Hearing aids and glasses: how both fit behind the ear

In short

Hearing aid and glasses share the space behind the ear, and that works well when the two match: a slim hearing aid, a thin temple, the right order when putting them on. Anyone wearing in-the-ear devices does not have the problem at all. Bring your glasses to the fitting; we set up the hearing aid with them, not without them.

Where it catches

There is little room behind the auricle. If a wide temple lies there with a hearing aid on top, three typical problems arise: pressure marks after a few hours, a hearing aid that comes off with the glasses, and whistling when the temple shifts the device and the receiver no longer sits tightly in the ear. With a hat, a mask or headphones it gets tighter still.

What helps

The order

Tried and tested: put the glasses on first, then slide the hearing aid behind the ear so it rests on the outside of the temple. Taking them off, the other way round: hearing aid first, then glasses. After a week the hand does it by itself.

The style

A receiver-in-canal device (RIC) is so slim today that it fits beside the temple. The thin wire to the receiver does not get in the way. If you need more amplification and wear a larger BTE device, a retention clip or a device with a curved housing helps. And if you want no compromises behind the ear at all, choose an in-the-ear device: it sits in the ear canal, and the glasses have the ear to themselves. With mild to moderate hearing loss that is often possible.

The temple

Opticians stock temples in different thicknesses. Thin, straight temples in metal or titanium leave the hearing aid the most room. Sports temples that hug the back of the ear are the worst combination. Say when buying glasses that you wear a hearing aid, and take it along to the fitting.

The earpiece

If the device whistles as soon as the glasses are on, the receiver usually does not sit tightly enough. A custom earmould or a different dome type solves that in most cases. That is an adjustment with us, not a new device.

Mask and hat

With masks, straps tied at the back of the head instead of behind the ears help, or a mask holder. With hats and helmets, check whether the device still sits correctly after putting them on; the feedback management of modern devices catches most of it.

Hearing glasses

There are glasses with the hearing aid built into the temple. They solve the space problem but have drawbacks: glasses and hearing aid then belong together, changing the frame becomes elaborate, and the technology lags behind current hearing aids. We rarely recommend them and tell you when they make sense, for example for a bone-conduction fitting.

How we handle it at the fitting

Bring every pair of glasses you wear regularly, sunglasses included. We insert the hearing aid with the glasses on, check the fit with the video otoscope, measure whether it whistles, and try the styles. Then you wear the device for several weeks in everyday life, with glasses, with a hat, in the wind. Whatever presses or whistles then, we readjust.

Book a free consultation in Glückstadt, Horst, Wedel, Barmstedt or Itzehoe. Don't forget the glasses.