Will the brim of a cowboy style or Tilley style hat channel sound to your BTE hearing aids? Has there been any studies or articles written about this? Is there a “sound funnel” that can be a attached to a hat?
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Personally I find the brim of my Fedora causes me not to hear as well. I only wear it when raining and cold anymore.
@jerry: I can’t comment on the cowboy hat, but I don’t find jungle or Tilley hats affect my hearing unless they are jammed down with the brim resting on the top of the ear.
[My assessment, however, is based on the performance of my old Unitron North Moxi Fit 800s, which were so poorly fitted as to be virtually useless to me.
It’s too early in the season to comment on the performance of my More3s.]
I suppose I should ask what kind of sound environment you’re thinking of … I’m talking about my experience: I wear that kind of headgear outdoors.
When I’m going to the mall, I wear a ball cap.
[Hat/cap fashion in Canada 
can get quite nuanced.]
Yes, they do affect the sound field.
Are they beneficial? Mainly not as their operation in the horizontal plane is usually less than 15/20 degrees. Also their presence increases the reflected feedback soundpath and makes the feedback system work harder/compromise the output.
Reading materiel; look up the Tech bulletins and Reports written about the anthropometrically correct KEMAR model from Knowles Electronics or other resources.
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I have to disagree with most of the responders above. I’ve been wearing a Tilley hat in warm weather for about five or six years now, and I definitely pick up more conversation when I am with a group and have it on. For me, the hat works a bit like the elephant’s big ears!
My observations are mostly from hiking in the woods with my wife or a few other people.
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Good for you, I have had the opposite results with my hats
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