This past week I had a chance to help a few patients decide whether to consider easy-click rechargeable CIC hearing aids, such as Signia Silk IX and Rexton Reach inoX, or choose custom-made IIC and CIC hearing aids. Both products are very popular among several groups of patients including those who look for vanity, active users (due to better retention versus RIC/BTE), pilots, military and construction staff and other professionals who need to use special headsets, and medical teams (problems with glasses and face masks). This article is my reflection on comparing invisible custom-made IIC and CIC hearing aids to easy-click rechargeable CIC hearing aids.
I'll start with a simple list of the pros and cons of each approach. In the following, I have addressed some of the usual questions and answers (Q/A) on the topic.
What are the Pros and Cons of easy-click rechargeable CIC hearing aids?
Pros
Rechargeable - A big group of patients prefer rechargeable hearing aids which includes, the younger generation as well as patients with arthritis or lack of motor skills. The good news is that the battery charge of rechargeable CIC hearing aids such as Signia Silk and Rexton Reach inoX offer a generous 28 hours of run time. Please note that easy-click CIC also comes in a battery-powered version as well.
Quick fit - The rechargeable easy-click CIC aids do not need impression taking from your ear canal. They are fitted with special sleeve domes that help keep them in comfortably and for long hours. This means you can stop by for a hearing test in our clinic and get a pair of easy-click CIC fitted in the day.
Better connectivity - At the time of publishing this article the available easy-click CIC hearing aids do connect to their app on your iPhone and Android phones. They are not Bluetooth so you cannot stream music on them but through the app, you can adjust the volume and change the program.
Telecare - Thats a great advantage that your audiologist will be able to tweak the setting of your Signia SILK or Rexton inoC CIC hearing aids remotely. The telecare will not be in real-time but through the mobile app of the hearing aid you will be able to request a tuning from your audiologist and receive an updated setting to your app, accept it and viola, it is done.
CROS and BiCROS - The easy-click rechargeable CIC hearing aids come in binaural as well as CROS and BiCROS configurations which is great news for people with single-sided deafness.
Cons
Irregular ear canal - I have assisted patients with irregular ear canals or very narrow ear canals that the easy-click CIC aids do not fit properly, so as always the shape of your ear canal will be a factor. In such a case custom-made CIC or IIC might be a better option.
Range - The easy-click rechargeable CIC hearing aids best perform over mild to moderate range of hearing loss. Suppose you have moderately severe hearing loss especially touching to the severe range at low to mid frequencies then it is best to use a Power receiver in the fitting that can only be placed in a custom-made CIC or IIC (depending on the size of your ear canal). With the custom-made approach, the lab technician can use the extension of the ear canal to fit in the device and receiver more efficiently compared to the easy-click CICs.
Which one is smaller, the CIC or the IIC hearing aid?
I admit that the abbreviation is a bit confusing. The IIC is the smallest type of hearing aid and it stands for Invisible In Canada (IIC). The next size up is CIC which stands for Completely in Canal (versus ITE and ITC models).
What are the Pros and Cons of custom-made IIC/CIC hearing aids?
Pros
Excellent fit and retention - Of course, the shape of the shell of a custom-made hearing aid is exactly the shape of your ear canal hence it stays put and feels comfortable compared to other options.
Bluetooth - At the time of publishing this article all IIC and CIC hearing aids use battery size 10 except Starkey Edge CIC 312 which is the only CIC hearing aid in the market that takes 312 batteries and is Bluetooth enabled. If you guessed that the Starkey Edge CIC Wireless must be a tad bigger than other CICs, you are right. So if you expect to have an invisible to near-invisible CIC and wish to consider Starkey Edge CIC because you love to stream through (which is fun!), please be aware that your ear canal must be large enough to make it fairly invisible.
Vanity - The IIC hearing aids could be fitted to be invisible, something that depends on the size of the ear canal may not be possible with CIC easy-fit hearing aids.
Mild to severe - The custom-made hearing aids could cover a wider range of hearing loss from mild to severe while the easy-click rechargeable CIC aids best perform over mild to moderate hearing loss. One good advantage of the custom-made CIC is that the lab technician can place a P (for Power) receiver that may be needed if the patient has moderate or moderate to severe hearing loss.
