OT: Hearing aid question

Stan in Oly, WA · Apr 19, 2017

I wear behind the ear hearing aids. The receiver of the one in my right ear stays in the ear canal with no problem. The receiver of the left one comes out of my ear in ten or fifteen minutes. That's how often I have to reach up and push it back into my ear. Sometimes it comes completely out of my ear without me noticing, so that the hearing aid is just hanging over my ear. Twice recently when this happened, I brushed off the hearing aid with my glasses so that it fell on the floor (or in the driveway). Not good.

I have tried different sized domes, both shorter and longer wire between the unit and the receiver, changed the shape of that wire---pretty much all the standard things that can be done for the problem. I read online about something called tulip domes, but the hearing aid specialist at Costco said that they're not available for Phonak hearing aids. The next step is to have a custom made mold for the receiver to make it fit snugly in the ear canal. This costs $40, so it's not expensive if it works, but more than I want to pay if it doesn't. Does anybody have experience with this solution? Any other suggestions? Thanks.

Stan

JMOR · Apr 19, 2017

(quoted from post at 15:40:18 04/19/17) I wear behind the ear hearing aids. The receiver of the one in my right ear stays in the ear canal with no problem. The receiver of the left one comes out of my ear in ten or fifteen minutes. That's how often I have to reach up and push it back into my ear. Sometimes it comes completely out of my ear without me noticing, so that the hearing aid is just hanging over my ear. Twice recently when this happened, I brushed off the hearing aid with my glasses so that it fell on the floor (or in the driveway). Not good.

I have tried different sized domes, both shorter and longer wire between the unit and the receiver, changed the shape of that wire---pretty much all the standard things that can be done for the problem. I read online about something called tulip domes, but the hearing aid specialist at Costco said that they're not available for Phonak hearing aids. The next step is to have a custom made mold for the receiver to make it fit snugly in the ear canal. This costs $40, so it's not expensive if it works, but more than I want to pay if it doesn't. Does anybody have experience with this solution? Any other suggestions? Thanks.

Stan

use something that resembles a mini zip-tie, which tightens around the sound tube just at the dome and springs down inside the lower part of ear...this stopped the problem that you are having, for me. Got those at my aid supplier.

Jshum40 · Apr 19, 2017

Mineare molded to fit the ear and you have to pull them out. They will not come out on theiro wn. I had the dome type and the molded ones are so much better. $40 isc heap if one falls out and you lose it.

jon f mn · Apr 19, 2017

Mine have a little tail that lays in the bottom of my ear and that holds them in, they call it a spring but it is plastic. Never have an issue with them coming out.

kcm.MN · Apr 19, 2017

I can already notice my hearing going, but fortunately still far from needing hearing aids. However, have always had to use hearing protectors as ear plugs would ALWAYS cause me to have ear infections. No idea why. So I guess when the time comes, I'll be the guy walking around with those sound-amplifying hearing protectors! *lol*

JerryD · Apr 19, 2017

See if you can get whats called "Sport locks". That is what I have on my Resound aids and they stay in place.

MikeinKy · Apr 19, 2017

I now have some like jon has and they are good. I had a set from Beltone and they fell out every day. After a week I took them back and went
elsewhere.

RedGreenGuy · Apr 19, 2017

If your within the grace period time for new hearing aids I would return them unless they comeup with a fix.

Stan in Oly, WA · Apr 19, 2017

JerryD, I Googled Sport Locks and looked closely at them and read how they work. I believe they are what jon f mn referred to as a little plastic tail which his hearing aid provider called a spring, and what JMOR said resembled a mini zip tie which went down to the lower part of the ear and held the receiver in place. On my hearing aids that piece is call the retention, and it works the same way. The problem is that mine isn't doing the job for my left ear. I'm going in tomorrow morning to see if I can get a replacement retention which has a bit more spring to it than the current one. If that doesn't solve the problem (and I suspect that it won't because I'm reasonably sure that's one of the things we've tried already) then I'll go ahead and get the mold made. Thanks for taking the time to respond.

Stan in Oly, WA · Apr 19, 2017

Thanks for responding. Please read my reply to JerryD for my full explanation.

Stan in Oly, WA · Apr 19, 2017

Thanks for taking the time to answer. Please see my response to JerryD which is about that item.

Stan

Stan in Oly, WA · Apr 19, 2017

I'm not within the grace period, but I'm confident that I'll get this resolved fairly easily and soon. This is the second pair of Phonak hearing aids I've purchased. The others still work, but they're old enough that nobody supports them any more---if they were to have a major problem, there would be no way to get them fixed. This pair is better than the prior pair, even though they cost a lot less (because Costco cut a great deal with Phonak). I'm very pleased with these hearing aids, and I'll be even more pleased when I don't have to reach up and push the left one back into my ear every ten minutes. It could be worse though. At least I'm sticking my finger into my ear, not my nose.

Goose · Apr 19, 2017

Duct tape over your ear.

Seriously, go for the custom mold. I don't need hearing aids, but my wife does. She has the custom molds, and they're so comfortable she sometimes forgets she's wearing them and sleeps with them in.

kencombs · Apr 19, 2017

I've worn hearing aids for over 40 years and all of them had a custom mold. Can't imagine wearing anything else. They are so comfortable that we had 40+ people in our department had them made to use with normal telephone headseats.
For the last 20 years or so mine have been in the ear, rather than behind, but they too are made from an ear mold.

tomturkey · Apr 20, 2017

The little gal that fitted me for mine called that little tail, "the kick stand" lol. She heated it up a little and gave it a better shape to fit in the bottom of the ear. works for me. gobble

ldj · Apr 21, 2017

(quoted from post at 14:40:18 04/19/17) I wear behind the ear hearing aids. The receiver of the one in my right ear stays in the ear canal with no problem. The receiver of the left one comes out of my ear in ten or fifteen minutes. That's how often I have to reach up and push it back into my ear. [color=red:274de3a371][b:274de3a371]Sometimes it comes completely out of my ear without me noticing, [/b:274de3a371][/color:274de3a371]so that the hearing aid is just hanging over my ear. Twice recently when this happened, I brushed off the hearing aid with my glasses so that it fell on the floor (or in the driveway). Not good.

I have tried different sized domes, both shorter and longer wire between the unit and the receiver, changed the shape of that wire---pretty much all the standard things that can be done for the problem. I read online about something called tulip domes, but the hearing aid specialist at Costco said that they're not available for Phonak hearing aids. The next step is to have a custom made mold for the receiver to make it fit snugly in the ear canal. This costs $40, so it's not expensive if it works, but more than I want to pay if it doesn't. Does anybody have experience with this solution? Any other suggestions? Thanks.

Stan

With it coming out and you don't notice it until you knock it off with your hand I would just leave it out. Seems to me you are hearing just fine with it out else you would notice you hearing not being good before you would knock it out

OT: Hearing aid question

Stan in Oly, WA

Well-known Member

JMOR

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Jshum40

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jon f mn

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kcm.MN

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JerryD

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MikeinKy

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RedGreenGuy

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Stan in Oly, WA

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Stan in Oly, WA

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Stan in Oly, WA

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Stan in Oly, WA

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Goose

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kencombs

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tomturkey

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ldj

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