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Crystal Ear

Indications
1. Crystal Ear not recommended by Medical Letter
2. Consult Audiology before any Hearing Aid purchase
Background
1. Mail order product from TechnoBrands (Comtrad)
2. Linear conventional analog Hearing Aid
  1. Most simple Hearing Aid type
3. Weak amplification in speech range (200-6000 Hz)
4. One-size-fits-all device
  1. Comes with 2 sleeves to help fit to ear canal
Advantages
1. Inexpensive ($300 contrasted with $900)
Disadvantages
1. May be difficult to handle and place in ear canal
2. May not prevent acoustic feedback
  1. Occurs when air escapes ear canal
3. Inadequate in noisy environments
4. Helps only a minority of persons with Hearing Loss
  1. Those with mild, flat Hearing Loss
5. Recent court settlement regarding false advertising
Reference
1. (1998) Med Lett Drugs Ther 40(1028):62

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This page was written by Scott Moses, MD. This page was last revised before 5/10/08, prior to consistent tracking of revision date. This page was last published on 5/16/2008. Please send comments and questions to the editor. Contact information may be found on the page About the Family Practice Notebook. These pages are best viewed with Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0.