I have Jabra’s from Costco . I have severe loss. I hear best with the molds, my problem is I find them irritating and I often wish that I could switch back and forth depending on the listening situation. I need the molds , but if I am home alone or just with my spouse watching tv, I wish I could wear something lighter and less occluding. I often just take them out and rest my ears. any advise here?
Hearing aids need to be set to domes or ear moulds.
I also rest my ears, I take mine out but if I need to be aware of things, I wear one Aid only, mostly in the evenings.
As Zebras points out, you need to adjust (or re-set) the aids depending on what’s on the tip of the speaker.
I have the same desire as you: I would like to wear my custom-molded semi-soft silicone earmolds that used to be on my Lumity Life speakers. But I am allergic to that material or acrylic. They turn my ear canals into fiery, itchy, RED tunnels! So I had the custom mold taken off, the aids were re-calibrated, and I now wear just the double-domed power domes that I buy at Amazon.
These are indeed very comfy! They don’t cause any allergic reaction at all. But they don’t offer the ideal, custom-fit SEAL that I really should have. I’ve thought about titanium molds, but I have another issue: my ear canals swell up and go down each day. For years now, the best “fit” I can find is the flexible silicone domes. I just have to push them in my ears 100 times a day.
frankly the difference wouldn’t matter to me as long as they were programmed correctly for the molds. When ( in my hypothetical life ) I would switch to domes the quality of sound change wouldn’t bother me, I could tweak the volume etc… I would only use the domes at home when I am either watching tv, reading or talking to my spouse. so losing some sound wouldn’t matter.
Ear molds or domes are typically not a choice. They are fit based on hearing loss. You either use one or the other.
Now there is always the grey area that might might function with either domes or ear molds. It’s a compromise at this time and can be confusing for some.
Fitting hearing aid domes/molds is a balance of gain and feedback IMO.
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I have tried a few different mold materials and found the silicone plyable type to be the best with retention and comfort. Wearing them 15+ hours straight is no issue.
Costco molds are cheap enough that it may be worth trying some other materials than you currently have. I think the silicone ones even come in different softness and hardness.
I have mentioned before that I like the Oticon Grip Tips. They are shaped like a Phonak cShell. They are made of soft silicone with quite thick walls. For me they give the acoustical qualities of a custom mould with the comfort and convenience of a dome.
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You may be able to remove the receivers from your molds, in which case you could attach domes and try them. Power domes of the correct size for each ear would be the best choice I think. And make sure the domes attach tightly to the receiver so they don’t slip off and stay in your ear. But I’d be concerned about loosening the receiver fit in the molds by removing and replacing them every day.
This sure sounds like an opportunity to have a second pair of aids that are set up with domes rather than compromising your properly fit hearing aids with molds.
This is not the best idea concerning your hearing in general though. Keeping your brain active with sound is best.
I have back up aids with domes. My problem is they do not connect to the tv streamer, or my phone… ( which is the whole reason I need them on when home alone ). maybe will try using them more and see what works . ( speaker phone ?). thanks