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World's biggest mold

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Edited

Is this the world’s biggest ear mold? My latest. I keep insisting on a deep mold and this is what they came up with.

I have no idea why they are fixed on having it start at the surface. My previous set were recessed very deep so the wire was tight against my head. These are not. I give up.

20181011_123020

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They can recess it into the ear and ask for the wire to be flush, but they need to be very specific with the lab. And you’d probably need to lose the canal lock. Were you having retention problems? Your ear canal does look like a straight slide out…

If you still have it you could ask the clinician to send the old mould into the lab to be scanned and then have the new mould modeled upon the old. However it does depend on things like whether they have changed brand / receiver size etc. I tend to find this works well for patients like yourself who preferred their older mould shape / size as sometimes it can be difficult for the lab to understand exactly what you want as a clinician when we explain to them how the mould should look (can be frustrating!) so for them to actually see an example of what it should look like can be helpful

Edit: And yes, that is a pretty serious earmould you have at the moment!

yes I just had new ones made up 2 weeks ago they came in just like that but now quite that long… I had the audi snip all that excess silicone off and now they fit nicely in my ear here is a pic of the mold now

IMG-0538

Here is the whole story:

  1. My molds for my previous hearing aids fit deep, are about a half inch long, and the wire fits flat against my head. My current pro did the impressions, and ordered the molds then, from Westone.

  2. I said I want deep molds for the new hearing aids where the wire fits tight against my head and preferably the mold should reach the bony portion of the ear canal so I would not have occlusion and have a closed fit for best audibility.

  3. We have had a total of 4 attempts. The “faceplate” side should not be at the surface. It should be recessed so where the wire turns would be right at the opening of the canal, and then the wire should be snug against my head.

  4. The same pro ordering from the same lab, cannot get the mold recessed after 4 tries. I’ve given up the dream of the mold reaching the bony portion. I will have whatever vent I have to have for occlusion and deal with it, for now.

In reply to @Neville

I was having retention problems because half the mold was out of the canal. I told them if it is recessed deep it will stay in place. They wanted a foot and my experience with feet is that it means the mold will be surface level. I stressed again that it should be recessed and I was assured it would be recessed, even with a foot. It is not.

Edited
@Don said:

Does anyone have experience with Lloyd’s home impression kit?

Dear god. Take the mold back and insist on having it remade to your preferences. Do not do an impression at home. Serious damage can and does happen, even with trained professionals doing it.

Edited

Ha! I hear you. I would not attempt to do an impression myself with just the tools my pro has. But, if there is a safe process made for home use I might try it. It would have to have a guard or some way to keep it from going too deep, other than feeling pain.

I’ve taken them back several times and talked a lot about what I want and my pro seems to agree, but it doesn’t get done. There is nothing else i can say. Either they are unwilling or unable to get it right. I don’t know which it is. Neither one makes sense.

So I will try to go somewhere else for an ear mold, if I can get a local pro to agree to just make a mold, knowing they are not going to get any more of my business. I guess it would be similar to a normal hearing person getting an impression and custom hearing protection.

Edited

Don-

This is only a guess, but that guess is that the impression is already completely fine- but the person creating the mold not properly comprehending the “special instructions”.

Would there be a chance you would be able to submit a photo of the molds you like with try #5?

That might work, if my pro sends the person the pictures. I could also send the old molds but it might be better if they see the fit, in action.

The impression was very good. Things have not gone well after that.

I also had an impression for the previous trial of the KS8 and those impressions went to Rexton, and I was having the same problem. So the only common thing there is the person who does the order.

I ordered one mold yesterday - same Costco - no special instructions. I will let you know what I get in a couple of weeks.

My “unstated” goal is for the mold to work as intended, while being as inconspicuous as possible (but who wouldn’t want this?)

My previous mold left me looking like a horsefly had impaled itself in my ear canal until I did some “trimming” to it on my own. That is what I sort of expect this time as well.

In reply to @Don

@Don said:

I could go somewhere else and see if they can order off my impressions already in the Westone system.

Do they 3D scan the impressions these days or something? (great if so!) With my first mold, I was told the actual impression was only “good” for a few months, as that foamy material would - over time - lose its integrity.

Lots of places do scan them, though I’m not sure it’s universal yet. The issue with the long term integrity is now more about changes to your ear canal than changes to the silicone impression material.

I don’t see why another provider wouldn’t do it for you, so long as you are open to paying them for it.

I had to send a particular custom tip back to a lab EIGHT TIMES last year to get it right. I think we probably did four or five impressions and I sent them a few photos of the problem and enumerated the problems and exactly what I wanted done. As you might imagine, I have avoided that lab as much as possible since.

But sending in your old impressions, or a photo of them, is a good idea.

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