Maybe zero wax in the receiver, but plenty of gunk in the microphones, the switch, and even in the battery compartment. As I said earlier, I have the advantage of having access to a microscope at work, and I’m pretty impressed with the job that the Jodi-Vac does. I’m terribly sorry that my spending habits fret you so. I won’t tell you what I just spent on a Roomba…
4 Likes
Once a week I put my domes in a container and tip boiling water on them. I’m surprised it doesn’t wreck them, but it works great. Been doing it for months.
Hey, no need to bring the Roomba in this dustup🙂
2 Likes
My method would not be recommended for any but the semisoft silicone type of mold. I drop mine into a diluted solution of household ammonia and water. I have done this for over 10 years and noticed no damage to the molds, but the wax dissolves from the molds very quickly without a trace of wax left behind. I then use a compressed air blower to clean them out completely.
2 Likes
Speaking of Roomba and OT, I laughed hard and long!
1 Like
Not criticizing, but some of you really get serious about cleaning HAs. Somebody said “why use a vacuum when you can use a broom” in relation to complaints about expense of cleaning tools.
Speaking of broom. I’ve been cleaning my vent tubes on my molds with a single “tong” or whatever from a kitchen broom forever now. And I clean the outside of my molds with a toothbush dipped in peroxide. And to make it even better, I never use wax guards. They affect the sound for the negative in my experience.
Note the above is related to my Oticon Agil HAs that I’ve had for 10 years worn 16-18 hours a day. I’ve replaced several speakers (due mostly to sweat) in my HAs but only one receiver in all that time. Nothing else. Maybe I just got lucky…
Nonetheless going to start a trial on Phonak M90Rs next week. If I buy I likely will follow the same regimen
1 Like
I use the brush that came with my Phonak 70R along with alcohol free wipes on the domes and case…
Since I also have sleep apnea, alcohol free wipes are already in the house for cleaning my CPAP supplies.
Seems to be fine for me
@BlueCrab Ha! 17 days later I came upon your response (I honestly didn’t read the whole thread – just happened upon your retort) – and wanted to say now THAT’s funny! LMAO.
1 Like
OTH, I think it’s in Dillon’s book on Hearing Aids that he says cupping one’s hand around an ear adds 10 dB of gain to hearing - not bad! It’s not just a useless habit and it’s semi-directional, too. What more could you ask for?!
1 Like
In looking around for ways to clean silicone molds when removed from receivers, I came across this healthyhearing.com article that seems pretty even and balanced in its recommendations for HA cleaning. In searching for where to post a link on the forum, I see HT members have cited the Healthy Hearing site a number of times of the past decade or so. The article also provides good advice on when it’s better not to leave your HA’s outdoors in a coat pocket or in the sun by the side of a swimming pool, etc.
Seems like the most usually recommended method on the Internet overall for cleaning silicone molds apart from the receivers is to soak them in a dilute solution of dish detergent for a while, thoroughly rinse them and thoroughly dry the molds before reattaching the receivers. I’m interested in this because wax and debris can get in the receiver bore of the molds and the vent tubes and is difficult to remove from these nooks and crannies when the molds are still attached to the receivers and have the vent inserts in the Select-A-Vent bore holes on my molds.
2 Likes
This is just another commercial plug for jodi vac.
If you are like me you will have the jodi vac set up in a place where you not only clean your HAs but do other things as well. I have found the JV to be very useful for some of those other things too.
1 Like
This topic is 3-4 years old now, but how about some new devices or actual insights and replies. HA’s are getting more and more like earbuds with wax filters etc. domes are getting custom molds or ITC HA’s.
I use to clean my Phonak wax filter in a eye contactlenscleaner, a 40kHz ultrasonic cleaner.
My earwax gets in my waxfilters and they occlude every 10-14 days. And the filters are pricy, so I try to re use them as oft as possible. I inspect them by making a picture with my macrolens on the camera and see if they need cleaning.
Now this website crossed my path: Hearing Aid Vacuums for Audiologists & Clinics | Warner-Tech Care
Any one or any thought about next to Jodi the SpinStation as mentioned here: GHI SPIN STATION EARWAX REMOVAL SYSTEM
Hope the old responders can share there recent findings also once more maybe with some additional information….
Thanks for your appreciated help in advance.
Yep: Jodi Vac. Love it. Used to go to my provider every two weeks or so for cleaning. No more! They love jodi vac too.
Yes, once again, Jodi vac is great. But, if you don’t have one and are going to buy one, get the Pro model. Costs twice as much but is more than twice as great.
1 Like
Could be! I’ve never tried it, so I can’t say. For me, the consumer model does the trick with no problems. I brought it into my audi for instruction and he was highly impressed with it’s power. he said that it did everything their in-house device did. BUT: they may just have been tired of seeing me every two weeks!
Thanks @SpudGunner @jeffrey and @Psych1 for your replies.
I think my waxfilters are doing there work fine but they do take away some sound if they are not clean enough. And that is when I wonder sometimes do I hear less at the moment… are they obstructed…
So to be sure for me it is important to know that they are clean. I also brush my teeth twice a day to know for sure they are clean and do not bother the costs or workaround.
As the particles are small I think you have to avoid granules get into the receiver and every particle which gets in will not come out anymore so one time the invisible deep part will be obstructed also. So suction could help to avoid this.
The SpinStation Earwax Removal System I found on the Internet works with a kind of centrifugal technique which will do, I can imagine, for the receiver but what about the microphones which are placed in the wrong direction in case of using ITC HA’s. That worries me a bit are they getting filled instead of emptied and so maybe I rather should go for the vacuum cleaner technik which @jim_lewis describes in depth on this topic here.
How actually are the HA’s and especially the ITC’s cleaned if you send them in for service… does anybody know?
I had so much wax that I sometimes needed to change the filters in my molds every day. My audiologist suggested getting an ear bulb and squirting warm water into the canals daily. I do that every night before going to sleep, and now the filters, which are completely exposed at the tip of the mold, hardly ever pick up anything.
1 Like
A pity I do not live in the USA as I found this auction for 4 times a professional kit costing about €1.000 each normally now for only about 500 the whole set! (4 - MedRX Hearing Aid Vacuum/Drying Units (Appear to be New))
https://www.allsurplus.com/asset/7201/7265
Any one interested LOL
Thanks for the idea. Now it calms me down a bit as I regularly wash/ clean my inner ears with a big syringe and warm water when I am taking a shower. Was wondering if this could be bad.