Cons
Only battery-powered - At the time of publishing this article all IIC and CIC hearing aids use battery size 10 which is not an ideal option for patients with eyesight problems or dexterity issues.
except Starkey Edge CIC 312 which is the only CIC hearing aid in the market that takes 312 batteries and is Bluetooth enabled.
No CROS or BiCROS - Most hearing aid manufacturers do not provide the option of CROS or BiCROS on custom-made hearing aids.
Price - The custom-made invisible IIC and CIC hearing aids are more expensive than easy-click rechargeable hearing aids.
What are the differences between Signia Silk and Rexton Reach inoX rechargeable CIC hearing aids?
Absolutely nothing, only the charger unit of Signia Silk is white and the one of Rexton Reach inoX is black. Please more about rechargeable invisible CIC hearing aids here.
Are IIC or CIC hearing aids better in noise cancellation than RIC behind-the-ear hearing aids?
Receiver in the canal hearing aids feature multiple microphones hence providing a better job in noise reduction, signal-to-noise improvement and directional beaming than any IIC or CIC hearing aid.
Which one gives me a better for overhead headphones, invisible IIC/CIC hearing aids or behind-the-ear RIC hearing aids?
Most of the RIC hearing aids do connect to Bluetooth devices for music streaming, but if you professionally or as a hobby need to use overhead headphones then best to use invisible IIC and CIC hearing aids. Using headphones over RIC and behind-the-ear (BTE) hearing aids might cause feedback and technically the RIC and BTE are not designed to be used with overhead headphones.
Which one gives me a better sound quality, invisible IIC/CIC hearing aids or behind-the-ear RIC hearing aids?
The receiver-in-canal (RIC) hearing aids hold more electronics and sound shaping and hence can provide a wider range of sound processing compared to invisible CIC hearing aids. However, the sound of CIC and IIC hearing aids if programmed nicely may feel more natural for the same reason (i.e. less processed). That makes IIC/CIC hearing aids such as Widex Moment CIC Micro a good choice for musicians and music lovers.
Which one gives me a better noise reduction, invisible IIC/CIC hearing aids or behind-the-ear RIC hearing aids?
The invisible IIC and CIC hearing aids rely on your pinna (the outer part of the ear) to guide the sound in the ear canal and directionally receive and amplify the sound in front of you. Their ability in directional beaming and processing sound and noise is limited simply because, unlike the RIC hearing aids which have a series of microphones and hold a bigger processing unit under their shell, they are smaller and have only one microphone. While most of the IIC and CIC hearing aids struggle to compete with RIC hearing aids in noise management, they can sound different due to different technology and sound processing which each hearing aid manufacturer has. Please book a free telecare consultation to discuss this topic in more depth.
Can easy-click CIC or custom-made IIC/CIC do streaming through Bluetooth?
The only Bluetooth CIC in the market that can do streaming is Starkey Edge CIC 312 WL. The rest of the CIC hearing aids are not Bluetooth-enabled.
Can easy-click CIC or custom-made IIC/CIC be programmed remotely?
Yes, both Signia Silk and Rexton inoX rechargeable CIC hearing aids can receive new settings and adjustments remotely. It will not be a one-to-one communication in real-time (such as the ones patients can experience with RIC hearing aids, but it does the job of updating the setting remotely. Our recommendation is always to consider a visit to one of our clinics if possible.
Do IIC hearing aids come in rechargeable models?
No, there was no rechargeable IIC hearing aid in the market at the time this article was published.
Do CIC hearing aids come in rechargeable models?
Yes, there is no rechargeable IIC in the market but you have two options for rechargeable CIC hearing aids which are fairly invisible in the ear for patients with medium to large size ear canals.
Does National Health Services in the UK provide IIC or CIC hearing aids?
No, the provision of free hearing aids provided by NHS only covers behind-the-ear BTE hearing aids. In very exceptional cases where the patient's pinna is deformed, or damaged (e.g. due to an accident) the NHS may provide in-the-ear hearing aids.
Questions about a specific model or brand of hearing aids?
Book a free telecare consultation through the following link.
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