#1

I have worn hearing aids for 7-8 years and by far the worst part of the experience for me is having the little plastic “tails” dig in to my ears. That little $.01 piece of sharp plastic can make wearing these very expensive appliances really uncomfortable.

Does anyone have an alternative? I have tried wearing the aids without the tails but I feel like I could lose the aids this way. Any suggestions? Thanks

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#2

I’m lost here. Sorry but I can’t figure out what you’re referring to. Are these bte aids and you’re talking about the hearing aid hook?

#3

See the picture below

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Inked20211129_160947_LI1208×906 283 KB

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#4

I snip mine so they fit my ear better, works for me.

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#5

Wow. I learned something new today. Unfortunately I’m no help

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#6

In addition to modifying the “tail” with regard to your concern about lossing HAs if you remove tails completely, while I have never used them others on forum have … corded HA covers prevent loss of HAs.

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#7

You can trim them to be shorter, or just so that the and of it is on an angle that is less irritating for your ear. Another option is to adjust the “curl” a little bit, which I have seen described in some Phonak literature as being possible by methods as simple as running it over the edge of a desk or table (haven’t tried this myself).

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#8

Thank you for all the responses. Over the last 7-8 years I have tried cutting those tails short, I have used a hair dryer to put more curl in them and I have tried going without them all together. None of those strategies has worked very well for me…

I wish someone would invent a better system for holding the HA in place. For example I think an improvement would be to make that piece of plastic cylindrical rather than flat so that it didn’t have 2 sharp edges.

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#9

Custom molds with a concha lock or perhaps even a skeleton mold should keep receiver in place.

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#10

I trimmed mine, then found it seemed to make the edges sharper, causing increased irritation.

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#11

I don’t know what those things are but I will ask my audiologist. Thank you

#12

Image of several earmolds

This image shows a skeleton earmold as well as one with a protruding “lock” meant to help engage with part of the ear for better retention.

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#13

I’ve used those for about 10 years. One audiologist would put them on straight and said they would bend to my ear with time.
I curl them myself. Draw them over an open scissors blade. they’re very comfortable then.

I understand they are used by people playing sports to help keep hearing aids in place.

Downside? I’ve had them fall off when I was changing wax guards or domes. They have an offset…took me a bit to get it on right. When they are on right the offset is out from the surface of the ear, not into the ear. They follow the cartilage on the ear’s surface. It’s a real problem and they are very uncomfortable when they are offset into the ear. When I finally got them on right I took photos to refer to…

Dave

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#14

I took a nail file and sort of rounded off the end. It made it smoother so it doesn’t dig in your ear.

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#15

I recently bought some of these https://www.deafmetal.store/ they are for pierced or non pierced ears and work to retain your aid in case if falls out.

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#16

@Sarah_G

How do you find these then? I’ve been looking at them but thought it’ll be a lot harder to have to change batteries during the day if needed.

#17

I have rechargeable ones so that’s not an issue for me, but yes it might be a pain taking the piercing out to change batteries. Maybe look at the clip on ones? The range is better if you look at the DeafMetal site not the retailers.

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#18

I just got my new Jabra HAs this week. The tech suggested using them without the tails, which I’ve been doing. They work fine, and don’t seem loose in any way. I also think the receiver is sitting deeper in my ear canal. The tech said it is no big deal to add back the tails if I want, but so far no problem.

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#19

I’ve been tempted to remove the tails on my Jabras as well. They fit perfectly snug in my ear canals, and I really don’t think I need them. Maybe next time I have them cleaned I’ll see what my fitter thinks.

#20

YES. A year ago, I bought Phonak HA. No tails! A very soft insert and I like them very much.
Try them I’m sure you’ll like the inserts better!

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