Ear molds. Like 'em? Hate 'em? Pros? Cons? Problems? (Phonak Lumity)

Hearing aids are going back to Phonak, and my audi is going to ask that they be replaced with a new, different pair.

And the beat goes on.

@BobbyBoomer said:

So here I am, asking all of you that use ear molds, especially if you have Phonaks, to share your experience, so I can have more info to make my decision.

Just turn 'em off! That’s what I do with my Lumity Life aids in SUPER noisy places. Recently, I got a “mute” function added. I can hear a bit with that, but when my aids are OFF they are like ear plugs. I wear soft silicone double-domes, so I think that alone speaks VOLUMES as to my “snake belly” audiogram. Prob’ly YOU would still be in pain if you turned my aids off and loud music was playing in the vicinity.

The “Power Domes” seem to be a solution. I’ll find out when my aids come back.

My audi is demanding a new pair. This one seems to be a lemon.

If the Double Domes aren’t enough, I’ll go for the molds.

If the feedback in my head from my saxophone is too much, I’ll go for the molds.

After 5 years of wearing Power domes on my Marvel 70s, this past January my audi ordered molds from Phonak for my Lumity 90s at a cost of $400 for the pair.

Due to my loss, he suggested ear molds 5 years ago. But I was stupid and stubborn, more concerned about looks.

Within 1 week of wearing the molds, I am sold. Comfort is 200% better, sounds are crisper, female sppech is not as tinny.

I stream music about 2 hours a day while at the gym. Music does sound more natural, but you will never get the same quality as you do from headphones.

The only drawback (it does get cold in the winter here in ChiBeria) is if I am outside for a length of time without my ears covered, the mold gets cold.

In summary, I should have listened to the audi and gotten molds 5 years ago.

Just an observation that I don’t see discussed much. One’s ear canal anatomy and one’s loss both impact what kind of custom mold will work best. If one doesn’t have a big loss and/or one has an ear canal that will tightly retain a slim tip, one can get by with very small molds. If however one has an ear canal that lets the mold back out just a touch, feedback can be an issue and a mold with retention: a Concha lock will do it for some but many will need a full skeleton mold.

Another observation. If buying domes, Phonak changed its dome fitting for Marvel/Paradise/Lumity. Make sure the right ones are bought.

In this picture, the top one is the newer fitting.

@orgullodemexico said:

The only drawback (it does get cold in the winter here in ChiBeria) is if I am outside for a length of time without my ears covered, the mold gets cold.

LOL! If this is where I think it is … I was born and raised there and KNOW how ChiBeria feels from Nov thru March.

I envy your having the custom molds for your Phonaks!! I, too, should have them, but my dang ear canals rebel from every material but the gray, soft, silicone double domes you just changed out for the molds. You are right: sound quality has to be better with a good seal.

Recently I trialed the Oticon Intent 1 aids that were fit with a very sticky silicone power dome (for me - most folks would get the mold). I’ll be danged but after 2.5 days, my ears started to sting like a bee sting. I wasn’t sure if it was from jamming the chunkier speakers into my swollen morning ear canals or if it was a reaction to the sticky tips on them.

I’m back to my Phonak Lumity Life aids and their very tolerable domes now. I haven’t tried titanium molds … but my ears do swell up and go down during the day, so I think a flexible dome may help prevent leakage squeakage.

OK WOW! Very helpful! I’ve heard of “custom slim tips” but seeing them I can really get the potential for ME - if I’d be so lucky as to not be allergic to the material.

I was bummed that the clear - but very sticky! - double domes that came with the Oticon Intent 1 I trialed made my ear canals sting after about 2.5 days of wearing. To be honest, it could’ve been due to the chunkier receivers on them. I tried to swap my smoke gray generic power domes on my Phonak Lumity Life aids with the Oticon domes but could NOT for the life of me get them on the speaker tips. YIPES. I thought “If I bust the tip off my Lumity Life aids, I’m SUNK.”

But I actually think your slim tips would give better seal and therefore better sound quality than the generic power domes I’ve been using for years on my aids. My audi even teased me saying, “You better buy up every last one at Amazon cuz there may come a day when they’re no longer made.”

Sobering thought. I’d need an ear canal skin transplant if that happens.

Did you need to take impressions for the slim tips?

Yes, I got impressions taken. Six months later, I decided I wanted a second pair. I didn’t need new impressions, as Phonak keep a digital copy for 12 months. They’re made of hard acrylic, and although they go a fair distance in, it’s not into the narrow area, where it’s nearly skin on bone. I get the occasional itch, but nothing as bad as the silicon of domes.

Peter

AH! The tips looked like squishy soft silicone to my untrained eye. Ack, acrylic of any tint or clear set my ears on FIRE. I guess that won’t be an option for me.

