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DIY: tubes, hooks and moulds

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Hi,

While I was trying to remove the tube, the small part that was inside the hook got broken.

Luckily, I got spares. I believe I need to learn how to remove tubes without damaging anything. I also have trouble putting the tubes in the hook. Any tips on how to do it easily are appreciated.

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On another note, how can I clean the tubes? Is it okay to soak them in water with some bicarbonate and lemon salt?

I found out there’s a black cover for this hole in the battery part. It doesn’t exist in the right hearing aid. Probably, it fell when I changed the battery one day. Does it have any benefit or the aids are fine without it?

Thank you!

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4 people in this conversation4 min readJump to latest

You could just try to warm the end of the tube to get it on, but really shouldn’t be to hard, unless the tube is old and lost it’s flexibility.

I find it difficult either when the tube is soft (when I need to put it in) or hard (to remove it). I think I’m not doing it correctly.

How about this video, but actually there’s thick wall tube available, maybe it’s this that’s making it difficult?

@tenkan said:

there’s thick wall tube available

Do you mean the tube is thicker than it should be?

Thanks for the video! It looks so easy but when I do it, it doesn’t happen that smooth!

@Zeeza will be using the HE11 ear hooks, @tenkan

I’ve just buy thick wall tubing. I’ve never had to measure anything before.

Pre Bent Tubing for BTE Hearing Aids - HAB Hearing1

Pre Bent Tubing for Hearing Aids – £11.95 – Free shipping is standard. Don’t wait for others to re-tube your BTE hearing aid, do it yourself! Please note – we only ship to UK postal addresses. Standard Pre Bent Tubing – 25 pack Medium Pre...

In reply to @tenkan

In truth @tenkan I have just recently had a new set of custom skeleton moulds made, from hard acrylic, this was a special fitting by Starkey UK Lab, much time & attention was taken on the impression, advice was sought from Starkey beforehand, the impression was marked, with various bits to be scalloped out (previous pain points) the results were impressive, for the first time ever in 30 odd years of trying to get a set of moulds that actually fitted perfect was actually achieved! There are no vents whatsoever…This was meant to to be a tester, to get the fit correct, so we could then order gold plated silicon moulds, at £200 a pop each, because of my allergies to silicon, I am fine with hard acrylic… It would appear, Starkey keeps a copy of your impressions indefinitely, they just need the serial number to reorder the exact same moulds! After trying these out for a couple of weeks, I am delighted to say, I have had no discomfort and no feedback, and they appear to be welded onto my lugs :slight_smile: it’s a slight effort to remove them! So, I have decided to forgo the gold plated version, and stick with these hard acrylic moulds… @Zeeza I don’t believe there is any specific size for double walled tubing as @Zebras states, the tubing is naturally soft and slightly elasticated, so it has a little movement, it takes a little practice to perfect retubing moulds, but after a few times it becomes much easier, double walled tubing will probably give you around another 5db of gain… Good Luck, cheers Kev :wink:

Yeah it sounds like you’ve hit the jackpot with acrylic, but i chuckled a bit when you mentioned “gold plated” all I could think of was some billionaire Sheikh!

Yeah, I did hit the jackpot with my Audiologist @tenkan for very few will give that level of service, especially the inordinate amount of time needed to get that correct mould fitting, and let’s be honest, the best hearing aids in the world are absolutely useless, if the custom moulds are poorly fitted, you are either in constant pain, with pressure points or the feedback is horrendous or sometimes both! I am just so very grateful that my Audiologist took the time to resolve my issues, not to mention that Starkey Lab UK were most helpful with advice, in conjunction with their highly skilled mould makers… Cheers Kev :smile:

In reply to @Zebras

@Zebras said:

I’ve just buy thick wall tubing.

I’m confused now. I found the following in the link you attached. Do these types make any difference?

“Size Guide;

Standard = 2.16mm inside / 3.17mm outside

Medium = 1.93mm inside / 3.10mm outside

Thick Wall = = 1.93mm inside / 3.60mm outside”

In reply to @kevels55

@kevels55 said:

I am just so very grateful

I’m so glad to know you got what you needed! I wish that was the rule everywhere!

@kevels55 said:

you are either in constant pain

I “hear” you. I wrote before about that wound in my left ear because of the mould. Unfortunately, it re-appears now and then and I have no idea what the reason is!

Wounds of Ears
Hey, I mentioned in a previous post that I had a kind of wound/ bump in my left ear (concha cymba). It was healing and I was finally able to wear my hearing aid. Unfortunately, the wound is back. All that I did lately was I have changed the tubes as they got hard. And because it never rains but it pours. I’ve got a wound in my right ear (helix). It’s where the tube is attached to the hook. Did anybody have similar trouble before? I’m attaching photos, maybe you can see something I’m not see…

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