Home > Open Ear Technology Traditional custom hearing aids plug or block the ear canal. Because the ear canal is blocked, sound must be processed through the hearing aid in order to be heard. The combination of the hearing aid blocking the ear canal and processing sounds through the hearing aid circuit (even those frequencies or sounds where you have normal hearing) causes many hearing aid users to complain that the hearing aid sounds "like they're in a barrel." Discrete and Virtually Invisible The open ear mini-BTE sits behind your ear, but is small enough that it usually cannot be seen from the front or side, even for people with short hair styles. The minaiture open ear bud sits deep in your ear canal and cannot be seen. The slim tube that connects the open instrument and the ear bud is so small and clear that it is difficult to see. High Frequency Fitting Range Never Before Possible Most people lose hearing in the higher frequencies first. High frequency hearing loss reduces your ability to hear speech in noise and to hear the higher frequency voices of women and children. Traditional hearing technology struggled with high frequency loss and often couldn't achieve a satisfactory outcome due to the feedback. Feedback is the squealing sound produced when the microphones pick up the amplified sound from the hearing aid itself. Amplifying high frequencies is especially prone to creating feedback. In the past, many people with high frequency hearing loss simply were not able to be helped by hearing aids. Today's advanced feedback management software cancels feedback before it occurs, enabling open ear technology to effectively address high frequency hearing loss. How does open ear technology work? The open ear bud (which sits in your ear canal) allows the instrument to amplify sounds in the exact frequencies where you have your hearing loss, while still allowing sounds to pass through the open ear bud naturally. This provides the crisp, clear, antural sound of open ear technology. A common approach to manage feedback is to reduce the amplification in those frequencies that cause feedback. The drawback to this approach is that you need this amplification for ideal performance. Feedback management has traditionally sacrificed performance to reduce feedback. Open fittings' biggest "enemy" is feedback. Because sound can travel freely between the receiver and the microphone with the open ear bud, feedback is no longer a problem. Today's advanced feedback management software cancels or eliminates feedback before it occurs without sacrificing performance. *NOTE: Not all hearing losses are suitable to wear open fit aids. Your provider will be able to determine if this fits your hearing loss and needs.