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Issues with new earmolds

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I’ve just gotten my new skeleton earmolds and oh boy do they have grip in my ear! No aids are gonna be coming out easily! The mold has a glossy finish but since it’s silicone I feel like it’s VERY difficult to put properly in my ear because it’s kind of “sticky” as in it takes a lot of effort and time to get it in the correct position. But compared to my half shell molds that have a satin/soft finish The new ones feel like they have a much tighter seal but even though the vent size is the same they feel slightly more “stuffy” which I’m assuming is because of the better seal in my ear canal. Anyway sorry for rambling but does anyone have suggestions for what to do? I have emailed the company about it and let them know before a set of hard molds is made(the silicone ones we’re supposed to be hard so they are making a new set). Could this be that my ears are just not used to having the top portion of my ear full? Or is this a Earmold impression issue?

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You could try lubricating them before inserting. Simplest option is to simply apply water with a wet finger. If that doesn’t aid insertion enough, or if they’re uncomfortable in your ears, next step is a water-based lubricant like Oto-Ease, which is like a thick personal lubricant.

If still no good, you could try an oil-based lubricant like Miracell ProEar. I’ve ruined a couple of receivers by using too much ProEar in an attempt to get adequate relief. Here’s how I apply it now:

Spread some ProEar on a finger, transfer it thinly from the finger to the mold (avoiding the receiver port), insert the mold in my ear, remove it from my ear, apply more ProEar to the now-dry mold, and re-insert it in my ear. This way I get an effective coating between the mold and ear canal without having oil ooze into the receiver port while it’s in my ear. Avoid getting ProEar on the aids themselves while handling them.

Water is enough to get my right ear mold in, and it’s always been comfortable. My left ear mold was uncomfortable for quite a while before I got used to it, and I have to use ProEar on it. I had a feeling that the problem was my ear, not the mold, so I didn’t feel that having it redone would help.

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I have completely full shell ear moulds made out of silicone. It’s normal for them to be sticky and really quite hard to get in for a short while, they soon loosen up.you get the knack off it lol. The stuffiness may be occlusion.

The stickiness honestly i could deal with it’s just that the top portion of the earmolds are quite painful, there are pictures of the mold in and out of my ear

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I had some irritation from the ring on one of my molds. My audiologist saw where my outer ear was red, and removed a small amount of material from the ring. It helped.

Is your correct? You seem to have mild to moderate hearing loss and for me, logical would be to go with something more open to make use of your existing hearing, not to completely block it with earmold. Could someone correct me if I’m wrong?

Also, the retention part, the top part, rubs against and bends cartilage. You won’t get used to it. That part of the earnold needs to be either softer or smaller, or both.

@Reginald said:

Also, the retention part, the top part, rubs against and bends cartilage. You won’t get used to it. That part of the earnold needs to be either softer or smaller, or both.

This is why I only get carved ear moulds now as it makes that part thinner and has never been painful since.

As others have mentioned, use a small amount of lube. The silicon will eventually become easier to insert as it absorbs some of your skin oil over time.

The other trick is to use the opposite hand to gently lift your ear lobe up while inserting the silicon mold.

The issue with silicone ear molds is that they get loose after sweating and have to take the aids off to dry my ears. I don’t like the silicone earmolds as they irritate my outer ears. I have to order hard shell skeleton ear molds. Many years ago, l used to have a special ear mold made that was half silicone and half hard shell. Nobody makes that 50/50 ear mold anymore.

Re the pain, looking at the photo of the mold in your ear, they do not look like they are sitting correctly, could just be the lighting.
You might have to jiggle them a bit when you have some lube on them (make sure the lube is on the sides only, not the vent or receiver lumen). If I do not insert the top of my silicon skeleton properly at the top, it make part of my pinna feel sore after 15-20 minutes, pushing
that bit in fixes the problem. Failing that, the impression made for the mold may not have been the best. Otherwise… we are all different, it is why there are so many different materials and mold types :slight_smile:

I have seemed to figure out the correct position for the right ear which is now relatively comfortable For it being brand new sticky texture, the left one I just can’t get right maybe I need to give my ear a few days of using regular doses before trying out the mold again @ian

I went from a half lock ear mold to a full ear mold when I purchased my newest set of hearing aids. I know what you mean by being more difficult to insert and remove. My left one actually was too big and made my ear sore. My audi adjusted it by using a dremel tool to sand it to a comfortable fitting. With that particular ear I grasp the top of my left ear with my right hand and stretch it up while inserting the mold with my left hand.

Since these molds were silicone I just ended up taking an exacto knife and shaving the painful parts which has definitely helped, apparently the lab did a much thicker wax dip when making the molds

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