Hi Dan, Many thanks for your advice and after 40 years your opinion is worth a great deal. I whole heartedly agree with your centiments. Peeps should get a life.
When you guys refer to the 40 DB loss, How does that apply on the chart? What is the baseline? Is it from the top of the chart down to the 40 DB mark, or does it mean 40 DB down from some established point on your marked levels?
ummmm…you seem to qualify…
Catch my posts elsewhere, but I have acrylic, LOVE them, and get GREAT BASS, down below 8 HZ.
Tradeoffs though – I had to ADD occlusion to block 100% of the open port. Then, the Phonak MR-90 HA’s are no longer tuned as intended. However, simply pull it out slightly, and you now have “open ports”, even if not precise.
If I get a little bit more motivated, I’m developing a “manual switch” to open and close the open port. Anyone else interested?? IMO, my HA are better sounding than any $6,000 sound system, and they are obviously portable! Then when talking, I open up the ports fully to 100%. Then, for all BT music, I totally close the ports at 0%. I find them so comfortable, I sleep with them ON. Only disadvantage?? The batteries run down and need a recharge. Try the silicon “occlusion plugs”. If you love music, you will love your “new HA’s”, which are now much better than the best earbuds.
Every time my former hearing aid specialist said I didn’t need custom molds he was wrong. When I used the domes they tended to drift out of my ear canal and irritated my ear canals. Hearing clarity was definitely off. I will always wear custom molds for comfort and word clarity.
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Given Dan`s many years of experience I shall be looking to get an acrylic mold for one ear. I have read that wax can be a problem with RIC aids. I have also read something about placing a wax guard in the ear to protect the RIC aid against wax. I am plagued with considerable wax build up so wonder whether these wax guards are any good.
Are molds affected by wax or is it only domes.
Domes and molds both have a place for wax guards. Use them. If you do not protect the receivers from wax, the wax will go into the receiver and cause serious problems, and they are way more exlensive than a wax guard. Also on the custom mold, there will probably be a vent hold. This too is a place that wax likes to go. Your hearing aid fitter/audiologist will give (sell) you a cleaning kit for your hearing aid/s. There will likely be a plastic device that is specifically designed to go down the vent tube and push the wax plug out.
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I’ve always had custom molds and they’ve worked very well for me. On the other hand, I currently have a “pinhole” puncture in my right ear drum, so I’m a bit leery of being fitted for new ones. I’ve been considering domes for that reason.
I do understand about that embarrassment you mentioned–I won’t propose to tell you that you shouldn’t feel that way, but I would like to suggest asking them to rephrase what they said rather than just repeat the same thing. Some words are more visible on the lip than others.
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This question could wait for my new KS10 pick-up appointment Thursday, but I get impatient 
So, from my audiogram, molds should have some advantage over domes? The posted audiogram does not show the no response L or R @ 8K.
From what I can find online it appears the domes and molds are interchangeable? I will receive it as ordered with domes. If I get molds I am assuming they will be ordered, and I use the aids with domes until they arrive. When the molds come in they just replace the domes and I can switch back and forth fairly easily to decide which I like better on a daily basis. Or am I misunderstanding entirely (my norm 
IF the molds and domes can be changed simply, can I use stored programs to switch between the two, or would it require more detailed reprogramming?
Probably overthinking things, but, hey, it’s my day off
Fred F
Molds MIGHT be advantageous for you as I mentioned in this post
I’ll give a somewhat different opinion. I’m a big fan of molds, but to me their three big advantages are 1) getting enough gain without generating feedback, 2) comfort and 3)getting enough bass sound for music (bass doesn’t tend to be a big issue in word recognition)
So, if your current domes are comfortable, you’re getting enough gain without feedback and music sounds ok, I’m not sure there would be any big benefits of going to molds.
Unless you use UP receivers (which you shouldn’t need to), domes and molds are interchangeable. Ideally, the fitting should be redone when changing from dome to mold, but sometimes is not. I forget if these are your first hearing aids or not. If they are and the domes are comfortable, I think you’ll likely be happy with them. It takes most people awhile to desire more gain than what the domes can provide. Try not to get ahead of yourself.
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Hi Dan, Many thanks for the info. I removed the dome from the end of one of my RIC hearing aids and with the help of a magnifying glass I found a small hole in the end. I then looked at some pics on google coupled with “wax guards” on sale at amazon and now understand how the two come together. It appears that the guard blocks the end of the receiver so I ask myself why there is a hole there in the first place if all one does is to block it. Am I being particularly thick, I bet I am.
The wax filter acts as a screen. It only blocks things up if it fills with wax.
Hi, Many thanks, looks like I should get some guards pdq. From what I see they come with a tiny plastic tool that removes the old guard and replaces with a clean one.
Hi, May I ask what is probably a stupid question. I had a hearing test today and my Bernafon aids were adjusted accordingly. My right ear has limited hearing whereas my left is not too bad. Both aids are fitted with closed domes and I experienced the tunnel effect and my own voice was booming and echoing. The Audiologist made adjustments but due to my right ear these were limited. When at home I removed the closed dome from my good ear and replaced it with a small open dome. The tunnel/ echoing has gone. My question is this, does the size of dome have any effect upon ones hearing or is it purely for comfort. Many thanks
The dome has very much to do with your hearing. Any change dome types and I am guessing size will effect the acoustics of the aids, and the aids would need fitting adjustments due to the dome changes
It does sound like you’d do better in your “good ear” with an open dome. I’d discuss with your audiologist at your next visit.
Hi Guys, thank you both very much. I am due a follow up next week so shall discuss dome change then.
Not to derail, but for those who use domes, how do you clean them. The instructions are just a soft cloth wipe down for dirt/wax, but it doesn’t feel enough for me. A few times a week I take the domes off and clean them up with an alcohol pad. I let it dry (which is obviously fast) and wipe down with a microfiber cloth to make sure there’s no debris. It also gives me a chance to visually inspect the wax guard to make sure they look clean.
Granted, domes are cheap and easy to replace every month or two, but will isopropyl alcohol damage the silicone whatever material they make the domes out of?
I would definitely try different domes on each side. One of the disadvantages of closed domes is the altered sound of your own voice. The advantages are less losses in terms of volume, a little more bass and, above all, less tendency to feedback.
However, with your better ear feedback is less critical.
With the change, the feedback adaptation must be remeasured. If necessary, the gain should also be readjusted.
I always wash them really well with soapy water and let them dry overnight.
The wax production of my ears varies. Sometimes I have to clean every day, sometimes rather rarely.
After a few weeks I replace the domes.
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