I was having a lot of trouble inserting the RIC silicone domes into my ear canals far enough to hold them securely so I came up with an idea for an insertion tool. I wanted to make something simple so I used a plastic straw and simply created a narrow channel using a small pair of scissors. I can slide the channel over the wire and receiver up to the inside of the dome. Holding the shortened piece of straw with my thumb and middle finger and holding the dome in place over the end of the straw, it makes inserting the dome way more easier than trying to shove it in with my index finger.
I would be interested to hear if anyone else has done this or anything similar. Here is a picture of the tool I made.
How do you release the straw without pulling the dome out? You are very innovative. You probably have about 100 inventions in your life. I used to know a man like that. Thank you for sharing.
The straw nearly falls out on it’s own after insertion. There is nothing grabbing the dome. That is why I recommend holding the dome with your index fingertip so that the dome does not fall off before you can insert it.
Yes, I am blessed with being able to find solutions to simple problem and I am always glad to share my ideas. I hope you find it useful.
Another approach would be to get slighly bigger domes or a custom mold, so that the HA’s don’t fall out of your ears. If you have only a small vent, this would also ensure that the low frequencies don’t leak past the dome out of your ear.
If you continue to push them all the way in, the volume between the receiver and your eardrum becomes smaller and the values for REM testing are no longer valid. So I would at least try and get another REM measurement for the deeper position and get the aids programmed with it.
I hope to get custom molded earpieces someday. As far as domes go, I will be talking to my audiologist on Monday and I will ask her about her recommendation on dome size and type.
RIC receivers come in 4 different lengths.
Between this and the proper dome or mold you should not have issues about the dome/mold coming out or moving.
I ordered a new Roger receiver on eBay from the US and it didn’t move or be scanned for 16 days in NYC. I’m still waiting for it and it’s been 7 weeks.