Best Custom ITE Hearing Aids 2023 | Top Rated In-The-Ear

Video transcript

Video transcript

Wow, 2023 is definitely a year for custom in the ear hearing aids. Hi guys. Cliff Olson, Doctor of Audiology and founder of Applied Hearing Solutions in Phoenix, Arizona, and in this video I'm giving you my top picks for the four best custom in-the ear hearing aids in 2023, coming up.

Alright. It is that time of year again where I'm gonna take a look at the best custom in the ear hearing aids currently available on the market and tell you which ones I think are the best of the best. While receiver in canal hearing aids tend to advance quicker than custom hearing aids, eventually this technology trickles down to the custom in the ear styles of devices to give you all the same great features and performance. But before I share my top four picks for the best custom in the ear hearing aids, if you could do me a huge favor and click the like button, it really helps up my channel and lets me know that you want me to make more videos just like this one. And while you're at it, if you have not yet hit that subscribe button with notification bell, go ahead and do that as well, because that ensures that you never miss one of my newly released videos and I release multiple new videos every single week.

That being said, I really appreciate it and let's go ahead and get into the disclaimers for this video. Disclaimer number one, it does not matter how awesome any one of these hearing aids are if you have not had it fit and programmed by a hearing care professional who follows best practices. Now, if you do not know what best practices are, I highly recommend you check up my video that I'll link in the description, and if you want an easy way to find a hearing care professional in your area who follows best practices, then make sure you go to my website HearingUp.com and find a HearingUp network member near you so you can experience the difference that exceptional hearing care makes. Disclaimer number two, I do not rank order these hearing aids because what might be best for somebody else might not necessarily be best for you.

It really depends on what your specific wants and needs are. Disclaimer number three, this video is dedicated to the best custom in the ear hearing aid. So if you're looking for my best receiver in canal hearing aid video, my best over-the-counter hearing aid video, or any of my other best of videos, you need to make sure you go check them out on my channel separately. Disclaimer number four, I never give you any pricing information in any of my prescription hearing aid videos because how much you pay is heavily dependent on where you live, what tech level you purchase, the services you receive along with your hearing aids, the quality of those services, and a variety of other factors. Pricing can literally vary by thousands of dollars, so any price that I would give you in this video would be basically pointless. Disclaimer number five, just like all of the other review videos on my channel, this video is not sponsored.

It is just a short list of what I believe to be the best custom in the ear hearing aids in 2023. Additionally, every single one of the hearing aids that I'm going to be talking about in this video does have a full dedicated review video on my channel, so if any one of them peaks your interest, make sure that you go to my channel and check them out as well. All right. With that out of the way, let's go ahead and jump into what I believe to be the best custom in the ear hearing aids in 2023. Starting with the Phonak Virto Paradise. The Virto Paradise custom hearing aids from Phonak were highly anticipated due to their Bluetooth connectivity capabilities. While these are definitely not the only hearing aids capable of streaming from a smartphone or a tablet into both of your hearing aids, they are the only hearing aids that can pair with up to eight different Bluetooth devices and have two active connections at the exact same time.

This way, you can seamlessly switch between two different Bluetooth devices, so if you're watching a movie on your tablet and you get a phone call in, you can immediately answer that phone call and start talking. Then when you're done on the phone call, you can hang up and immediately start streaming from your tablet again. You do not have to constantly go into your Bluetooth section and toggle off and on Bluetooth. They are compatible with both Apple devices and Android devices, and you can be completely hands free as well when you're on a phone call. When a phone call comes in, you can answer by clicking the button. You can even reject that phone call and hang up on that phone call when you're done talking. While the Phonak Virto Paradise custom hearing aids are technically in a full shell, half shell, and invisible in the canal style,

if you want this wireless connectivity, you're gonna have to go with a half shell or larger. Aside from the exciting aspect of Bluetooth connectivity, these are fantastic hearing aids as well. With Phonak's acoustically optimized vents, Phonak can take your ear canal size and shape, as well as your hearing loss configuration to make the exact right vent size for you. That can improve the ability to program these hearing aids as well as reduce occlusion effect and reduce feedback. Much like the Phonak Audeo Paradise receiver in canal hearing aids, you still get AutoSense OS 4.0 with these custom devices. This operating system allows your Phonak Virto custom hearing aids to automatically adjust to different environments that you enter into that have been customized by your hearing care professional. This includes in the car, in a restaurant, in your living room, or even listening to music. While the MyPhonak smartphone app is terrific at allowing you to adjust your own program settings, the vast majority of hearing aid users using the Virto Paradise devices have their hearing aids automatically adjust for them so they don't have to worry about it.

