Open Fit - Custom CIC as a valid alternative to a microStyle BTE

The increase in popularity of “mini” and “micro” behind-the-ear (BTE) devices has been due, in part, to the effective combination of style and substance that appeals to a new generation of hearing aid users. A recent survey by Kochkin (2006) for the Better Hearing Institute indicates that slim tube, “open” fit devices have increased the number of first-time hearing aid users by 29%, lowering the average age of new users by nearly a decade in the process. In the US market in particular, which for several decades has been dominated by custom instruments, these devices have fueled large gains in BTE sales overall, which now comprise roughly one-half of the total number of instruments dispensed in the US. Of this amount, about 20% are “mini” or “micro” BTE devices.