I received a set of custom molds yesterday for my OPN1s. The audiologist said they were made out of the same material (silicone) that Oticon’s regular domes are made out of, but they feel considerably harder than those. They are clear but not squishy at all, at least not before inserting them. And they don’t feel any softer when I take them out. They are fairly difficult to insert - I have to really jam them in with my fingernail in order to get them to where they should probably sit. (they do have the little handle on them for removal so I’m not too worried about them getting stuck in my ear) Once inserted they are mostly comfortable, although if I press on the side of my face on top of where the molds sit, it’s a bit painful. Yesterday after wearing them for about an hour, I noticed that the right one was getting painful so I pulled it out a tad and that made it better. Never heaving worn custom molds before, I don’t really know what the expect. They have a small vent yet I still feel occluded. It might be something I can get used to, as my hearing seems better with with these than any other domes I’ve tried. (I’ve pretty much tried them all) As you can hopefully see from the attached photo, I’ve pushed the receiver all the way into the mold to try and get it as close to my eardrum as possible, hoping to alleviate as much occlusion as I can. I do know however, that I have a weird bend in both canals so this may be part of the issue.
For those of you who have used custom molds, does it take some time to get comfortable with them? I’m wondering if I should ask my audiologist to take another mold and try again. I keep reading about other, softer materials that they can make custom molds from (http://www.microsonic-inc.com/index2.php?section=48) so I’m wondering why so many are made from hard, non conforming materials.
Any help greatly appreciated!
I use custom molds on Alta Pro. I would expect to tweak the shape two or three times and also the vent size and placement. Shape usually means redoing the mold by Oticon. I would not hurry the process and I would get it perfect. It is like a small rock in your shoe if you do not. Fitted properly they are hard to beat.
I have custom molds for my 105dB receivers on my OPN 1. Attached are some pictures of my molds for comparison to yours.
Mine is just clear hard acrylic molds. I think yours is the new type called Flexmolds announced by Oticon recently. I’m surprised to hear that they’re not one bit soft like you said because I thought that it was the whole purpose.
I’m also surprised to see that the shape of your mold is considerably shorter than mine. If you notice, mine also has a tail at the end which I assume is to help with stability when positioning.
You said that you tried to push the receiver way into the mold, which implies that your receiver is removable? It’s hard to see but there doesn’t seem to be a door in the back of the mold to remove the receiver so I’m not sure how you’re able to move the receiver from inside the mold.
Mine doesn’t take any time to get comfortable with and they’re very easy to insert and there’s no soreness at all. I had a problem with my original left mold not being snug enough and giving me more occlusion for some reason, so I sent it back to have it redone. So don’t be shy about making them redo it if you don’t find them to fit right. Again, I’m surprised to see yours so short compared to mine (and without a tail), so I wonder if it’s going to be more easily moved out when you chew or yawn.
I have custom molds for my OPN1s, and they are extremely comfortable. Mine are acrylic, have a “horn” that locks them into my ear and a flexible pull cord that nestles behind my earlobe. If yours are painful, I would suggest that they were not properly fitted to your ear and you should get them redone.
Jonat, I looked at your audiogram and your hearing is not too bad at all, maybe just moderate loss on the right ear at the lows and highs. I’m just curious why you’d need to have custom molds for your OPN1? Is it due to feedback control or maybe it’s a personal preference and for direct streaming better sound quality?
Based on your description, with the “horn”, it sounds like yours is the same mold type and design that I have. Do they look like the ones I showed in my pics? I’m a bit surprised that the OP’s molds look a bit different than ours. I wonder if the design is different because the Flex material they use on her molds is different…
My molds look like yours. You’re right that my audiogram doesn’t look too bad (I had SSHL about 12 years ago), but I have a lot of difficulty understanding voices in noisy situations and the HAs help a lot with that. Perhaps more important, I have insurance that pays for 90% of the cost through next June, so I wanted to take advantage of it.
As for why molds - this is what my audiologist recommended for comfort and satisfaction. I agree that Robin’s molds look very strange and I’m not surprised that they aren’t working properly. The fitting process involved squirting an expanding putty into my ear canal, letting it stiffen, and pulling it out (using a cord that had been inserted before.) What Robin has almost looks like a dome.
I did have the same process done where they mix 2 compounds together, squirt it into your ear, let it harden and then remove. I was surprised that there was no horn on mine either, particularly since the audi said she was going to make a deep impression. I know I have these strange, very pronounced bends in my canals and am wondering if that’s why there is no horn, Maybe the turn is too severe? In addition, I’ve been told I have very small canals so I’m not sure if that’s part of the issue also.
Volusiano, I’m not noticing a stability issue with my molds. They don’t seem to move around at all in my ears, which surprises me because I know I have TMJ. I also expected the material to be softer, more flexible and more conforming once exposed to the warmth of the ear canal. No such luck. My audi did say that she’s often not thrilled with Oticon’s molds and might to have to have them remade by a different company if these don’t work. And my receive is definitely removable! See the photo. Its just another hole in the mold, like the vent hole, only larger. I didn’t realize that some receivers were not removable.
Volusiano your is occluded while RobinH has closed type thats different if feel occlusion than wear silghtly loose it wont sleep from your ear i am using this gimmic.
Mine is not occluded. There’s a good size vent hole so I don’t feel very occluded when wearing it. You can see the vent “tunnel” in opaque color at the bottom of the first 2 pictures I showed above. In the second picture you can see the vent hole at the end of that vent tunnel as well.
I wouldn’t want to wear a custom mold slightly loose because that would defeat the purpose of having the custom mold in the first place. You want to wear the custom mold snuggly in your ear canal to block all unintended leaks. The only leak is the one you allow and can control -> the vent hole.