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Phonak HE11 vs HE11 680 Earhooks

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Edited

I was told by my audiologist that the two are exactly the same except the HE11 680 earhooks have a white filter for moisture. He said it also decreases the volume slightly.

I told him that moisture never has been an issue with me and that I preferred the HE11.

However, the aids came with the HE11 680.

But he said the white filters can easily be removed and said the hooks are exactly the same otherwise.

Is he correct?

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I read in this forum that @kevels55 has removed the filter and it is fine. Not much benefits on the control of moisture.
I am not sure whether both is te same size or design. Maybe Kevel55 might be able to commend.

The white filter is a sound/frequency damper., not a moisture device.In Target software it is selectable and does alter gain a little.

They can absorb moisture and plug up the tube so many will remove them.

Since l have a high end hearing aid dryer, l don’t use ear hooks with the white filter as it reduces the gain. Increasing the gain to make up for the white filter can cause feedback.

In reply to @Raudrive

@Raudrive said:

The white filter is a sound/frequency damper., not a moisture device.In Target software it is selectable and does alter gain a little.

They can absorb moisture and plug up the tube so many will remove them.

Thank you Raul. You mention that the moisture device is selectable in the software, and when selected, this alters the gain. Which way - i.e. it will increase it if selected? Or decrease it?

Also, is the earhook HE11 the exact same thing as an earhook HE11 680 with the white filter removed, or is there a difference in any other part of the earhook as well?

Thirdly, and this is a question for everyone who has responded - are these white filters easy to remove , or will it require a trip to the audiologist?

It’s the Redux Home version hearing aid dryer $399 US dollars and the only home version dryer that completely removes moisture without any heat. I remove the ear hooks and put the aid in the dryer. Sometimes l see bits of moisture in the earmold tubing so l put it inside with the aid.

In reply to @anon99509572

When the white filter is removed it allows a little more sound to the ear drum. So for people with profound hearing loss taking the filter out allows a little more sound to the ear drum. This white filter doesn’t affect feedback either way in or out if the aids are properly set up. My understanding on this.

As far as I know the two ear hooks are identical.

I used some monofilament fishing line to push the white filter out of my hooks in the past.

Edited

Looks like my earhook is actually the mini tamper proof HE11 680, so this requires a special tool just to remove the earhook :neutral_face:

So I’ll probably need to go to the audiologist just to remove it, and the filter, and then I’ll just ask him to unselect the corresponding setting on the Target software.

In reply to @Terost

@Terost said:

It’s the Redux Home version hearing aid dryer $399 US dollars and the only home version dryer that completely removes moisture without any heat. I remove the ear hooks and put the aid in the dryer. Sometimes l see bits of moisture in the earmold tubing so l put it inside with the aid.

Thanks. Looks like Phonak also sells a blower for that tubing, so I might go that route, especially since it wouldn’t involve removing the earhook, per my above post.

@Zebras is very familiar with the Sky aids and the ear hooks questions. Maybe she can help you more.

thank you @danka… The white damper inside the ear hook, can easily be removed, I don’t use them anymore, Phonak must have had altered the material they they use for the damper, perhaps in the last 3 years or so? Prior to this, I never had a problem… The white damper will now sometimes jam into the narrowest part of the ear hook, moisture will expand it, completely sealing the ear hook, so much so, no sound whatsoever will pass through, and you will think your aid is kaput… @Zebras knew all about this phenomenon, and kindly advised me, I haven’t had a problem since about a year, the white dampers are removed, and we are good to go… Cheers Kev. :grin:

Edited

Thanks Kev, good to know. Anyhow I decided to trade these aids in during my trial, for the Naida L30s, for other reasons (namely the AutoSense), so I will be requesting the non-filtered ear hooks this time around. But good to know that the filters can be easily removed if they do send the filtered ones.

I will also get a dryer unit and air blower - that should take care of keeping moisture out without the need of filters.

You are very welcome @anon99509572… The fist time that happened to me, I couldn’t fathom what was wrong, until @Zebras explained, (I rarely if ever use the app, I prefer autosense, it can sometimes be slightly annoying, but for the most part it’s fine) the white damper solidifies with moisture, a 1mm thick x 100mm in length, bare strand of copper cable will soon remove the damper from the ear hook, it’s happened 3 times to me, the last twice, were probably at around 6 weeks intervals, on the third occasion, I removed the dampers completely… Cheers Kev :wink:

Edited

On another thread, similar to this one, @Um_bongo eloquently explained there purpose… Cheers Kev :wink:

@Um_bongo said:

The filters reduce the peak resonance of the receiver in the tubing. The different coloured ones modify different frequencies. in They come from an era before tuning was advanced as it is now.

They can still be used with some aids to stop the response being so ‘perky’.

Cheers, that should have said ‘peaky’ but I think it was autocorrected out.

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