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Pain in my ear canal when using Oticon More 1

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Edited

Turning to the forum for help as I’m not sure what to do next. I have searched the applicable posts here, elsewhere on the internet, talked to three people I know who have aids, returned to the audiologist twice since first fitting last Monday.

My left aid is okay, not comfortable but not painful. I can get used to it. The right aid so painful that I can’t focus on anything else. The dome size has been changed, from the initial 5 mm to 8 and then to 6, didn’t help. The retention lock was removed, didn’t help. Any recommendations for what should I should ask for next?

Am I being too fussy, normally I try to tough these things out, but I have a tendency to build increasing sensitivity rather a tolerance to pain. This morning, I have had the aids in for an hour and a half and just now removed the right one, the pain is derailing my morning.

I’m not noticing much auditory benefit so far, either. I know it takes time for the brain to get acclimated, but music still sounds tinny, I’m still saying “Pardon?” frequently when others talk, still have the TV at about the same volume as previously. Haven’t really noticed much in the way of louder environmental or incidental sounds that I’ve read can be annoying or startling at first.

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When you say painful, please explain. Is it a physical pain or the sounds that are painful? If you are new to hearing aids, they are normally set below your prescription level and the aids are programmed to slowly increase in volume. If you are talking physical pain, you may need custom ear molds to help you.
Are your ear canals really small. That will cause you issues, your indicates that your receivers should but reasonably small, not like my power receivers.

Sorry I was not clear, yes, physical pain. I was told my canals are not especially small, but I guess the right one is an odd angle or differently shaped than the left. As far as sound goes,not too loud, in fact nothing seems much changed.

If the domes aren’t fitting correctly or you have the wrong domes all of the sound will leak out of your ear canals before ithe sounds reach your ear drums. Another question I just thought of, have you ever had issues with ear infections, and had tubes put in your ears, that can cause issues with sound not being correct.

My left ear is the one that I have issues with my custom ear molds slipping and causing feedback and loss of some sound. By the way I will be getting the More1s in mid June. I now wear the Oticon OPNS1 aids with custom ear molds, and my More1 aids will have custom ear molds made from a new set of impressions and using a different locking method.

Thank you for your reply. No, no infections and didn’t have tubes. I’ve always felt that something was different about the canal of my right ear. I have been coached on placement by the audiologist, but still don’t feel that I know where the dome/receiver is supposed to be in my ear. Every depth or angle I’ve tried hurts.

In reply to @Lyn2

It sounds like either your Audiologist needs to figure out a better dome, or maybe custom ear molds. It sounds like you may have a tough problem getting a proper fit for your right ear.

In reply to @Lyn2

The answer to your question can be either it all depends on what the Audi, and the ear mold maker can come up with that has a chance to work for you. I have always taken the stance that I am not concerned about someone seeing my aids, I want the best speech understanding and comfort I can get.

Maybe the receiver wire length is wrong. If too short it could be pulling the dome at a bad angle causing irritation.

I have read a good fitter can heat the receiver wire to bend and adjust the bends of the wire for better fitment. Are these your first hearing aids?

Your hearing loss might do well with custom earmolds. Earmolds come in all different shapes, sizes and materials. They can be very small and out of sight when worn.

Yes I forgot about the receiver wire length, you may need it longer because of an odd angle of your ear canal.

When I got my More 1 a few months ago I noticed that the domes tended to work themselves out of my ear canals, which affected the ’ effectiveness. I went up to the next larger size of domes. It was uncomfortable at first but the domes stayed put. My said that the tissue in the ears would become less sensitive over time as the tissue got used to having the larger domes touching it.
My experience has been exactly that: I no longer notice the larger domes. Maybe ask your audi for various sizes of domes to try, and determine which are the smallest domes that will remain in place. Also the tissue in your ear may have become raw and inflamed by now, so you might want to try not wearing your aid in the sore ear at all for a while until the soreness heals before you start experimenting with various dome sizes. Of course do check the receiver wire length issue too. Good luck.

Thanks, everyone. I will check into the receiver wire length and/or maybe try the bigger dome again. When I wrote my post, I had just eaten and had a cup of coffee, then noticed the increase in pain. Later, I realized while eating lunch today that the worst of the pain is being set off by chewing and swallowing. I will let the audiologist know and see what she suggest. I agree functionality is more important than physical appearance.

Edited

image

Here are my More1s with acrylic moulds (100dB receivers into them). I usually wear them for a bit more than [EDIT:] 16 hours a day, and I honestly forget they’re there on most days.

This is the 4th set of custom moulds I’ve worn, and they’ve all been extremely comfortable.

As @cvkemp has already pointed out, the seal they make with the inside of the ear canal determines the acoustic coupling of the with your ear. This has a major effect on the quality of the sound you hear, and thus, on speech intelligibility.

You can hardly see this type of mould, BTW. [When you’re as homely as me, you could have a potato in your ear, and folks wouldn’t notice!]

Edited

Hi, Kev. I’m working on a detailed comparison based on my experience with the More1 vs More 3, which I intend to post at the end of the month.

More1s give me much better rendition of music, thanks to ClearDynamics (which provides 113dB of input headroom) and some other “handles” not available on More3. More3 was acceptable for playing my instruments, but More1 shines.

More1s seem to handle noisier environments better than More3s, by virtue of their more powerful Neural Noise Suppression, but I’m in very noisy environments so infrequently that it’s of marginal value to me.

In my part of Canada, More1s cost $1,500 more than More3s. (That’s a 35% surcharge for More1s!!!)

I discovered that my wife’s group insurance would pay 80% of that, so my More1s only cost us $300 out of the household kitty. I decided that since I still play music professionally and teach, we could justify the extra cost of More1s, solely on the basis of superior rendition of live music. (The streaming quality of recorded music is a draw.)

As you’ve pointed out in other threads, Kev, the More1s additional “handles” give me a pretty big advantage in terms of future adjustment of my aids as my hearing is further affected by my advancing years, so that’s another subtle plus in favour of More1s.

Let me state unequivocally, however, that I couldn’t have justified paying $1,500 Cdn out of my own pocket for More1s versus More3s: the marginal improvement in speech intelligibility is insufficient to justify the cost. (I could have lived with More3s’ rendition of music: More1s are definitely better on that score, but not by $1,500!)

Streaming is exactly the same for More3s as for More1s - no advantage there. So, in terms of the cost/performance ratios of More1s vs More3s, the More3s, IMO, give “more bang for the buck”, hands down.

I hope this answers your good question, for the time being, @kevels55.

:chair::chair::chair::chair:

Sounds Good Jim, if you’ll pardon the pun :upside_down_face:I am glad you got sorted though, tis one less thing to worry about if you are hearing your music better, even if the incremental increase is marginal, it is massive for your quality of life…… Well done in your new acquisition, where there is a will, there is a way, enjoy @SpudGunner :wink:

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