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How to choose domes / comfort / itching

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I had to go the diy route because audiologists refused to reprogram my mother’s unused 5 year old Phonak m90s for me. I believe I’ve programmed them properly and in testing found one frequency to be slightly better in one ear than the original .
They work and my hearing is much crisper when using them.
My question is: how do I choose tips?
I found the (spare) tips my mom had were uncomfortably tight, so I purchase small tips in the styles “open dome”, “vented dome” and “power dome”. I found the vented domes to be the most comfortable.
My problem is that they itch. After an hour or so, I find them unbearable. If I clean my ears with a q tip just prior to insertion, I might get a few hours, but eventually I’ll have an overwhelming urge to rub my ear which would hurt with the aid in.
I changed the tips (no idea how often I should do this) changed the (I have an auto remind set in the app) and I even have a drying disk in the case (don’t know how often to replace it). My problem is that I’m totally diy and can’t ask the audiologist.

So, how SHOULD the domes fit? Should they be tight? Loose? What is the difference between the styles? Should I get Eargene? How long should I expect to wear them each day?

Also, how often should I retest and adjust the ?

I wear phonaks and use the medium vented domes. I found using otoease helped me with comfort initially but after a while I think my ears just got used to the domes. Make sure it isn’t an allergy to the material, and if you are not allergic, try otoease. It’s a water based lubricant and I found that it helped the domes to slide in and sit comfortably in my ears.

As far as retesting I leave that to the professionals so I can’t advise.

It’s not recommended to clean the inside of your ear with a q tip, as it’s pushing earwax further down inside your ear.

Open dome is a good choice for your loss. Otoease is a good suggestion for the itching. You might also try open domes from other manufacturers. (make sure they fit tightly–it’s a pain if they fall of in your ear) There are no hard and fast rules how often to change the domes and . Biggest thing is to brush the wax away from the domes and filter. Changing both somewhere between every 1 and 3 months is reasonable (earlier if your wax filter clogs) Recheck every 1-2 years (sooner if you notice a change in your hearing.) Looks like you’re in NY. If you have health insurance you consider a referral to an if the itching remains an issue. M90s are starting to get a touch old. You also might want to consider seeing Costco for your next pair.

I recently started using Phonak Infinios. My audiologist was against giving me open domes (even though my previous old Oticon Ria2 non-bluetooth had open domes) and my hearing loss is at high frequencies. The Au.D explained she rarely prescribes open domes these days because noise canceling, speech in noise and, bluetooth streaming don’t work well with open domes.

All the Phonak domes I’ve tried (Marvel and Smokeys) were uncomfortable (including itching). They were either too big or too small. I tried Oticon’s “Bass 2 vent” domes with my Phonaks and that worked (Bass is the equivalent of a Phonak’s ). One way of testing the size of the dome is to “wave” your hand in front of your ear (an inch or 2 away from the ear): If you hear a whistle, then you may have feedback issues, If it is too big, it will be uncomfortable and it may itch. Also test speech in noise and streaming.

I am new to the forum and I am not a professional. What I just said is based on my personal experience.

Hope this helps.

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