“Cleaning” is a word I have seen fairly often.
It just came up again in the Kirkland Signature 8.0 thread and that one is so far off track I didn’t want to make it worse, so;
What is this “cleaning” thing?
For 8 years, I have opened the battery doors and put my aids in a drier, nightly. Every Friday I change batteries. Once a month I remove the domes, take a bit of crud off the end and put new domes on.
That’s it.
Have I been committing some awful sin all these years?
I bet you are doing a better regimen than most.
I take the domes off most nights (except when I’m at work) and clean the domes with alcohol wipes, clean the aids with a microfiber cloth and sometimes use the little brush, that came in their case, on the microphone area. Every 6 months or so I use the Jodi-vac to vacuum the aids but I have found not much to vacuum so I don’t do it every day like the Jodi-vac says to do it. I use the D-Dry to dry and UV sanitize most nights (except at work). I change the domes every few months or when they tear. I only change the wax filters if they are blocked or when I vacuum the aids.
I brush the domes nightly and take to Costco every two months where they replace domes/wax filters and clean microphones. I’ve had about 15 months. 1 receiver was replaced. No other issues.
Depends a bit on the aid. Aids can be prone to gunking up the mic openings. Aids come with a brush to try to keep them gunk free.
The Phonak Naida and others models have a mesh cover over the microphone ports that lets sounds in and water out.
Some aids require more cleaning than others, and this mostly relates to the individual differences in earwax production, perspiration, lifestyle (dirty jobs), climate (hot and humid), etc
Can someone tell me is it permissible to remove the tubing and mold and wash in soapy water please? The tubing has been glued to the mold and it’s dufficult to remove the earwax from the glued hole in the mold. Or is their a far easier way to clean molds properly?
You can try to find pipe cleaner and run it inside the tubing to remove the wax. Another option is to get a small jewelry ultrasonic machine and put the earmold in. Be careful to remove the tubing from the ear hook.
I clean my hard ear molds in an ultrasonic cleaner, and it makes them look brand new. Cleans in places that are tough to clean otherwise, like the vent hole.
My vents get wax in them about once a week. I use a special dental floss recommended by my VA Audiologist. Very simple process to put the hardened end of the floss into the vent and pull it through.
A lot of years ago, before our dear leaders decimated the manufacturing base in the US, I worked at a high tech firm making computer devices. It involved a clean-room and an ultrasonic vat of a type of chlorofluorocarbon for cleaning parts.
In my brilliance, or naivete, I thought it would be a brilliant idea to use that to clean my CIC. It never worked again, and within hours, even the shell had become quite fragile and cracked to bits. Never used anything other than a piece of tp after that.
If the ear wax can be dissolved, a de-greasing detergent (Dawn or other dishwashing detergent) may a way to go. It’s very important to rinse the detergent off completely and have the earmold completely dry before re-attaching it.
I have had good luck cleaning vents and receivers with Gum Soft Picks. gumbrand.com
They are very soft and gentle, but great for small vents ant tubes.