I just got a pr of Phonac behind the ear aid from the VA and love them. Was left in bad shape after cholesteatoma surgery. Anyhow, love the improvement but have a question. If something rubs against the aid itself, I hear static like noise. Like rubbing a piece of Styrofoam. Is this a normal deal with behind the ear aids? Tks for any answers.
Your Audi should be able to filter that out so you don’t hear it. When you go back to the clinic have a list of your issues and also what you really like. It is always good to give them feedback on how they are doing I have been using the VA for my aids for over 14 years now and I always have a list if what needs to be fixed and also what is working correctly.
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It is not unusual to be able to hear scratching sounds behind your ear. I have ReSound Quattro’s and they have excellent feedback cancellation, excellent wind noise control, at least with the settings my audi provided me.
BUT, when I put my RITE(RIC) devices on in the morning, one test that I do to see if the receivers are reasonably positioned in my ear is that I run a finger over the topic of the HA body behind my ear where the body with the 3 mics is and listen to the soft scratching sound that I generate. On very windy days when my hair is shaggy, I hear little or no wind noise from the mics themselves but what I do hear occasionally is if a gust of wind disturbs the HA’s or blows my shaggy hair against the mics, I will hear a rustling sound. Same for jostling my glasses and displacing the HA’s against my hair.
There is a typical hearing aid setting across brands called “expansion” - this effectively adjusts how much soft sounds are amplified. If you have very good low frequency hearing, you might actually hear noise generated by the HA’s themselves in a very quiet environment or perhaps soft noises like your HA’s rustling or the refrigerator running could be a bother that your mind can’t tune out for some reason. By raising the floor for soft noises with the expansion setting, your audi can make soft noises softer or potentially make them disappear altogether - but you might miss out on some noises that you want to hear, too. There are trade-offs. As cvkemp says, nothing is written in stone. Experiment and see what works best for you!
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Sometimes if your receiver wire is too long the aid rubs on your hair or edge of your ear. Some double sided tape helps. Tape it to your ear. See if that helps. If it works buy tape for attaching a wig. Lots cheaper than the tape supplied by the hearing aid companies. Wig tape is intended for skin contact.
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This also happens with me. I also wear Phonaks. It most likely is your hair rubbing on the mic on top. move your HA. Move your hair or HA a little and see if it stops.
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Thanks for the replies guys. Will talk to my audi to see if she can change anything and try to arrange my unit a bit different. Thanks.
I have that. If I just tap the hearing aid, it’s like styrofoam rubbing styrofoam. I assumed this was normal. The costco hearing aid fitter said this is how you check to make sure they’re on & you haven’t lost them. So, is this not normal?
While I use 3M medical tape to secure the wire next to my skin (keeps the silicone domes from sliding out of the ear canal & holds the BTE unit pretty stable), I think you may also benefit from a pair of EarGear sox. These are not cheap at $30+ at Amazon, but I slide these over my aids when getting my hair done. I’ve never detected any kind of hair rustle, diminished sound quality or negative issue at all with these sox that cover the entire BTE unit.
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That’s a neat deal. Think I’ll pick up a pr of those little socks.
I had that same problem until I added a hearing aid “sock” to each. Check them out on eBay. They stop the scratching noise.
Is it like this? 
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Exactly. Like a bunch of albino dancing cats.
Real cool! Thanks! 
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You probably near a hair cut. Seriously, brush your hair, with your finger away from the HA microphone. My audi showed me when I complained. We had a great laugh. I now know when I need a haircut because unlike a lot of people, I hear it!
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If you want to put the sock on right, remove the silicone dome on your receiver, then slide the sock over the receiver, wire and onto the actual BTE aid itself. They are shaped to be put on like that.
Yes, it’s a bit of a hassle to reverse that process and remove them, but I have backup aids with the socks kept on them permanently. You simply slide the sock UP a bit over the wire to open the aid’s battery door at night.
Details!
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And then there’s us women … with HAIR. Drives me batty that my LEFT aid in particular seems to pick up a ton of hair rustling. I fantasize about a Cindy Lauper cut with the sides of my head SHAVED bald as an egg, and any longer hair left just flopping around in a mop. 
I am another Ear Gear user—they eliminate some of the scratchy noises.
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That is true! I didn’t think about that till right now.
I love the LOOK of them! I have really zany, bright orange/red socks. They are so much sleeker, fit better, and stay put behind the ear than those GIGANTIC, flesh-colored BULB-shaped blobs. Never could understand why anyone would use them, cuz they add too much BULK to the precious real estate behind our ears.
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Every time I get a haircut the hairs just above the ears are just the right length to scratch against the microphones of my Phonak BTEs. I have to always slick them down and back when this happens - which works for a few minutes before it starts again!
