#1

Up to now I’ve been using sound quality to decide if I have to replace my wax guards (Cerustop variety). If the startup beeps sound normal and everything else seems as usual, then I leave the guards alone. But it occurred to me that if there’s wax in the guard, and I put it my ear, isn’t there a risk that some wax will be pushed past the filter grid into the receiver?

Do I need HF4 filters for my ear molds that are attached to my RIC hearing aid?
#2

I think it gets trapped in your wax filters. After all, that is their job. But who knows because S—/Stuff happens?

With a little practice (to avoid camera shake and to obtain good lighting) you can use your cellphone as a macro camera to peer down inside your wax filters or your receivers. Like this;

Wax%20Filter

1 Like
#3

Someone here said recently that wax is one of the main causes of receiver failure. Wax gets into filters through the grid in the domes I’m using, and I don’t see why it couldn’t get through the filter grid, if you give it enough of a chance.

#4

Yeah, I saw a few of those most-common-receiver-failure posts citing wax, moisture, debris, buildup.

I dunno. I never had problems. Though the posters/Pros likely have an advantage in that they get to see a variety of different people who live and work in different conditions.

#5

No real wisdom here (or maybe anywhere) but I think this thread leads one knowledgeable in hearing aids would call the microphones in the body of the aid the receivers and the part in the ear with a wax guard called the speaker/transmitter.

Here I see the speaker/transmitter being called the “receiver”, maybe I just don’t understand.

As for wax and build up, not sure my Costco Signature 5 have a wax guard, but they do have a soft ear shoe that goes into the ear channel, I have through neglect on cleaning, had enough wax build up to completely block sound, not bells even. This has never led to damage to the transmitter/speaker.

#6

Companies use speaker / wire / receiver interchangeably. Think of it like an old (!) handheld phone - you pick up the receiver to listen to the other person.

1 Like
#7

The microphones are on the body of the hearing aid. The receivers are the speakers and the Sig 5 has receivers at the end of the wire, in the ear canal. Most companies call that a RIC style (receiver in canal) but Resound calls it RIE (receiver in ear).

#8

When this (Receiver In Ear/RIE) or (Receiver In The Ear/RITE) or (Receiver In Canal/RIC) technology was new, they needed a new marketing catch-phrase.

I’m thinking that perhaps (Speaker in Ear/SIE) or (Speaker In The Ear/SITE) or (Speaker In Canal/SIC) didn’t go over with the marketing folks :wink:

bb
bb.jpg626×834 84.4 KB

Yes, your KS5’s have a wax guard. Ask Costco for free replacements. See Page30 of your User Guide.

1 Like
#9

PVC, thanks for the validation of my technical understanding… I am a retired Electrical Engineer and have some experience with the technology and terminology. I know the device in the ear is a speaker, not a receiver. The fact some, even the industry, chose to call it a receiver only ads confusion to a subject way to complicated for most users.

I stop by Costco every 6 month or so for new ear cushions (I’ll call the wax guard) and the keeper strap which usually breaks about this often. Costco has been GREAT in servicing my Sig5, I will likely purchase the Sig8 or newer if that comes first, in the near future.

#10

I have often thought about that. I will ask my audiologist about this next time. Thank you for posting this question.

#11

It was a couple of generations of technology ago but I was told that wax in the receiver was the reason for one of my aids failing. After that, I always tried to prise the old wax guards off with my fingernail. I thought there might be less chance of pushing the wax through the filter that way.

#12

In my experience, some people have ears that love hearing aids and others have ears that hate them. For the former group, their hearing aids keep on trucking for years and for the latter the hearing aids go in for repair frequently for debris or moisture issues. I don’t see any strong correlation with which manufacturer they wear.

Yes, wax can push through the filter and into the receiver if the wax guard is not changed regularly enough. Equally likely is debris in the microphones from sticky fingers. These are the two most frequent reasons for breakdown that I see (we have a microscope in our clinic which is probably uncommon, and so these problems are often invisible unless the manufacturer sends a photo). After that, probably damaged wires if someone has insertion difficulty for RICs, or batteries shoved into the body of the hearing aid for customs. Then moisture issues killing the microphones or the amplifiers (for my region, this probably ranks higher for more humid places). Then dogs. Or drops, for custom aids which can be less robust than BTEs in that situation.

Recently had a hearing aid come in that spent the winter outside under the snow (on the driveway, being driven over by the car). It was a bit scratched up and there was some corrosion in the battery compartment, but after I cleaned it out it worked perfectly. (+1 for Unitron.)

1 Like
#13

My RIC hearing aids have a wax gard filter on it but the click molds do not have any sort of filter. I am thinking that it may need one to protect from moisture and stuff.

The one thing I do not like about RIC hearing aids is the that receivers so so vulnerable. In the future, my next pair will probably just be the regular behind the ear aids with the tubes like I had before. Those were not as temperamental and no worrie about wax or moisture getting into the reaciever because the reiver were part of the instrument it self that sits behind the ear.