Has anyone gone from vented earmolds to completely sealed earmolds?

Well from reading posts I’m going to gather that a “more severe/profound” hearing loss dictates trying (first) a unvented soft hearing mold and testing to see if it works. I’m in Dani’s camp regarding issues with unvented mold and jaw movement (also walking) but its been a while since I’ve tried a unvented mold. Maybe eight years ago.

What I also find interesting is the depth of the “ear canal” mold. I’ve recently switched Audi’s but in the past (with old Audi) my ear canal (mold) section was made very long. And I’m not sure that’s ideal with a unvented mold, since the longer the mold the more it trigger occlusion with jaw movement. Just guessing here? A shorter ear can mold might allow for less movement when eating/walking etc. Maybe some here think I have this backwards, but the depth of a ear mold does play some role.

Just not sure how much.

Regarding canal length…older studies showed that a longer ear canal length can reduce occlusion effect due to less space between the ear drum and HA output therefore less space for low frequencies to bounce around. The drawback of long canal length is comfort of the mold.

2 Likes

Well then maybe “longer” the better. I’ll need to compare my new mold canal (length) to my current ones and see if there is any significant difference.

"Diminished occlusion effect. The occlusion effect occurs when an object seals the outer portion of the ear canal, causing the wearer to perceive a hollow echoic sound in his/her own voice. In the case of hearing aid wearers, the effect is caused by sound vibrations trapped within the occluded ear canal.

Successful resolution to the occlusion effect is twofold: 1) obtain a solid seal in the bony portion of the ear canal, and 2) decrease the spatial placement between the tip of the instrument and the tympanic membrane, thus limiting the opportunity for vibrations. Experience in proper deep-fitting techniques can achieve such desirable results, with little to no resulting occlusion effect.6"

One trick that I have used is to apply a very thin coating of Miracell liquid. I got this stuff from my audiologist and it is slightly oily and also very calming for itchy ears like mine. The best thing about using it is that it allows for a deeper and quicker install of the molds. There is no chance for sound to leak out once they are in your ear canal. Of course you have to make sure the molds are cleaned off before bedtime or you have a slightly sticky residue on them the next morning. I generally clean this off with antiseptic ‘wet ones’ wipes for the molds and the outer part of my ear canal.

Hi Dani, Naida M90s are by far the best aids I have used yet as my hearing problems slowly get worse the older I get. I can appreciate the higher level of technology that has gone into these aids the longer I wear them. And I particularly appreciate all the cool gadgets that connect with them that make the experience even better. However, I can also detect very slight pauses and irritating signals that happen as the aids change from one program to another in the autosense setting (such as when someone turns on music while I am in conversation with someone else.) I trust that this kind of transition will be ironed out in the next firmware release.

By the way, I was at Oberammergau many years ago (1960 to be exact) and the Passionspiel was on (as always at the start of every decade). This year I expect will be very different with COVID-19. Sadly, I would expect that the play will not be on as usual.

1 Like

I am not sure about the Naida aids but my Oticon OPN1 aids were slow to switch the programs with the changing environment and I told my Audi and he was able to change something in the computer software that he said made the transition much faster, I no longer detect the transitioning of the programs.

1 Like

This is simple tuning. No firmware update needed.

1 Like

@Gramps
Has the other thread about number of programs been closed? Here we talk about occlusion with non-vented molds. Anyway my Naida B70 were the best aids I’ve ever had, too. And oh, the Passion play were cancelled this year. And Oktoberfest :sob:

@spectrumplay
Now that you’ve posted your audiogram: Wow, don’t you have the choice to go for a CI? Your loss is terribly bad. I’ve gone the path this year in February and I like the feeling not to have any mold or dome in my ear canal. It’s fantastic.

Thanks for sharing your audiogram.

I went to the ENT today. Scheduled a CI evaluation for next week.

4 Likes

I hope it works out for you. I believe you are like me and do what it takes to hear better when it is possible. Please let us know and the steps as it goes forward

Heading in that direction Dani for possible CI in near future. I need to explore a few more power aids and let the coronavirus threat die down. There are pros and cons with a CI but eventually a hearing aid can only do so much, if hearing level drops off the map.

Have you considered the Oticon Exceed or Phonak Naida aids? Looking at your audiogram either should work for you.
Without putting your audiogram in Phonak Target I would think soft silicone molds with a 1mm vent would be pretty close to right for you. I could look if you want.

Current and last Audi steered me away from Xceed. Not exactly sure why but I think (both) felt the Oticon aid was not performing well for other customers they have issued hearing aid too. I believe Phonak Naida came out a while back so I’ll be looking for something a little more current.

Your hearing loss is well within the 110-120 dB range of the Phonak Naida M SP aids unless you have other hearing loss issues not noted. They might be worth a try.
Good luck

One of my molds is vented (60 dB receiver). The other is unvented (105 dB receiver). I went from a vented mold to an unvented mold when I got my new hearing aids. I had no problem with the change and it required no adjustment on my part. For me, it was a non-event, aside from significantly improving my hearing.