Open Fit
Open ear HA, or so-called OPEN FIT instruments, are the newest, have only come into use in the last 10-12 years, but have already gained a great deal of user response. OPEN FIT HA are, by their very nature, small behind the ear devices with a very thin, barely noticeable sound tube and a special tip instead of the traditional earpiece. The OPEN FIT nozzle is made with many holes.
This means that the ear canal is not completely filled with an individual insert or ITE device, the ear breathes, does not sweat, does not produce the so-called "occlusion effect", (that is, when we close the ear, for example, with the hand or hearing aid and talk- your voice sounds strange, with an echo as if in your head) and the sounds that a person hears naturally flow freely through the nozzle holes into the ear canal and do not require unnecessary amplification.
Such Open Ear, or OPEN FIT, devices are suitable for people who hear low tones normal or close to normal, but hearing loss begins at medium tones and intensifies at high tones.
With Open Ear, or OPEN FIT, the sound is relatively natural, the hearing aid and the slim tube are almost imperceptible and comfortable and easy to use.
Unfortunately, OPEN FITs are not suitable for people with severe and profound hearing loss.
Fortunately, technology in all areas of electronics is advancing rapidly, including in the hearing aid industry.
For greater amplification, cleaner sound, smaller hearing aid dimensions, keeping the open ear principle, a new type of hearing device has been created with a sound processor behind the ear and a receiver (loudspeaker) with a OPEN tip directly in the ear canal. These HA are called Receiver In Chanal (RIC) devices.
RIC-type hearing aids, by their very nature, combine all the best features of the BTE, ITE and OPEN FIT instruments and are currently considered the most advanced solution.