RIC (Receiver-In-the-Canal) Hearing Aids

The RIC hearing aid moves the receiver (i.e., speaker) from the plastic case down into the sound tip connected with very thin wires wrapped with a thin tube. RIC hearing aids can cover both a sloping high frequency hearing loss as well as a wide range hearing loss. Also, because the sound does not have to travel down a tube acoustically, the quality of the signal is improved.

Traditionally, the receiver (the speaker in a hearing aid) was usually situated inside the hearing aid shell. Due the proximity to the microphone, the microphone in a standard hearing aid system is prone to pick up the amplified sound by the receiver, thus causing feedback, the squealing sound. When the receiver is separated from the instrument shell by electric wires and put into deep in the ear canal, while keeping the microphone(s) on the hearing aid, the system is more stable. This benefits the hearing aid wearer the comfort of wearing the device with much less chance of feedback, and more better sound quality. This category or products is rapidly gaining popularity.