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Finding the correct fitting domes

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About those speaker wires that were too long, there is a way to heat them up a bit with a hair drier and re-bend the wires so they fit you better.

Hair dryer - low setting, then hold in place while the wires cool. The plastic insulation keeps them in the shape you made them.

Did you not get a manual with your aids? My Oticon manual tells me how to adjust my wires and my ’s.

In reply to @Joel

@Joel said:

I received my ear molds today and they seem to fit OK. I expected them to be a little more streamlined, but I was mistaken. It came with a long Tail for removing, and they hung out of my ear and they were very unsightly to say the least. They serve no purpose other than a tail to remove the molds. The Audiologist cut the tails off as near the mold as possible with out damaging the vent. he then opened the vent a little wider to allow for a more natural feeling. I do feel them more than the domes and tulip, but I should get accustomed to them in a few days. I hope they stay in or i will be back to the original method. My earmolds are made of a clear Silicon and they feel soft to the touch. I of course feel like they are falling out and they aren’t. There is a little bit of feedback as they don’t go into the canal as deep as the domes. I will report back if anything changes. I do know I need to have the HAs adjusted as I hear a pinging sound with high frequency.

Joel

Thanks for the feedback on the custom molds, Joel. Doesn’t sound like you are thrilled with them, initially at least. This is one thing Phonak did well, their custom mold fit quite well and was unnoticeable, although it did feel very tight in the beginning. Hopefully in a few days you’ll get used to these. I still plan to trial the Futures early next week and then I will also get the custom molds for my Verites. Right now I’m using the open domes and they don’t stay all the way in my ear so the wire sticks out about 1/8 of an inch or so, enough to make it very noticeable. I really don’t like that as one of the reasons I’m going with is because they are so well hidden.

I’ll keep you updated as I proceed.

@davidbarry said:

Thanks for the feedback on the custom molds, Joel. Doesn’t sound like you are thrilled with them, initially at least. This is one thing Phonak did well, their custom mold fit quite well and was unnoticeable, although it did feel very tight in the beginning. Hopefully in a few days you’ll get used to these. I still plan to trial the Futures early next week and then I will also get the custom molds for my Verites. Right now I’m using the open domes and they don’t stay all the way in my ear so the wire sticks out about 1/8 of an inch or so, enough to make it very noticeable. I really don’t like that as one of the reasons I’m going with RITE HAs is because they are so well hidden.

I’ll keep you updated as I proceed.

I am very vain, so take what I say with a grain of salt. By the end of the night I was more accustomed to them. And they don’t feel tight, but I find them to have more feedback than the domes as the domes have no vent.

UPDATE: I couldn’t stand the custom ear molds, they started to slip and they didn’t seal correctly, there was also a strange pinging noise. I called Michael my Audiologist and he told me to come in this afternoon. When I got there he checked to see if he had programed them for the custom molds, which he had done. I explained to him about the molds slipping and he took a look and explained to me it was the shape of my canals and the direction in which they enter my skull. I guess he was correct when he told me I might have a problem. We spoke a while and we tried different domes and sizes. After about 45 minutes of trying, he came up with better fitting domes. I finally have the correct size and type of doom that fits me well. He gave me domes that are open all around, basically they have slots around the center of the speaker. They are not the smallest at 8mm, but they do seem to feel better and I am confident they won’t slip like the others. One thing for sure they don’t give me that stuffed feeling like I had with the double dome. Also now I have two like domes, not one Tulip and one double dome. Of course this is only a few hours since I put them in but for sure they do feel better, matter of fact I don’t feel them at all.

There is one thing that I think could be designed a little better is those clear plastic wires that help hold the in. I think they should be able to be heated or something to shape them better for each persons ears.

Edited

That’s too bad about the custom molds, I’m going to try them next week…hope I don’t have the same problem.

I’ve been wearing the open domes like you are describing, Joel. It’s got three open spaces separated by strips of plastic that lead up to the top part. The shape is cone like. I have the 10mm. They are very comfortable and have that open feeling,the only thing I don’t like is they don’t stay in all the way. Perhaps I should try the 8mm…though they might be too tight.

The other thing about the Verites I don’t like is the color of the clear plastic wire, which are more noticeable, don’t blend into my skin as well as the Phonak wire’s did.

That fellow mentioned heating up the wires with a hair dryer but I’d be really afraid to do that. Afraid I’d burn through the wires. Also, how do you bend the wires so that the domes stay in better. Seems confusing to me.

@davidbarry said:

That’s too bad about the custom molds, I’m going to try them next week…hope I don’t have the same problem.

I’ve been wearing the open domes like you are describing, Joel. It’s got three open spaces separated by strips of plastic that lead up to the top part. The shape is cone like. I have the 10mm. They are very comfortable and have that open feeling,the only thing I don’t like is they don’t stay in all the way. Perhaps I should try the 8mm…though they might be too tight.

The other thing about the Verites I don’t like is the color of the clear plastic wire, which are more noticeable, don’t blend into my skin as well as the Phonak wire’s did.

That fellow mentioned heating up the wires with a hair dryer but I’d be really afraid to do that. Afraid I’d burn through the wires. Also, how do you bend the wires so that the HA domes stay in better. Seems confusing to me.

