I still can’t get over the fact that I didn’t know that you could enlarge the map and try to find out where exactly the aids are in the general area that they are showing up in the Find My Hearing Aid!!
I think that I should have Hearing Tracker on what we used to call speed dial on my phone for such emergencies!! Except that I was intensively looking for the aids IRL, not on my phone.
I didn’t even think to talk to my fitter about anything like that to help—if he even knew about it.
I definitely need to speak to my fitter about molds in my next visit. But I will have to reschedule, as the appointment is for 5:30 pm on the day before Thanksgiving, which I think is a recipe for disaster, traffic-wise, plus too close to Thanksgiving travel.
Years ago, I lost one of my while at a car show in a parking lot. Then I discovered that the company the made them only sold them in pairs. I got a new pair and put them under the “personal articles” in our home owners policy.
Yes, thank you. Actually, since I bought these aids from Costco, they offer replacement of one each of the aids. But I didn’t even want it to come to that.
Believe it or not, we don’t have a policy for our possessions since we live in a rental apartment. We still could have a policy, but we don’t. Recently a very long-time elevator man said that our building was fire-proof, due to the way it was built with brick and steel beams, etc. It’s also very safe, as the elevator men work as doormen, as they watch who comes and goes.
In fact once long ago a deranged man came to our apartment, and I didn’t recognize him. He was insisting that I was a doctor and wanting me to help him. I was insisting that he see a doctor and get help, and that I wasn’t a doctor. The elevator man watched closely as I spoke to him to make sure that I was safe.
I realized later that he was a former client of my Natural Health Care practice. But he was dressed so strangely and acting so strange that I didn’t even recognize him. Quite sad. He had a longtime partner who died of cancer, and obviously went off the deep end. I had known that when his partner died that he wouldn’t be able to handle it. Way off topic here!
Well, more on the topic of trying not to lose my !!
Today I spent the day at the DMV trying to get a Real ID so I could fly to be with family at Christmas.
I wore some Deaf Metal earrings attached to my aids to keep from losing them. BUT before I even left home, as I was putting on my coat, somehow the aids came off along with the DM earrings!! What??!!
Then, numerous times during the afternoon at the DMV they kept coming off!! I caught them every time, but it was disconcerting that in spite of the DM earrings, this was happening. The earrings did not have a clasp that would have kept them in my ears. Wow, this was unexpected.
I’m about to order more Deaf Metal devices, one of which is a cuff that doesn’t depend on piercing. I would think that they would keep them in place better. But, wow, so the DM earrings are not the fix unless I only get the device that attaches to my own earrings if they have a clasp to prevent this.
The cuff could be the answer, assuming that this definitely keeps them in place.
What the blazes??!!
Of course, if I get molds, that may help a lot to keep them in place, but that would be a while, as we don’t go back to the fitter until December 9th, and then if he agreed that I need molds, I would have to wait until they are made and we can come in again to get them. So well after Christmas, I think.
Some of this today was due to my putting on and taking off a mask. I need to practice this a lot trying to avoid this problem. Plus, I should get a thingy that goes around the back of my head, too. But with HAs, reading glasses on and off, mask on and off, long hair with a thin headband . . . it’s difficult!
In December I will be getting scleral lenses ordered, which, once I get them, means I would not be taking glasses on and off.
I also will again try the N95 masks that I bought—the first time I tried one, the thing that goes around my head broke!
OW nine yards of insanity with the hearing aids falling out, the DM device not keeping them ON, and the whole face mask/glasses/headband/hearing aid boondoggle. I’d suggest adding a SUN hat to the mix, but you’d likely jump off a ledge.
Your post brings back the pandemic era for me! We with aids had just a few more issues than the ordinary person back then. Trying to avoid the virus AND keep our expensive aids in place. By the end of those 2 years, I’d perfected how to remove the face mask with EAR elastic without sending one of my aids across the room in slingshot fashion. For a time I also wore protective eyewear to keep the virus from entering there. Uncharted water for everyone.
However! I had invested in an AirTamer8 years before the pandemic. I wore that device on all flights short and long, and never EVER got sick once (that track record continues even today!). I bought my mom one, and she also wore it (with face mask) through the pandemic, never getting sick. Now I continue wearing mine in crowded places, to all doctor appt’s, and when flying. Wore it for 2 weeks inside the house when hubs had COVID a year ago, and I HAVE NEVER gotten COVID to this day. The AirTamer eliminates the need for a face mask.
So now you have the AIDS. Go get the custom molds. Even if it’s time-consuming. I have custom molded, roughed up titanium molds attached by ear wire to my beautiful Phonak Lumity Life 312s. Those puppies STAY PUT. I have to pull gently to remove them at night, and during the day I have NO idea I’m even wearing aids.
Meantime, see if you can get a “leash” (or retention guard) attached to the speakers. That will prevent you from LOSING them, but it does not keep squishy power domes seated all day long in the ear canal.
You can also get retention aids molded into molds. I believe mine are called ‘canal locks’; at least, one picture Google came up with calls them that. They fit into the ‘antihelix’. Mine work perfectly.
