I have been using Phonak BTE from costco for the last 3 years and for the most part happy with them.
For some reason (perhaps my head is not symmetrical - ha! ) the left receiver stays in my ear better than the right one. The right one doesn’t go in as far. I can feet the left one go in a few (one or two?) more mm and feel snug. The right one goes in and feels in, but just not the snug feeling I get in the left ear. And then it works it’s way out. During one of my initial checks I mentioned this to the Audiologist at Costco and he immediately put a retention wire tab thing on it (that looks like a tiny plastic zip tie). This helped a lot. But I can’t help wondering if I tried a longer receiver if it would work better on my right ear and remove the necessity of the retention wire which sometimes I can feel and kind of has pressure or itches my ear. I currently have size 2s on both ears.
I got to thinking about it because I just replaced the receiver myself from one I bought on line for the first time. It was surprisingly easy and got me thinking about ordering a larger size. I also should mention I use the large closed domes. Any feedback or suggestions will be welcomed. Thanks!
I’m not sure why you said longer receiver and not larger receiver. Maybe it’s a typo. I don’t think they make receivers of the same size but different lengths anyway.
I thought it’s the dome size that determines the snugness to your ear canal. Most receivers are designed to fit inside the dome anyway. For example, an 85 receiver inside a 10mm dome wouldn’t make it any more snug than a 65 receiver inside the 10mm dome. They probably just have a larger place holder in the 10mm dome to hold an 85 receiver, and a smaller place holder in the 10mm dome to hold a 65 receiver, so it’d be 2 different domes although the dome size is still the same 10mm.
One thing to consider is maybe your receiver wire to the HA is a little on the short side which may tend to pull the receiver out. If so, a longer receiver wire may help.
I would first try a longer receiver wire if it seems short and the dome already feels snug. If that doesn’t help I would try a larger dome next. I wouldn’t try a larger receiver for the reason stated above (it’s the dome size that determines the snugness). I have retention wires on both sides and they don’t bother me at all, no pressure or itchiness. If that already works for you, maybe just give it time to get used to it.
On the Phonak I believe the medium domes are 8mm and large are 10? I believe I already have the large. DO they make an extra large I wonder? It certainly makes sense to try the dome first for the relatively affordable test rather than a longer receiver. ANy suggestions of online vendors for domes besides amazon that may have more dome sizes? Thanks all for your input.
I don’t know about Phonak but my OPN has a size 12mm dome, although this size is not available for open dome, only available for bass domes or power domes.
I figure if the OPN has size 12mm domes, the Phonak probably also has a size 12mm as well.
Update. I ended up ordering a size 3 instead of 2 receiver and it fit perfect and doesn’t back out. I liked it so much, I ordered a size 3 for the other side and it fits even better also. Wish my audi had sent me with size 3 at fitting rather than sending me out the door with something ‘almost’ there and a retention wire to try and ‘fix’ the situation.
Ah OK, that makes sense as well. When I was first fitted with the OPNs, they gave me a longer wire size for my receivers and they didn’t fit very well, so in my next visit my audi replaced them with a shorter length receivers.
Yes, you would hope they would fit correctly. Sadly, a lot of industries are this way now. Each person’s opinion of what constitutes a ‘job well done’ seems to vary widely.
To be clear, I took the time to update this thread in case others may have ill fitting aids and let them know there are options. Your post however seems to disparage that effort with name calling. I would take a moment of self reflection if I were you to consider if your posts on this forum are as helpful as they could be.
To be clear, I took the time to update this thread in case others may have ill fitting aids and let them know there are options. Your post however seems to disparage that effort with name calling. I would take a moment of self reflection if I were you to consider if your posts on this forum are as helpful as they could be.
Feel free to ignore Doc Jake. Every forum has it’s jerk, and he’s ours. Generally speaking, his posts are not very helpful. If you like, you can go into your settings and put him on ignore, then you won’t even see his posts. Some of us keep him visible for the entertainment. His response to this post should be interesting indeed.
Anyone that lives with a problem for 3 years really has nothing to bitch about! How often did you bring your problem to the attention of Costco in person? There seems to at least 3 in the Dallas area. How much of a drive can it be?
