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RIC wire life

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So last night my broke. Started cutting in and out and was sensitive to wire movement, then stopped working altogether. I’m assuming this is a broken wire (Widex Beyond), going in this afternoon to have it fixed. My question is - what is your experience with RIC devices? This is my first, and I suspected that wire would be a weak spot, but I did expect it to last longer than a month… I don’t see how it can not be a weak point - I have a full custom mold, you pretty much have to put pressure on that wire in one fashion or another when putting the mold in your ear.

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Is the wire embedded into the custom mold? Or does it plug into the mold? If the earlier, does that mean that you’ll have to replace the custom mold and the receiver inside, too? That would be a hassle, and they should design it to plug into the mold instead, so there’d be 2 connection points, one to the and one to the receiver inside the mold.

I see. You mean that the wire goes straight into the P1 receiver but the receiver is removable from the custom mold? So the receiver will have to be replaced along with the wire because it’s one-piece. But at least the custom mold doesn’t have to be redone.

I was curious before what happens if the receiver goes bad in case of custom molds, now I know. Thanks.

I found them to be pretty reliable. I just jam everything into my ears each morning. I haven’t really worried about reliability with my KS6s. The fitter did replace one for another reason. It had seemed to be working OK when that happened.

Edited

In reply to @JeffBowser

@JeffBowser said:

You are correct. Still wondering about the robustness of the RIC wires.


Thanks for sharing that picture. Is there a cover plate for it that you took off? Or is it just exposed like that?

Also, it’s interesting to see the the wiring is exposed like that because the plastic tube ends a little short. The wire that goes into my receiver has a plastic mold that wraps/seals tightly around the receiver on one end and the wire insulator in the other end, to make sure that you can’t kink the entry point where the wire goes into the receiver, which can be a weak point if you repeatedly push on that point every time your push the receiver into the canal.

It stays open like that. The plastic tube doesn’t end short, in that picture, that’s where it broke. There is also a bit of optical illusion there between the light and the dark. When it is unbroken, the tube goes all the way into the receiver.

@Volusiano said:

Thanks for sharing that picture. Is there a cover plate for it that you took off? Or is it just exposed like that?

Also, it’s interesting to see the the wiring is exposed like that because the plastic tube ends a little short. The wire that goes into my receiver has a plastic mold that wraps/seals tightly around the receiver on one end and the wire insulator in the other end, to make sure that you can’t kink the entry point where the wire goes into the receiver, which can be a weak point if you repeatedly push on that point every time your push the receiver into the canal.

In reply to @JeffBowser

@JeffBowser said:

You are correct. Still wondering about the robustness of the RIC wires.

Mine are Phonak and the receivers are 19 months old. I suspect they will need changing at my next annual hearing test in a few months as the flexible seal where wire meets receiver is starting to come off slightly on one side. Usual expected life of these is about 18 months and since mine is squashed by a stethescope regularly, it has lasted better than expected. No change to sound quality as yet.

Good info, thanks. I’m in the habit of pushing ’s back deeper into my ear all day long. I’ll have to break myself of that habit. Perhaps being needlessly re-seated dozens of times a day is part of the issue.

In reply to @Psocoptera

When I first got my Trax 42s, they had tulip domes, and I used the wire to help put them in and to take them out. Some months later I got custom molds. My molds look very different from the pictured ones, and the receiver doesn’t clip in at all. It has to be pushed inside, and I saw the audi using the wire for some of the pushing. However, the molds have extensions, which I don’t know the name of but call whiskers, which I use instead of the wire for removing the mold. The picture provided of the Widex mold is a little blurry, but it looks to me as if there’s also a whisker on it.

For inserting, the base of my molds is wide enough for me to push on it with my index fingernail, so I don’t have to use the wire there either.

From my first months’ experience and watching the audi use the wire to push the receiver into the mold, I’d say my receiver wires and their connections at both ends are pretty tough. I’ve had my aids 17 months without a problem. Unless the Widex wire to receiver connection has some design weakness, it seems to me a wire that needed to be replaced after a month had a defect.

Edited

Thanks for the feedback. I use the wire neither for inserting nor extracting, but it does get squashed when I seat the mold home. I have fat fingers and short nails…

In reply to @JeffBowser

I barely have my wires on my OPN for only 3.5 months, so still going strong and no visible sign of kink or dent at all, but that’s to be expected.

I’m also in the habit of pushing my RIC in all the times with my pinky fingers, especially if I start feeling occluded (I have a single vent ).

1 month is a very quick wire changeover - could have been a faulty wire but I would also recommend to cease pushing the mould in continually as I have a feeling this has played a big part in the minimal lifespan. The Widex wires are Kevlar coated so the wire itself is pretty strong. You’re much more likely to get a distorted receiver rather than a physical break in the wire itself - And lifespan, well If you’re keeping it clean and dry than a year is a pretty standard timeframe for a wire changeover in my clinic. However, it is dependent on the type of conditions you are wearing the aid in, wax production etc Also, if you’re worried about the mould popping out, get the Audi to remake the moulding with a canal / half concha lock - I find them to be much better in terms of retention than the sleeve mould alone

@JeffBowser said:

So last night my RIC broke. Started cutting in and out and was sensitive to wire movement, then stopped working altogether. I’m assuming this is a broken wire (Widex Beyond), going in this afternoon to have it fixed. My question is - what is your experience with RIC devices? This is my first, and I suspected that wire would be a weak spot, but I did expect it to last longer than a month… I don’t see how it can not be a weak point - I have a full custom mold, you pretty much have to put pressure on that wire in one fashion or another when putting the mold in your ear.

is the wire too short in general? Do you still have room to move it once it is behind the ear? maybe is was faulty from the get go.

Thanks, all. The mold is fine, it doesn’t actually come out, just a habit. The wire is plenty long, I’m starting to feel like I just need to modify my years of habits to accommodate the new scenario.

In reply to @JeffBowser

How robust are ? I got mine in July, 2015. My right receiver went last fall over a period of several weeks so it was replaced then. That would have been at about the 15-16 month mark. My left receiver has been fine, but my audi replaced it at my last visit in late January just as a precaution. Mine seem pretty robust. I use only the wire to remove my from my ears, my youngest still tugs at the wire sometimes, and I’ve fallen asleep laying on my side far more than once (which puts pressure on the RIC wire), yet I’m not experiencing a lot of wear and tear on the wires in my opinion, but then, this is my first pair of HAs so I don’t have any experience with other brands. My audiologist seems to think my receiver wires are lasting longer than those of some of her other patients. Perhaps you just got a defective wire?

Edited

Thanks. I like to think it was just a defective wire, the feedback up here at least tells me they are more robust than I expected.

@JeffBowser said:

So last night my RIC broke. Started cutting in and out and was sensitive to wire movement, then stopped working altogether. I’m assuming this is a broken wire (Widex Beyond), going in this afternoon to have it fixed. My question is - what is your experience with RIC devices?

I have been wearing ’s for quite a few years now and never had a wire break or be a problem.

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