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Weird problem with my Widex Moment 330 after cleaning/testing

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Hi there!

I am having a problem with my left earing aid, and it’s weird, because It’s happened twice now in about a month.

So, in December I casually went to Widex store in a shopping I was just for a quick check-up (I think my warranty is voiding soon), the ladies there changed the filter, tested all the components and said they were fine. Except I put them in, and my left aid isn’t working properly!
I don’t know exactly how to explain, it sounded kinda muffled, but only the voice/mid-range sounds? Like the noise-reducing feature was constantly being triggered but only for that range of sounds? Sometime if I’m alone and turn on the music, I can hear absolute silence (and I mean, absolute! usually there’s always some small ambient noise), even tho they’re on. If someone talks or some louder sound happens, I hear it, but otherwise it’s just absolute 0.

Anyway, I went back there several times, then went to my “oficial” widex clinic which is in a city much far away (also several times), they tried changing the… idk the name… earphone? the thing that’s inside the earmold, and it’s tube. They tried changing the programming several times, and nothing fixed it. I was getting desperate, becase holidays and family gatherings were coming and my earing was compromised. And then one afternoon I’m driving home after some christmas shopping, I’m touching my ear/earmold and suddently it started working properly! just like that. This was on Jan 30th.

It worked just fine until today, I went to the “oficial” clinic because I wanted a longer tube for my right aid, he asked for my left aid for a quick check up too, I relutantly gave it to the technitian who said he just ran some testing on the components and changed the filter, and… IT’S FUCKING MESSED UP AGAIN, just like the other time… I immediatly called back there (I didn’t notice at the time, I felt weird but I thought it was because of the longer tube and it was giving me a little feedback and stuff, I only noticed it was messed up when I was driving home already), and he didn’t know what could be the problem…

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A couple of things spring to mind-I had a very different sound when a repair was done at a non Widex facility (I was unaware at the time). They used cheaper non Widex parts which did not give the same sound. Or someone has changed a programming element, I had a dispenser once notice that the vent wasn’t selected so he correctly added it in-but I had been trying to get it sounding right (as this had been missed off at fitting) so then it sounded odd. It needed to have a new fitting with vent selected. It sounds very frustrating for you. If both are still in warranty it may be worth returning to Widex for servicing to ensure everything is as it should be, and then reinstalling session when everything was sounding normal.

But in this case, nothing was changed.
He literally just changed the filter that goes at the end of the ear mold, and tested the components to check if everything was fine… mu logic guess is either the ear mold is compromised or there is something wrong with the earing aid itself.

But now that you mention it, there is something else I wanted to ask here, unrelated. I bought a noahlink and have been exploring it a bit, and there is something I noticed… I don’t think the selected ear mold in the GPS program is the one I have, is this important? I also noticed it says there it has no vent, but idk if my ear mold has a vent or not.

Yes it needs to have the correct ear mould type selected when doing the fitting-sensogram & feedback calibration. The vent is a little hole going through the mould. The correct size must be selected ie .7/1/1.5mm. If the wrong size is selected the hearing prescription is compromised.

I’m not sure if it has a vent or not… I tried to see with my watchmaker magnifier and I’m still not sure I think the right one doesn’t have it, and the left one MIGHT have… I will try to post a picture later, especially because of setting the correct ear mold type.

Anyway, since on late december the aid miraculously stared working properly just for touching it/the ear mold, It’s probably nothing related to programming, right?

Are you wearing RICS-where the receiver (silver rectangular block with plastic coated wire to aid) fits into the ear piece? Or is it a mould with a plastic empty tube going into it connected to aid (). A vent would be a small hole from one side of the mould/custom tip to the other that you push through a narrow implement to clean. It sounds like possibly an issue with a receiver wire or the connection to the aid.

@TottiR said:

I’m touching my ear/earmold and suddently it started working properly! just like that.

could be a broken cable or bad cable connection of the receiver. (receiver = speaker with attached cable). Sometimes the cable between hearing aid and receiver(speaker) could break or loose contact.

Have the audi tried new receivers ?

Edited

the mold looks like it have cracks around the blue rubber, and the sealing is compromised

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The effect you are describing could be feedback and the feedback manager reducing the high frequencies, so it sound muffled.

In this case the mold need replaced by a new one.

Yeah it also looks cracked on the inside, it’s not visible on the pics, but they said it shouldn’t compromise anything. I’m asking for a new mold right now, I’m currently at the clinic.

Glad you are making some headway. It doesn’t look like you have a vent & it’s unlikely with your hearing loss. I think the right tip type has been selected from the options available but if anyone else can advise here, please chime in.

You are asking the right questions. Sometimes you could get two faulty receivers or the connection to the aid may get damaged where it’s inserted. A new tip will mean receiver being refitted to hopefully rule out any issue there. I totally understand not wanting to send it off unnecessarily but if it’s still under warranty Widex can then look over it & check for any faults. Just ensure it’s going back to Widex. I have had aids sent to other cheaper repair places unknowingly, and then the parts don’t give the same sound or results. Hope you get some progress soon.

Edited
@tinkyp said:

Just ensure it’s going back to Widex

Yeah I always go to widex store, or directly to a Widex Clinic where the technicians are. Anyway, I think they tried to change the reciever more than once, both at the store in my city and on the clinic, at the city which is farther away.