I ride a bike for exercise, and my normal ride is 25 miles. When I was using the regular sports guards and domes, I always had to keep pushing the domes back into my ear. Same thing with regular molds. The ones with ‘canal locks’ just stay in. I know, because I keep testing while I ride.
I have Hearing Aid Sports Locks on my Costco Jabra hearing aids which are small plastic pieces that keep my hearing aids lodged more securely in my ear. Costco puts those on mine for no charge. You might want to try those.
That is COOL! I had no idea Costco had these “leashes” on hand for us customers!
I am SET FOR LIFE NOW tho, cuz I just swapped my gooshy squishy soft silcone power domes for custom-molded, roughed up titanium molds. They are no bigger than the old squishers, but WOW they stay put in my ear alllllll day long. I no longer push them in 100s of times a day. I gently work them out at day’s end cuz they are still seated so snug.
Now. The only downside for me is that my ears swell UP and go DOWN throughout the day. So I typically get up, put my other pair of 312s in with the squishy dome, have a cuppa (or two) of tea, and in an hour or so, I’m able to work the titanium-tipped aids into my ear canal. So far, there has been no allergic reaction, which I had badly with any kind of firm silicone or acrylic of any color.
So I’m GOOD. I just need to have the two pairs of aids to ease into my day. I guess if my feet HAD to be shoved into a pair of stylish Prada heels, I’d start my day with practical KEENS, lol!
Custom molds would definitely help with keeping your aids in place. Once you get your audiologist to take the impressions, the turnaround is fast. My current molds are purple with glitter, and even that special order, they only took a week from impression to having them in my ears. So if you could get the impressions done on December 9th–call ahead and tell him you want him to make impressions for custom molds at that visit–you could very well have them before Christmas.
I use cuffs with my DeafMetal. I have pierced ears, but I don’t like attaching my aids to my piercings because if they do get tugged off with any sort of force, it’s going to hurt my piercing. The cuffs stay put, as they wrap around the cartilage of your outer ear, and you can even pinch them a bit if you want them tighter.
Because of my molds, I don’t feel the need to wear the cuffs all the time, but I like them when I feel like dressing up my aids–a friend has made me some beautiful dangly charms. But I do use the cuffs when I’m traveling or if I’m masking, just for that extra bit of security against losing them.
Wow, I forgot that I got similar devices for my husband and myself to wear on planes—this was way before the pandemic. They are tiny ozone devices for personal health protection. Considering that planes are flying Petri dishes, we should wear them on the plane to see family for Christmas. I’d forgotten all about them! Now the question is: where the heck did we put them??!!
On keeping the aids in place: It was completely stunning on Friday that not even the Deaf Metal earring devices kept the aids in my ears!!
Yes, I definitely have to get custom molds. Then, the question is what material should I get? I would think that silicone would be the most comfortable, although you say that titanium is totally comfortable for you. Does it matter which material you use in terms of keeping the aids in your ears—or even for hearing better?
I also ordered the cuffs from Deaf Metal to help keep them in place in the meantime. And in addition to the molds for more challenging circumstances. I’ve had quite enough of them falling out of my ears and getting lost!
Yes, thank you both. I already have the sports locks on my aids, although I think the fitter cut them too short, so I was going to get a new set that is longer in my next appointment with the fitter.
And, yes, @philbob57 thank you for reminding me that I want the canal locks for the molds that I need to get next in this saga of trying to get my to stay in my ears!! Plus, trying to hear better.
I’m not the one with titanium molds. Mine are silicone, skeleton style. They’re super comfortable and tend to stay in place, but they’re still new. My audi says the silicone tends to stretch or tear after only a couple years, so they may not fit as well over the long term. We’re going to reassess when these wear out and decide if I get silicone again or switch to acrylic.
Does it matter which material you use in terms of keeping the aids in your ears—or even for hearing better?
If you don’t have allergy issues like me, either the firm silicone custom molds (clear) or the ROUGHED-up (not smooth!) titanium molds will do the job, no problem.
I am very allergic to firm silcone or any kind of acrylic in my ears, so they are not an option.
Yes! Do wear the personal air purifier whenever flying or going to doc/hospital/dentist. BTW, it isn’t the plane so much as the AIRPORT where you’re walking and breathing in a petri dish. On a plane, I always bring a pack of disposable gloves, alcohol wipes and trash bag, and I wipe down seat, headrest, armrest, seat belt, tray table and all switches/buttons (overhead vent, light) to minimize the contact germs. I don’t care if folks think I’m a freak. I stay healthy, watch what I touch and where I put my hands.
Yes, I definitely have to get custom molds. Then, the question is what material should I get? I would think that silicone would be the most comfortable, although you say that titanium is totally comfortable for you. Does it matter which material you use in terms of keeping the aids in your ears—or even for hearing better?
I’m happy with the material Costco uses, which being clear and hard, I believe is acrylic. Same material as my prior private audi used, btw. Cost was not too bad at $80, IIRC. Also if they don’t fit right or you decide the fit and/or design (like a skeleton lock) was uncomfortable (as in my case), the replacement is free. They include a 90 day free replacement warranty - based on my less than perfect memory, so best to verify.
In addition, they allow for more powerful receivers Vs domes - if needed. My fitter used the (max?) power UP3 receivers for my Jabra 30s.
