaurants. In fact, if they could go around with their hands cupped behind their ears, they would hear perfectly.

Most hearing aid manufacturers now offer a way to funnel the clarity of speech into the ear without blocking the entire the ear canal. The immediate advantage is a more natural sound, without the perception of hearing an echo when the person speaks. Although the actual hearing aid sits discreetly behind the ear, it is only about an inch long.

The aid attaches to an ultra thin transparent sound tube that directs itself into the top of the ear canal. Open fit hearing aids are high end digital instruments, that automatically adjust to the ever changing sound environments over the course of a day. The aids are programmed by a computer, based on the specific requirements of the person's hearing loss.

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