Swapped back to my Naida Lumity UP’s. What a difference!

Thank you for your very candid replies @Neville, it’s refreshing that Professionals on here, can be upfront… An Ultra Power or Super Power aid, is only as good as the mould, there is no point in developing new hearing aids for the severe/profound hearing losses, if they cannot get the fundamentals correct… I had an idea, things were bad, when I seen my last hard acrylic moulds, stamped with the Phonak Logo, obviously the Phonak Lab in UK, are new to the mould making game, I never saw anything on the soft acrylic by way of a logo, so that may well have been from Starkey? It is obviously good that Phonak have picked up the gauntlet, and made an effort to rectify the situation, that’s the first Phonak moulds I have ever seen in my puff (puff, is Scottish slang, for life ) There first effort for me was perhaps a mitigating disaster, but I am sure they will get it right eventually, fingers crossed! Here in the UK at least, Titanium moulds are made in Asia I believe, if I recall correctly, it might be Vietnam, so there is a few weeks turnaround… I believe they scan the impression, and send the digital impression via the web, so I was informed… Cheers Kev

Is this to get a better seal @marnold or does it help prevent an allergic reaction, in conjunction with the vinegar & alcohol? Cheers Kev

I have only ever known Starkey @Karva, even the NHS moulds were Starkey, I do not know of any others, or I have never heard of any other mould manufacturers, it’s always been that way, as far as I recall? And anyway, since we cannot take our own impressions, we are somewhat limited to where our Audioligist sends them, my last set of moulds, were hard acrylic, they were made by Phonak, these are my first ever Phonak moulds, perhaps as much use as a chocolate fire guard, but apparently, the Phonak Lab is in the process of learning? Suffice to say, it might take a while, for them to get it right… Cheers Kev

In 2022, our NHS provided me with a new pair of hard acrylic moulds. They fit well, don’t itch and don’t discoloyr easily. However, the occlusion was ‘distracting’. I drilled the vent a bit wider but still no better. These were stamped Starkey.

I went private and went or RIC (P90) and Phinak slimtips. These are vented, and work great. They go much deeper in the canal. I get no occlusion with them.

I have a few pairs of Phonak Naida SP’s, which will accommodate thin tubes and slimtips, but the fitting range is poor in the high frequencies, do I’ve gone to another Audiologist for these hard Acrylic moulds:

With these, I can use the thick tubes and hopefully get a better fitting range in Target. I had the impressions done just before Christmas, so they should be here soon. If these work, I’ll get a duplicate pair. These are also being made by Starkey.

Peter

Arrived this morning. They seem a “full” fit. I’ve redone Target’s Real ear & Feedback test allowing 3dB overtune. i shall test them tonight at a Pool match

Peter

@Karva said:

Every ear mould manufacturer I work with offer them.

Oh wow, that’s interesting, thanks. It’s also strange that we CAN’T get them here if they are so widely available there. But in a pinch maybe I could use a French lab.

Looking good Peter Hopefully the new moulds will work well for you… Are the red Phonak Sky’s to match your eyes, after a heavy night at the pool Love the colour, I also like the translucent green, Phonak do for kids… Cheers Kev

Yeah @Karva, I have thought of this… Although my Audioligist at Boots always takes a new impression, even if the last impression is only weeks apart, so I don’t actually know what system they operate, I will ask… However, I do know at the NHS, that they keep your digital impressions for 1 year exactly on file, my NHS A.uD told me this, and I should reorder a new set, before the 12 months are up… NHS are notoriously reluctant to give you anything, they might give you an Audiogram, but a digital file might be beyond their capabilities, they are extremely short staffed, getting a simple appointment with an NHS A.uD, will take many months, for this reason alone, many folks in the UK go private… Cheers Kev

Thank you @marnold so therefore, I assume the vinegar & alcohol are basically for cleaning purposes, I thought maybe the vinegar & alcohol toughened your ears up slightly, it’s likely to ward off any infections though… My ears are on the large side, which is helpful & accommodating with glasses and Naida UP aids, apart from being allergic to various moulds, I have ear eczema in both ears, it’s bad, and I look as if I have chronic dandruff on my shoulders, I have tried all kinds of creams & moisturisers, nothing works, the eczema remains! Perhaps one of the reasons, I am susceptible to pressure sores, I get a build up of dead skin, especially under the Concha… But, perhaps your cleaning regime, might help? Cheers Kev

You could put in a Subject Access Request asking for the digital files and anything else you need.

Thank you @marnold … The more I read about Ear Eczema, the more it sways me to believe, this may be some form of Eczema, and not an allergic reaction? I am allergic to some things like Bee stings, some antibiotics too…I had always assumed, the A.uD whom told me, he believed I was allergic to silicone, was correct, there is obviously lots of types of silicone, but I have handled hundreds of tubes of silicone in construction jobs, I buy boxes at a time, and rarely use gloves, I am sometimes days picking it off my fingers yet, I haven’t ever had an allergic reaction! So perhaps, the A.uD was just making an educated guess? There is around 5 types of Ear Eczema, some of which bare an uncanny resemblance to my symptoms, and yes, some of the symptoms for an allergic reaction, are also similar, I guess without a patch test for allergies, there is no way of knowing? The problem we have here in the UK, is a lack of Doctors, and Dermatologists might be very thin on the ground, you might have to wait over a year, if not longer to see a skin specialist… I shall read up more. Cheers Kev

Over here skin issues in the ear canal are a grey land in between ENTs and dermatologists. Some derms won’t look at the ear at all but others will. ENT is often first stop. Not sure how thinks might differ over there. Consider psoriasis in your differential diagnosis, too, which can be a beast for hearing aids.

Allergic to bee stings here too. But my problems were more likely wet ears from sweat creating a breeding ground for bacteria. Alcohol and hair dryer keep my ears a bit dryer and vinegar makes the PH in my ears hostile to bacteria. I do occasionally get a build up of wax. But I examine my ear canals with the camera daily. If I see wax, use commercial peroxide to soften it and then blow it out with an ear bulb. Seems to work.

Yeah @Neville… I occasionally break out in certain areas of my back, and legs, and scalp, with much like psoriasis symptoms, I have never been diagnosed though! The itch is horrendous in the extreme, especially on my back, where I can’t get at it, to treat it!!! Some times it has went down through several layers of skin, creating open sores, I have seen (photos) of my back, nearly completely covered with a bright red rash, this predominantly breaks out, in the summer months, but thankfully not every year, occasionally I am itch free So there is a high likelihood, that I also have “Ear Psoriasis”, absolutely wonderful I might be forced to add it to my extensive list of ailments, if I were able to see a Dermatologist, to confirm a diagnosis! The joys… Thank you for your input @Neville… Cheers Kev