I would talk to your Audiologist regarding the wire length. My Audiologist tried two different length wires before he decided which one is better for me. What was interesting was that a longer wire stayed in my ears a little better with the Tulip but stood away from my ears a little. The shorter wire stays put and is closer to my face with the open dome. As I mentioned numerous times I am very vain and I am very self conscious about the way they look. So I decided to grow my hair a slight bit longer over my ear, but not covering the ear, just covering the . I also let my side-burns grow slightly thicker not longer, the women that cuts my hair took a look at the HAs and told me what would be best. And she layered my hair and it looks acceptable. You can’t see the HA unit on top of my ears and the hair on my side-burns makes the clear wire slightly less visible. But lets face it we bought HAs so we could hear and the units are great, it is amazing all I hear now. It also has made my household less stressful.

By the way I checked my new open domes and they have five holes around the perimeter.

In reply to @davidbarry

I had a hell of a time with the Phonak (tulip?) domes of all sizes. They just wanted to come out of my ears. I finally got custom Phonak SlimTips made. Ultimately, I had to go a step further and get the SlimTips with the canal lock feature, as without that the molds slipped right out of my ears. Now I can put my ’s in and forget about them!

The vents on my SlimTips are about as big as they get, so it is still a very and I don’t notice any occlusion (finger in ear) effect. Very worth it, if you have generic domes that just won’t stay put.

Edited

I wasn’t told of an option to lock the molds in, and the ones I had had a small vent. Well with the new open domes I am fine. I just might ask the Audiologist if there is a slightly larger open dome available for my right ear.

After a few weeks with the open domes I have found that my left ear and the are fine, but as usual my right ear is the problem. I had a lot of feedback when walking near a wall or narrow hall and I was unable to even pull up a hood on my jacket. I moved back to the double dome for just the right ear and all is well. The right ear with the open dome was expelling the HA but with the double dome it is fine. I am sure if they made a larger open dome I wouldn’t have the problem, with the HA creeping out, but would still have the excessive right ear feedback.

I find it intriguing and wonder how this is individualized to each person. There are so many variables.

I have Phonak Adeo Smart 5 - since May. I started with a double dome (power dome) but found they turned in my ears or wiggled out some. Tried all sizes, etc. But I was also told I would get better sound with custom molds. I have TMJ so that can complicate things. I asked for soft molds. They (Phonak) just came out with soft cshells for RIC. I DO hear better with them. But I’ve been struggling with them tearing. But Phonak is wonderful to work with me on them, and they keep replacing the torn ones, and typically they say they have redesigned or reinforced them. I have been pretty patient because I am “relearning” the whole hearing aid thing since I havent worn them since I was a kid.

So today I talked with my audi about it and when to try something else. We have a good plan, and one of the options is to try the Westone route, so I have been interested in the comments on the Westone molds.

Meanwhile, I am glad I have an extra set of wires and Phonak suggested I go down to a closed fit (which seems to be going backwards in quality of sound from a double “power dome”) but I found the closed fit ones (single) fit WAY better than the power (double) domes. This is temporary until my molds are fixed. It is interesting you found the doubles to fit bettter than the single, as I found the opposite… which goes back to saying we are all so individual.

btw, I was “vain” initially but when I realized how much better things sounded with the molds, I quit caring. But I am concerned how you stated the Westones stuck out more. I hope if I go that route it wont be more than what I have already.

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@cr8r said:

I find it intriguing and wonder how this is individualized to each person. There are so many variables.

I have Phonak Adeo Smart 5 RIC - since May. I started with a double dome (power dome) but found they turned in my ears or wiggled out some. Tried all sizes, etc. But I was also told I would get better sound with custom molds. I have TMJ so that can complicate things. I asked for soft molds. They (Phonak) just came out with soft cshells for RIC. I DO hear better with them. But I’ve been struggling with them tearing. But Phonak is wonderful to work with me on them, and they keep replacing the torn ones, and typically they say they have redesigned or reinforced them. I have been pretty patient because I am “relearning” the whole hearing aid thing since I havent worn them since I was a kid.

So today I talked with my audi about it and when to try something else. We have a good plan, and one of the options is to try the Westone route, so I have been interested in the comments on the Westone molds.

Meanwhile, I am glad I have an extra set of wires and Phonak suggested I go down to a closed fit (which seems to be going backwards in quality of sound from a double “power dome”) but I found the closed fit ones (single) fit WAY better than the power (double) domes. This is temporary until my molds are fixed. It is interesting you found the doubles to fit bettter than the single, as I found the opposite… which goes back to saying we are all so individual.

btw, I was “vain” initially but when I realized how much better things sounded with the molds, I quit caring. But I am concerned how you stated the Westones stuck out more. I hope if I go that route it wont be more than what I have already.

L R Htz
35 35 250
45 45 500
55 50 1000
55 65 2000
60 65 4000
50 60 8000

As you said everyone is an individual case by itself. What is good for me is not necessarily good for others. Tomorrow I go for my two month evaluation, and other than a slight bump in volume I am sticking with the open dome for my left ear and the double dome for my right ear.

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