About the compass GPS settings, I just asked because honestly the pic of the one selected is the one that looks less like the one I have in reality XD because mine is also transparent.

Anyway, since both times this happened both people said they just changed the filter and ran some tests, I’m guessing the problem is probably on the ear mold.

This morning I insited to be made a new mold at the clinic, now I have to wait a few days for it, maybe tuesday or wednesday. All I can do now is wait. Unless there is something I could do at home with some household material to temporarily fix these cracks around the blue rubber… :eyes:

Hope you receive it soon and the hard custom tip comes in clear or beige-I think this is a colour choice rather than design change but again if anyone knows any different please say.

These are important questions as the Widex set up is very precise to give best hearing results & having the correct aid tip/design type, vent, sensogram & feedback calibration all work together to get your hearing focus in the best possible start point.

Ok so I have some news, and none of it are good.

  • The new ear mold didn’t solve my problem at all.

  • I have formated my laptop to install new windows 11 and lost all of the my own good programing I had stored on my compass GPS there.

Last saturday I desperately went to Widex near my home (not my oficial doctor), and asked them to swap the receivers (basicaly my left aid to my right ear, and my right aid to my left ear. The doctor then said she had to do a whole new programing from scratch after this, because Compass identified the aids by their serial number. The result was that the programing was not super good, but the problem on my left ear (the one I still have some decent earing and can understand that the aid isn’t working properly) seemed to be gone, which meant the problem was in the aid (even tho they tested it 123914 times and said everything is fine with it).

So today I went to the other doctor (my official one), explained what I did, explained the whole issue again, from the beggining, she left the room with said aid and came back a bit later, and said they had finally replaced the aid with a new one, and also made a new programming (suposedly based on the one I used for a long time before all this began). It surely seemed different, but a whole lot louder than usual.

Now, she doesn’t know I have a noahlink at home and the compass gps program. When I got home and started to adjust/fine tune the aids like the other time I did that went perfectly, I notice that the serial numbers of both aids ARE STILL THE SAME! (I didn’t know the serial numbers by heart, but I knew they were 10 numbers apart (ex XXXX60 and XXXX70) and gps compass still identifies them with those last 2 numbers (ending on 60 and 70, exactly 10 numbers apart). which means she lied to me and didn’t swap it for a new one???

This is extremely frustrating, last thursday I came home and just started to cry over this whole situation. It’s been 2 months since this first happened, and idk what to do anymore.

I am so sorry you are having these issues. Do you have back up aids & are the main aids still under warranty? I am not sure how the receivers could be swapped over by the dispenser, as they are shaped & sold as “l” or “r”.

If the aid itself is faulty request for it (or both if have spares) to be sent back to manufacturer for repair/service, where they will mend or replace.

You will then know they are on correct sides with correct receivers.

You can then ask for settings to be installed that were given at original fitting-to have two aids working & ready for adjustments that you did previously.

In reply to @TottiR

@TottiR said:

which means she lied to me and didn’t swap it for a new one???

No you are misunderstanding the serial number. It is a number related to you and your purchase and if they replace the aid with a new one, your serial number will be programmed into the new one by the clinic. Or to put it another way, the actual mechanical and electronics parts of an aid are just components.

In reply to @tinkyp

replying to tinkyp:

yeah, i have a pair of older “intracanal” aids, that I currently only use to play football with my friends on the weekends. I had to buy new ones, because 1. the old ones weren’t powerful enough for me anymore, and 2. the right one broke and they didn’t have made new parts anymore for that model (meanwhile she got me a new one for free that she got from another costumer).

When I go to this city further away with my oficial doctors, they have tecnicians there, I believe that’s where they make the repairs. anyway they have tested this “faulty” aid everytime I went there and said the test all come back ok.

About swapping the recievers, what I meant was, unattach receiver L from it’s aid and put it on the aid I was wearing on my right ear, and vice-versa

Okay, I know I have had times when the dispenser has not been able to detect a fault but it was faulty & once returned to Widex they repaired/replaced. I haven’t been anywhere that has technicians on site. It can make you feel like you are going mad but you know it was working okay & then it wasn’t, which isn’t right. I see what you mean re the aids being swapped round, not the receivers. I am not sure if your aftercare works the same way, but within warranty dispenser can send back to manufacturer for servicing with note on fault & they will fix. The dispenser shouldn’t have a problem with this. The only time I had a problem with repairs was when they were sent to non Widex facility (I didn’t realise dispensers could do this).

In reply to @david.hendon

replying to David.hendon

Ok, this was my doubt! It would be very weird and especially unprofessional if she had actually lied to me, especially since she’s been my doctor for about 30 years. I’m more relaxed now.

But the problem still persists I think. I have an old printscreen of a sensogram (but not the gain settings) I set when I first used compass myself and that had very decent hearing, and almost all important values are lower than they are now, and I’m afraid this might affect my bad hearing even more. Could this be a case of higher values on sensogram but way lower values on the gain settings in fine tunning??

When I first used the program, I was exploring it before changing anything, and noticed the gain settings I used for months were way highter than the “objective gain setting”, I just lowered these to match the objective and my hearing became very confortable and I had no need to use the android moment app to adjust it everyday, like before.

But now I set the sensogram as before, and the gain settings to match the objective settings, and it seems everything is way lower and I feel everything muffled.

Could it be that somehow the compass gps app is recommending lower gain to the same sensogram than before?

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