i am a relatively new hearing aid wearer and have purchased 2 phonak audeo mini 1X’s after taking advice from my audiologist. both ears feel blocked while wearing as if my fingers are stuck in my ears. i am experiencing difficulty picking up conversations despite several adjustments. my audiologist stated that i am the only person in the world to suffer from this as it is impossible to have occlusion with open fit domes. has anyone else experienced a simalar problem?? i would appreciate feedback as im no longer feel confident wearing the aids and my audiologist refuses to provide a refund.
The stopped up feeling can be “normal” to some with hearing loss. Do you have the same feeling without the aids? Can be caused by sinuses or problems with Eustachian tubes.
i sometimes get the feeling without the aids but this stops after chewing or yawning. it is much more apparent with the aids in and my own voice echoes. my ent consultant has not mentioned any damage to the eustachian tube.
I have allergies and sinus issues, my ears some days feel very full even with the use of Zyrtec and a nasal inhalant, if the issue is a problem in Eustachian tubes, Is there a tried and true method for determining thisi?
Is this issue resolved? Have you been back to the audi? There are a number of items they can do to improve your voice as well as clarity. Try to be a specific as possible about how your voice feels/sounds. Also, try to elaborate on the hearing voice quality. Is it you don’t understand the voice as well or there are other sounds that are overpowering the voices that need adjustment.
hearing problem has still not been resolved. i have been to see my ent consultant and there is no further problem with my ears and my audi insists there is no problem with either the aids or the fitting, i have heard however thatwearing the aid without domes may help. i have tried this but the wire works its way out my ears particularly the rite ear, so not yet got a solution
If you wear the aids with the battery out, do you still get the blocked-in sensation? If so, you might just have to adjust to the effect of the physical blockage.
If the issue only occurs when you have the aids turned on - it’s an effect of the amplification of the aids.
Conventional wisdom would suggest that you’d need the louder inputs below 750Hz turned down - however conventinal wisdom isn’t always correct in this case. The output of lots of hearing instruments is reverse phase to the incoming signal (to reduce additive effects and potential feedback) therefore you might want to ask your dispenser to turn UP high level sounds in the 500-750Hz area to increase the amount of damping against your own voice-energy.
BTW, ENT surgeons tend to have an understanding of hearing aids on a par with the average Goldfish’s knowledge of cycling.
Hi Scooby,
Do not feel you are the only one with that problem. I am an older woman who took Lipitor for a while and I had a horrible sensation in my head one nite and after that my ears had a blocked up feeling, like I have my fingers squeezing the bridge of my nose. It also has the same feeling as you do…as though my ears are all blocked up like a a bad head cold. Mine is that way all the time whether I have my hearding aids in or out…ENT’s do not help this in any way as they do not understand. I did have a CT scan and have cysts in my sinuses…but first I will go to the House Ear Clinic in Los Angeles to see what the doctor there says, then I will see a good ENT in Valencia, CA about the cysts. The ENT here said those cysts will not help my occlusion even after they are operated on. He does not know why I have that sound. I feel the statin drug destroyed my hearing and caused the sound. I cannot take statins as they cause muscle problems and kidney problems. Do you take any kind of medications? Pain meds are now being attributed to Hard of Hearing problems.
Please let me know how you are…hearing aids do not make that occlusion any better. Just need to get used to it and it is a horrible feeling…I cannot hear well even with hearing aids due to this problem.
Aquarius Anne in Santa Barbara, CA
I had to change to another hearing aid. I suffer from Tinnitus and also had a little hearing loss. My first aid made it impossible for me to sing and have a normal conversation as my voice was very loud into my own ear. Another problem was hooting, whistling, shouting and motorbikes annoyed me as their noise was extremely loud. My new oldfashioned hearing aid is perfect. No irritating sudden sounds to contend with. I do feel that with the first aid the person that set it up, lacked knowledge. The second person understood immediately what the settings must be. I also have the feeling of my ears being blocked. Yes, yawning helps, but I feel like a guppy fish yawning every few seconds. I can live with that feeling, as the aid brings relief from Tinnitus. Hope this helps you. Visit another audiologist and see if you can get the problem sorted.