Costco told me they can do custom ear molds, so that’s an option. Then they’ll fit your ears specifically.
As far as whether discomfort might improve. If it hurts very soon after inserting hearing aids, it will likely not improve. If it only bothers you after multiple hours of wearing, you might build up a tolerance by reducing the amount of time you wear them and gradually build up as a tolerance develops. If you think it’s unlikely to improve, yes getting a sooner appointment makes sense.
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Ok, thanks for all the help. I’ve called them to say I’m going to need custom ear molds.
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I have the same hearing aid now too. I started off with the 85 receiver and 6mm open bass domes (the program wanted me to use the double bass domes but I wanted less occlusal effect). I’m not using the 8mm domes and my left ear is the one giving me some issues. Mine are mostly itchy when I first put them in and that now seems to go away in an hour or so. The left one is a bit tighter than the right one so it takes more effort getting in place. But the 6mm domes were so small they seemed to partially occluded by the receiver and actually were hitting it on one side. The receivers have that slightly bent end that exasperated this issue so I’m going to stick with the larger dome.
My main issue with these so far has been with some female voice being uncomfortable, shrill, etc. causing me to lower the volume, -2 or -3. The perfect example of the Tiffany Cross on MSNBC. Her voice even causes this distortion or shrillness with the volume lowered. I’m thinking this must be in the 5-7 khz range and will ask my fitter to lower the gain here to see if I can tolerate the default volume better. And I’m only at 80% gain right now and have only had these new HA four days now. I wonder if a frequency analysis app help me better pinpoint the frequency causing this discomfort? I think I found one called audio spectrum analysis and will try that on Tiffany’s voice today, lol.
What kind of hearing aids does your wife wear? 
She doesn’t wear any.
The one thing I could think of on this is that the domes may be inserted too far into your ear. You can ask the audiologist at Costco if they can try a receiver with a shorter wire. Otherwise, I know Costco can make custom ear molds.
The audiologist said I could pull the receiver out a bit but that didn’t help. I’m going in for custom molds on Friday.
Thanks!
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Good for you. A good friend also has the Philips 9030 with custom molds, and they work very well. Hope they work for you too. Good luck!
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I got the custom molds and although they don’t bother my ears nearly as much as the original speakers did, they still aren’t very comfortable. I’m going to wear them for another week or so to see how it goes. Then when I go back in for a checkup, I’ll see if anything else needs to be done. The audiologist said he can “buff” them to remove a bit of material.
Has anyone here had a similar result with earmolds, and if so, what did you do about it?
@steve5: Good morning. I have not worn domes since I switched to hard acrylic molds, 16 years ago. I’m now on my fourth set of acrylics and they have all fit perfectly and comfortably. And that is the way they should fit - perfectly and comfortably.
The discomfort you are feeling is not dependent on HA make or model - it is a function of how well the molds were cast when the impressions of your ears were taken.
The custom-fitting option should have been able to accommodate your smaller-than-usual ear canals, IMO (but I’m not a trained audiologist.) My unsolicited advice is to keep going back to the provider until they can fit you with molds that are "fit for purpose".
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Even with the custom molds I’m still not comfortable. Since I’m not really having that much trouble in every day life to really need aids, I’m going to take them back. When I get to that point I’ll do some more reserch to see what is available.
When I first had custom molds for my KS6 they were uncomfortable. At that time I happened to go to a different Costco. They said they preferred a different mold supplier. They made new molds and they worked comfortably for many years.
Custom molds should not hurt. I have worn custom molds or aids for many years. The past few years I have tried living with tulip domes.
Ok, I’ll try another Costco then. I still have a couple of months on the 180 day return policy.
Thanks.
Any chance the receiver wires are too short?
I’m assuming you’ve tried a different wire length. Even wires that look right can ‘pull’ if you have a dynamic TMJ area, especially when talking etc.
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I agree to have them verify the length of the receivers. Perhaps even try one size longer to see if it helps.
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Another thing to do is keep your mouth partially open when they make the impressions.
This can affect the results.
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I finally visited a different Costco audiologist who had a little device that he could press in my ear to find out where it hurt, and polished the molds down more. That made them tolerable for a longer time but I returned them anyway shortly before the end of the 180 day return period, because they were still not really comfortable.
My hearing is still good enough that I function well without them, but if it gets bad enough that I can’t, then I’ll go back and get the latest model and try again.
Thanks everyone for the comments and suggestions.
With that audio gram I find it hard to believe that your hearing is still good enough.
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Just remember that hearing loss can be a “use it or lose it” situation. Our brains get accustomed to not hearing certain freqs and can either fill in those lost freqs with tinnitus or we may lose the ability to hear some of those freqs in the future, even with hearing aids.