New to hearing aids: supposed to be this painful?

@Madelinehearinghelp said:

No improvement, and lately I feel as though I’m not hearing voices as clearly as I was that first week. Very confused, because I haven’t changed any settings!

If you’re beginner HA user, have you cleaned your earmolds and then changed your wax filters? Be careful so that wax pieces don’t get into microphone inlets.
And after that you can brush microphone inlet by another brush than used with earmolds.

For reverse slope loss you need earmolds with very small vents, even pressure vents so that low frequency sounds can’t leaks out of the ear canal. To avoid occlusion effect, the earmold should be placed deeply in the ear canal, reaching its bony part.
This can be done if your Audi can make an silicone impression, which was long enough, at least 5mm past 2nd bend of ear canal.

Ask for impression with open-jaw technique. In that you have to put 2.5cm bite block between upper and lower incisors and then hearing aid specialist perform silicone injection. No talking during silicone curation and still with bite block until removing the silicone impression.

I was given instructions and a pack of filters when I got my hearing aids, yes! I’ve changed them and it did help somewhat. I think it might be more to do with me being distracted by the discomfort. I’ve kept the left one kind of ‘sitting’ in my ear canal nowhere near as deep as I was having it, and it’s painless - but the wire certainly isn’t flush to my ear.

Thank you very much for this. I am making notes of all of these things to bring up with my audiologist on Monday. I have managed to wear them for about 3 hours today without pain! Taking a small break. =)

Curious if you had tried a different dome in your left ear?

When I switched to domes, i had a similar pain. My audiologist gave me some lubricant gel to put on the domes to make them go in more easily. Took about a fortnight but that helped me.

I also have narrow ear canals.

That’s a really important question, and it’s something many new hearing aid users experience. The short answer is: No, wearing hearing aids shouldn’t be painful.

However, a certain degree of initial discomfort or soreness is quite common. Think of it like breaking in a new pair of shoes. Your ears and ear canals are sensitive, and they need time to adjust to a new device being in them.

Here are a few things to consider:

Initial Adjustment: It’s normal to feel a bit of pressure or mild soreness for the first few days or even a week. This feeling should gradually improve.

Actual Pain: If you’re experiencing sharp pain, a feeling of being “stuck,” or a persistent, severe ache, that’s a sign that something is wrong.

Common Causes of Pain:

Poor Fit: The most likely culprit is that the hearing aid or earpiece isn’t fitted correctly for your ear’s unique shape.

Wrong Size: The dome or mold might be too big for your ear canal.

Skin Irritation: You might be developing a sore spot or rash from the device rubbing against your skin.

What to do now:

Stop wearing the hearing aids if you’re in significant pain. Don’t try to “tough it out.” This could cause a sore or even an infection.

Contact your hearing healthcare professional immediately. Explain your symptoms to them. They need to check the fit and make adjustments. Often, a simple change to the size of the dome or a slight modification to the custom mold can solve the problem completely.

It’s crucial to work with your provider to get the fit right. A well-fitted hearing aid should feel comfortable and secure, allowing you to focus on the sounds you’re hearing, not the device in your ear.

An Update!

A successful appointment with the audiologist in the bag. She took impressions for earmolds, which she immediately agreed was the best course of action, and I got to see how tiny my ear canals (especially the left one) really are.

She also bumped the volume up just a little, which will help with the two week wait until the molds are in.

As for the sound issues I was having with my phone, the audiologist fixed the wire on the right HA, and that fixed it right away! So phone calls and music and podcasts are now coming in both HAs at the same time. A big relief, as that was definitely bothering me.

I’m gonna keep doing what I’m doing (the left one in-not-very-deep) while I wait, and hope to have a lot of problems resolved when we get to the middle of the month!

Thanks again to everyone for your support and your advice! I’m glad to have found such a helpful forum.

Great news , very happy for you!