As long as your hearing care professional optimizes the program settings inside of AutoSense OS 4.0, you should be able to go into virtually any environment and have AutoSense automatically adjust for you within seconds. The Phonak Virto Paradise custom hearing aids are only available in a non-rechargeable form factor using a size 312 disposable battery, so if you want to have a rechargeable custom in the ear hearing aid, you might have to go at the second hearing aid on this list known as the Customs by ReSound. ReSound's new custom hearing aids mirror the performance capabilities of the ReSound One receiver in canal hearing aids, and they come with a lithium ion rechargeable battery. Not only are we starting to see more and more receiver in canal hearing aids hit the market that use rechargeable technology, but we are now starting to see a lot more custom hearing aids hit the market that are using these lithium ion batteries as well.

The Customs by ReSound hearing aids are capable of giving you all day battery life with only a three hour charge. Not only are these rechargeable hearing aids custom made, but the inserts inside of the charger case are also custom made to maintain reliable charging, easy removal from the case, and quick insertion into your ears. One of the biggest highlights outside of rechargeability and the outstanding hearing performance is the way that these hearing aids look. You can definitely tell that the design of these devices was inspired by ReSound's sister company, Jabra. If you wanna use a hearing aid, but you don't want anyone to know that you're using a hearing aid, these hearing aids can look a lot like a Bluetooth earbud, especially if you go with the anthracite color. However, if you want these custom hearing aids to blend in more, you can always go with the more traditional hearing aid flesh tone colors, and don't worry, you do not have to give up Bluetooth connectivity in order to have a cool looking hearing aid.

These are Bluetooth compatible with both Apple devices and Android devices like the rest of the devices that I'm going to be talking about in this video. These particular hearing aids can only be actively connected to one other Bluetooth device at any given time, but you still have the ability to do two-way audio as long as you have a compatible Apple device. The ReSound Smart 3D app is one of the best hearing aid apps on the market due to its stability and features, and it is also available to use on the Apple Watch as well for easy volume, program, and accessory adjustments. Another cool thing about the Customs by ReSound hearing aids is that not only do they accept physical silicone impressions from your hearing care professionals, but they and the remaining brands that I will be talking about in this video also accept digital 3D ear scan impressions from your hearing care professional, which is my preferred way to take an ear impression here in 2023.

While you can get the Customs by ReSound hearing aids in a completely in canal style, if you want to have rechargeability and wireless connectivity, you're gonna have to go up to at least the in the canal style or larger. Of course, it's hard to go wrong with any one of these custom hearing aids by ReSound. The third custom hearing aid on this year's list is the Starkey Evolv AI. Starkey is well known for the quality of their custom products. They are also one of the few manufacturers that release an entire new product line of custom, RIC, and BTE hearing aids at the same time, and this was no different with their new Evolv AI line. In fact, back in 2020, Starkey was the first hearing aid manufacturer to release a custom in the ear hearing aid that was rechargeable with their Livio Edge AI. However, since that time, Starkey has been consistently improving the technology inside of their custom devices. In addition to terrific hearing aid performance, Starkey hearing aids are also really well known for all of the things that they do outside of just treating hearing loss when paired with their Starkey Thrive app.

These hearing aids also act as helpable devices by tracking your activity and engagement levels and giving you a wellness score. Since there is a high correlation between hearing loss levels of physical activity and levels of social engagement, Starkey gives you a way to track this data. This is also a reason why the Starkey Evolv AI custom hearing aids are a terrific option for individuals who might be older and need the assistance of a caregiver to track their usage, and this is before you consider the fall detection feature inside of the Starkey Thrive app as well. Thanks to the motion sensors inside of these hearing aids, they can be set up to notify someone if the hearing aids detect that the user has fallen, so help can be sent if necessary. The half shell and full shell versions of the rechargeable Starkey Evolv AI custom hearing aids come with wireless compatibility with both Apple devices and Android devices, but if you wanna do the two-way audio, again, you're gonna have to have a compatible Apple device just like you need with the fourth and final hearing aid on this list of best custom in the ear hearing aids of 2023, the Oticon Own.