@BobbyBoomer said:

I can’t put my old attenuators in, because often, some of our regular audience members, who have been following us for years, want to come up and talk. If I have my ear plugs in, I wouldn’t be able to understand one word.

Y’know, I just think you should keep the old attenuators IN till you need to take them out. You should not feel ANY apprehension if audience members come up to you afterwards for conversation. Just hold up a hand, then take out the attenuators RIGHT THERE after your set! Put the aids in, set them to a comfy program and invite the conversation to happen in a quieter spot.

I think we focus on ourselves too much. Folks don’t give a HOOT what-all we do to make conversation easier. They just stand by and wait, then enjoy conversation!

When I tested my Oticons vs Phonaks (the latter w/without the Roger mic) I was in a restaurant with folks sitting all over, and the wait staff coming to the table with drinks and entrees. No one said “BOO!” as I swapped out my aids and fiddle-faddled with the Roger mic. It was a grand adventure, and if anyone HAD asked me whassup with all that, I’d have told them: I’m trialing a new, leading-edge aid against my 2-yr-old pair that has a mic accessory to see which ones work better in noisy places like this.

Information sharing is never a negative! You can share how the attenuator cuts off ALL noise, and since you like talking to folks, you swap in some special aids that let you (mostly!) hear conversation even with music blaring in the background. They’d be intrigued and impressed is my guess. Tech gets attention, and lots of folks either have hearing issues or know of someone who they could share this with. GO FOR IT!

@1Bluejay said:

Y’know, I just think you should keep the old attenuators IN till you need to take them out. You should not feel ANY apprehension if audience members come up to you afterwards for conversation. Just hold up a hand, then take out the attenuators RIGHT THERE after your set! Put the aids in, set them to a comfy program and invite the conversation to happen in a quieter spot.

Good suggestion … but …

What about between songs? I can discreetly turn the volume up with my app, which is mounted on my keyboard stand, while on stage.

Without my aids, I cannot understand human speech.

@BobbyBoomer said:

I can discreetly turn the volume up with my app, which is mounted on my keyboard stand, while on stage.

Discretion is OUT THE DOOR! I would totally say, “Gimme a sec!” go through the protocol to get your ears up and running and then tell them why! It’s not intrusive. I think folks would give you an extra ovation for admitting, the music you LOVE and have given to them made you lose some hearing, but HEY! Just talk louder, willya?

I’ve had more frank disussions with the AV home automation guy here in my house (replacing a pile of stuff fried in a lightning strike way last summer) than with my own MOTHER. Since he’s a tech guy, he appreciates learning all about the nuances of BT streaming with aids, the potential of Auracast and the battle of battery vs rechargeable. He said his cousin - his age (early 40s) had to give up going to her uncle’s place out on a rural farm cuz power was so unpredictable there. She only has rechargeables, cuz that’s about all anyone sells now.

Reminded me that before the pandemic, hubs and I would go to India regularly. But with rechargeables?!?!? GUFFAW! My in-law’s place in C’garh had power for 2 hours at DAWN and 2.5 hrs around dinner time 7-9:30pm. Now I’d be there with rechargeables (I had my Phonak Marvels with 13 batts back then) & I’d be SOOL bigtime. I’d have needed an inverter with my charging base plugged in at the entry hall. DOH!

I tell you, the more you share reality with folks, the stronger the bond and the more vivid the encounter. You can’t lose!

@1Bluejay said:

Discretion is OUT THE DOOR!

In normal life, with my friends, I have no problem with that.

My friends know my limitations. When we go out to eat, we choose less noisy places, and prefer outdoors, and they know to talk a little slower.

However, there is something about gigging that is strictly “show business”.

Show biz is a bit of magic. We both sing, and I play saxophone, flute, guitar, wind synthesizer, and sometimes keyboards on stage. When appropriate, we talk on the mic between songs. Sometimes just song announcements, sometimes interesting things about the song we are going to play, sometimes lame jokes, and sometimes just interacting with the audience. Without my aids, I would not be able to hear their responses.

Now I could go for the sympathy approval: “Hey! He’s the almost deaf musician, and he still sings and plays all those instruments so well.” But I don’t want to be appreciated ‘in spite of my handicap’ and I don’t want it to interfere with our performance in any way.

Which is why I’m trying to find a work-around. I think the ear molds might do that for me. It’s worth a try, anyway.

I do OK with my Oticons with closed vented domes, but my new Phonaks don’t isolate the ambient sounds as well. So when we quit, and the next entertainer is up, and IMO too loud for my safety, I can’t get as quiet with the Phonaks as I can with my Oticons.