a hearing aid instrument of the in - the - ear type provides a plate member with electronic hearing aid components mounted thereto . the plate member is preferably of a harder material such as hard plastic . a soft polymeric body is bonded to the plate member and encapsulates preferably a plurality of the electronic hearing aid components . the body is soft and is shaped to conform to the ear canal of the user . the soft polymeric body and encapsulated electronic hearing aid components define a soft structure compliant to the ear canal during use and that is substantially solid and free of void spaces between at least some of the components and the ear canal . this combination of soft compliant structure and encapsulated electronic hearing aid components addresses problems of peripheral leakage , poor fit , pivotal displacement that occurs with jaw motion and internal cross talk of components housed in prior art hollow type hearing aids .