The Oticon Own is the custom in the ear version of the extremely popular Oticon More receiver in canal hearing aid, other than the wireless compatibility with both Apple devices and Android devices, with two-way audio using a compatible Apple device. These hearing aids are very well known for having a deep neural network for sound processing. Traditionally, hearing aid processing is performed by algorithms developed by a hearing aid engineers. However, the Oticon Own uses this deep neural network to perform deep learning, so it is not limited to the human developed sound processing algorithms. By training the Polaris chip inside of the Oticon Own hearing aid with over 12 million sound samples, this hearing aid is able to better determine which characteristics of sound make speech, speech, and which characteristics of sound make noise, noise, ultimately helping you hear the things you want to hear and not the things that you don't.

However, Oticon still uses the same philosophy of leaving your listening landscape open and prioritizing speech information no matter which direction it's coming from. This way, you never get the blinder effect like you typically get from other hearing aids that just use massive directionality when you enter noisy situations. While the Oticon Own does not come in a rechargeable version, there are a variety of different disposable battery versions of this hearing aid ranging anywhere from a full shell in the ear all the way down to an invisible in the canal with varying degrees of wireless connectivity. If you do happen to get a version that has the ability to do Bluetooth connectivity, you can use the Oticon ON app with these hearing aids. This app allows you to do a variety of things including changing volume and programs, and you can even use this app on an Apple Watch to adjust these volume and programs as well and even activate your accessories thanks to its features and performance.

The Oticon Own custom in the ear hearing aids definitely deserve a place on this list right next to these other terrific hearing aids that I just mentioned. For the best custom in the ear hearing aids of 2023, we have definitely seen a consistent trend of all of the hearing aid manufacturers releasing terrific custom in the ear hearing aids that have all of the same great features as the receiver in canal hearing aids. In my opinion, some people, maybe even yourself, would actually prefer a custom in the ear hearing aid because it gets the hearing aid off of behind your ear. It is custom fit into your ear canal, so it's extremely comfortable and it can even give you better acoustic performance. Of course, for optimal hearing performance with any hearing aid, you need to make sure that you have real ear measurement performed when you're having your hearing aids, it's programmed for you.

Now, if you do not know what real ear measurement is, I highly recommend that you check out my video that I will link in the description because real ear measurement is the only way to know that your hearing aids have been programmed correctly to your hearing loss prescription. That being said, 2022 was a big year for the release of some new custom in the ear hearing aid technology, so if you're going to be considering custom hearing aids here in the future, 2023 is definitely the year to do it. That's it for this video. If you have any questions, leave them in the comment section below. If you like the video, please share, and if you wanna see other videos just like this one, go ahead and hit that subscribe button. Also, feel free to check up my website HearingUp.com.

Related videos

Related articles

Dr. Cliff's Review of Phonak Sphere Infinio
Dr. Cliff's Review of Phonak Sphere Infinio

These new hearing aids from Phonak represent a significant leap forward in hearing aid technology, setting a new benchmark for the industry.

Read More
Dr. Cliff's Best Bluetooth Hearing Aids of 2024
Dr. Cliff's Best Bluetooth Hearing Aids of 2024

Discover Dr. Cliff Olson's top picks for the best Bluetooth hearing aids of 2024, featuring groundbreaking features and unbiased reviews to help you find the perfect fit

Read More
ReSound Nexia Hearing Aid: Dr. Cliff’s Review
ReSound Nexia Hearing Aid: Dr. Cliff’s Review

Dr. Cliff dives deep into the new ReSound Nexia hearing aid, highlighting its impressive features such as compact size, diverse receiver options, advanced Bluetooth compa

Read More
Real Ear Measurement: The Complete Guide
Real Ear Measurement: The Complete Guide

In our practice as audiologists, we emphasize the critical importance of precise hearing assessments and the use of real ear measurements (REM) to ensure optimal hearing.

Read More
Dr. Cliff's Best Receiver-in-Canal Hearing Aids of 2024
Dr. Cliff's Best Receiver-in-Canal Hearing Aids of 2024

Dr. Cliff Olson discusses the best receiver-in-canal (RIC) hearing aids of 2024, featuring his top five pics.

Read More
Hearing Aids May Slow Cognitive Decline in High-Risk Individuals
Hearing Aids May Slow Cognitive Decline in High-Risk Individuals

Recent research has discovered that hearing loss treatment could in fact slow down the cognitive decline.

Read More