ok this q is kind of random, but i appreciate ur comics analyses so if this q interests you: do you know what is the most common type of hearing aid clint uses in the comics? I'm curious bc show!clint has the tan in-ear one, but the funko pop of him for the show looks to be a purple or black behind the ear one, which i think matches the fraction run. tldr i don't think it's renner's own hearing aid they are using, so i began thinking about the design choice and whether it has comics history?
ok so in the 80s, clint used tiny in-the-ear (ITE) ones (even referred to as "miniature") that were completely invisible to us in the ~8 times a hearing aid was mentioned, except for one time (where it was shown outside his mask??) as you can see in the panels here
the hearing aids he gets at the very end of the fraction run is in 2014, as you said, are purple behind-the-ears (BTE), worn on both ears:
now here's where things get tricky: you don't really consistently see a hearing aid from 2014-2018.
his next major appearance chronologically is in hawkeye vs. deadpool (which btw is the only other series that portrayed him using ASL), where he mentions having hearing aids but you don’t see them
then in all-new hawkeye, he mentions his hearing aids are stark tech ones, which are, presumably, in-the-ear aids (ITEs).
in the next issue, he takes them out, revealing them to be purple ITEs, which he also uses as communicators:
in this series, they’re only visible in-ear in a close-up:
recounting his subsequent major series appearances, i can't recall anything consistently visible. not in new avengers, occupy avengers, secret empire, or tales of suspense. the degree of his hearing loss was also portrayed inconsistently tbh. i think some don't realize that the comics haven’t exactly been the pinnacle of representation here, and honestly the show is doing better at this point with regards to consistency in the portrayal of clint’s hearing loss
so, for 2014-2018, the one most commonly used by clint is assumed, by default, to be ITEs because of the visibility of a hearing aid--and probably purple, since that’s the one shown in all-new hawkeye
that is, until hawkeye v5 #15 in 2018, where he gets fed up with the stark tech ITEs and switches back to a purple BTE:
his next major series appearances were in west coast avengers v3, which only remembered to have his hearing aid visible in the latter issues. it also showed him with a purple BTE, on the right side only:
and now, when consistently remembered (yes, often clint’s minor appearances in other series have nothing is visible), it seems the comics have settled on clint wearing a purple BTE on the right ear, but not the left.
here’s some example panels from hawkeye: freefall and black widow v8, which both consistently depict clint with a purple BTE on the right but not left:
additionally, there’s now no indication he has hearing problems on the left ear where he has no BTE--
here’s him using the phone on his left in black widow v8 #1:
and here’s him carrying on a hushed conversation with bucky on his left side in black widow v8 #2:
--so i guess he has unilateral hearing loss? (fyi i’m hearing i just tried to look this up best i could)
in sum: -2014-2018: the most common type are “stark tech” in-the-ear (ITE) hearing aids by default -2018-present: he’s been using a purple behind-the-ear (BTE) hearing aid on only the right side













