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Gold Plating Acrylic

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I am a 76 year old recent forum member, attempting to get fitted with hearing aids. I tried Resound Dot2’s, and the worked great for me but I reacted to the silicone end pieces with burning sensation in my ear canals after 3 days of use. I saw an and he could see nothing wrong, and suggested baby oil or Hydrocortisone cream. They resolve the burning sensation, but not the allergic reaction. I tried custom ear molds from Costco made of Hyperallergic Silicone, and reacted to them as well after 3 days. My latest venture was custom Acrylic ear molds from Costco, but reacted to them after a weeks use.

From my readings of articles on the web dealing with allergic reactions it appears that there are only two options left available. One is Gold Plating the acrilic molds, and the other is a bone mount hearing aid. I would like to avoid the later if at all possible. I am attempting to locate a place to have my Acrylic Molds gold plated. Metal plating I am familiar with, but on Acrylic? It is being done out there, but I have been unable to locate someone who does the Acrylic Gold Plating. I have located a place in Portland Oregon that can copper plate them, but don’t know if I dare try the copper because of the way it oxidizes. They also do Stainless Steep plating, and that might be an option. Does anyone out there have any suggestions on this issue? All help and suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

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I had problems with allergic reactions as well. I use earmolds made by Microsonic.

http://www.microsonic-inc.com/index2.php?section=177

Some excerpts on earmold materials:

Acrylic is a popular hard plastic, generally applicable for hearing aids with gain up to about 55dB. It is easy to insert and remove, and is usually also available in a non-allergic formula as well.
Polyethylene is a hard material, appropriate for severe allergy cases. Not always a thing of beauty, it may be effective in cases of allergies to silicones.

Thanks for the reply. Do you have any idea which materials you were allergic to, and what material they ended up using for your molds? How have they worked for you?

First were the acrylic earmolds then another soft earmold material that I do not remember. Now all my earmolds are made with / of hypoallergenic materials: probably silicone materials from their properties when we try to grind / polish them.

Thanks. That gives me a possible direction to work on.

Hz 250 500 750 1000 1500 2000 3000 4000 6000 8000

L … 15. 20… 45… 45… 50… 50… 70… 65… 75… 75
R … 20. 25… 40… 40… 50… 50… 65… 65… 70… 53

when I first started wearing aids my ear was very sore from not being used to having material rubbing against it at all times. I think this is probably something all hearing aid users have to go through. To help minimize skin irritations I clean out the aid each day with alcohol pads. i still clean out my aids but I have absolutely none of the sourness. it took about a few months before the skin in my ear adjusted to the aids. i did go back to have my aids molds adjusted a few times.

btw I have lots and lots of allergies and skin problems which caused me to have lots of ear infections as a child.

A follow up to my continuing search for a material that I can use in my ears for hearing aids. Since January I have tried a set of Dot 20 hearing aids and was highly encouraged by the improvement in hearing quality I was getting, but reacted to the silicone domes in the ears. Since then I have tried Silicone, Acrylic, and Polyethelene molds, and reacted to all of the materials. I visited an and an Alergist, with no help of any consequence. I worked with Costco until we were at a dead end. Now I am working with a local Siemens dispenser who was able to get me the Gold Plated ear pieces. The first pair did not fit right, but I did not react to the material. Today I am starting with the 2nd set of ear pieces which feal as they are going to work. So after 9 months of searching and trial and error I may be getting to the point where I can once again try a pair of hearing aids.

The dispenser, who has a B.A. and is Board Certified in Hearing Insturments, is recomending a pair of Siemens Motion 501 p for my hearing loss, which is posted earlier in this chain. He is offering a 75 day trial with 100% refund,3 years warranty, 3 years loss coverage, and 3 years free batteries and Remote for $3600 for a pair of aids. I can see where I could save a few dollars on the web, but after 9 months of frustration getting to this point am willing to pay more for his service to get them up and running right and deal with any further problems. My take on the aids is that they should meet my needs. I guess what I am asking if this is a valid assumption. Any ideas out there on these aids for my needs, not others on the market? Thanks RW622

So? Now we’re putting Bling Bling in the ears

Interesting

@rw622 said:

A follow up to my continuing search for a material that I can use in my ears for hearing aids. Since January I have tried a set of Dot 20 hearing aids and was highly encouraged by the improvement in hearing quality I was getting, but reacted to the silicone domes in the ears. Since then I have tried Silicone, Acrylic, and Polyethelene molds, and reacted to all of the materials. I visited an ENT and an Alergist, with no help of any consequence. I worked with Costco until we were at a dead end. Now I am working with a local Siemens dispenser who was able to get me the Gold Plated ear pieces. The first pair did not fit right, but I did not react to the material. Today I am starting with the 2nd set of ear pieces which feal as they are going to work. So after 9 months of searching and trial and error I may be getting to the point where I can once again try a pair of hearing aids.

The dispenser, who has a B.A. and is Board Certified in Hearing Insturments, is recomending a pair of Siemens Motion 501 p for my hearing loss, which is posted earlier in this chain. He is offering a 75 day trial with 100% refund,3 years warranty, 3 years loss coverage, and 3 years free batteries and Remote for $3600 for a pair of aids. I can see where I could save a few dollars on the web, but after 9 months of frustration getting to this point am willing to pay more for his service to get them up and running right and deal with any further problems. My take on the aids is that they should meet my needs. I guess what I am asking if this is a valid assumption. Any ideas out there on these aids for my needs, not others on the market? Thanks RW622

Edited

He’s referring to the gold plating on the ear pieces. You know, as in shiny “look at me” jewelry, except in this case, the guy has found this to be a solution to allergic reactions to the normal ear mold ingredients.

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