How do you keep the receiver in your ear?

Hi all:

I just got my first hearing aids. I got them at CostCo; they are made by Resound. I forget exactly what model - they were the ones they are offering for a special price - $1895 for the pair. I like them a lot - it’s great to be able to take part in conversations again and not to be asking people to repeat themselves all the time.

However, the receivers keep backing out of my ears. I end up with the tubes being visible from the front instead of lying down flush with the skin. I’ve tried larger domes - all the way up to one size that almost completely blocks my ear canals, which I really didn’t like - and they still backed out. A few days ago, I took the domes off entirely. They still back out, but now at least I’m not so aware of it.

Does anyone else have experience with this? And especially, does anyone have a solution?

Thanks!

Hi Lerissa,

Depending on the aid your wearing, the size and length of the receiver tube, and your anatomy, sometimes the receiver just won’t stay flush with the ear as it should. In cases like this which are really rare (<3% of patients IMO), I’ll make a very small custom mold and that will always fix any retainment issues.

I have the same ones for over a week, and I like it, so yesterday she took impression for custom made molds. I am on molds and my ears gets itchy and i feel occluded. My friend audiologist told me when they come out the size of wire is not correct. the molds or whatever name of it is are sliding out too…The sound can not escape and I got some kind of echo there. I had custom made molds and they are awesome

Talk to your fitter about micro molds if you continue to have problems. Mine have a large vent hole in each one and have no real occlusion problems at all and they never migrate out of my ears.

You may have to just keep trying things because it could be the receiver wire is too long, or too short, or the soft tip is too large or too small. I had better luck with the tulip style tip/dome.

You can check yourself to see if the wire is too long or too short. When you push the receiver tip fully into your ear (if the wire wasn’t there you would probably not be able to see it at all, when pushed in fully), the bend in the wire should be about where the opening of your ear is, and the wire should look like it comes straight out and then goes straight up against your head.

If the bend in the wire is being pulled almost straight when you push the tip in, the wire is too short. If there is still some play in the wire when you push the tip in, the wire is too long.

An alternative is to have a custom mold and that MAY solve the problem. You can have a deep mold made with a large vent to almost completely reduce occlusion, depending on if your level of hearing loss allows a large vent. I know everyone here says that a custom mold will solve any fit problem, but mine still manage to work out a little when I eat, or after a few hours of just sitting in my ear. The tulip domes fit the best for me, and no occlusion.

You can also try the sport lock. It’s a plastic tail that attaches to your receiver, and the other end lodges in your concha. They’re available in two sizes, one for the NP receiver and one for the S receiver. They come 10 in a pack.

actually they put it on the receiver and the aid does not move, I have also problem with it. Rasmus could you answer the question for me?

My audio puts the low tones lower so the noises are bearable, but my speech is still not so clear. It is easier for me to understand man than woman, and it should be the opposite…could be that the high frequencies are to high?

Actually, you’re probably not getting enough high-frequency gain due to open domes and limitations with feedback. Try the tulip dome instead and have your fitter re-run the feedback test (DFS calibration) to increase the maximum available gain. If you’re getting a custom mold with vent, do the same thing.

Had the same problem with the domes, and also the with the moulds. Now I have “soft” moulds and they fit perfect. Keep on searching, because otherwise you’ll be pushing back those things in your ear every few minutes…

My HAs we’re falling out the first week, then my Audi put the sport locks on. This instantly fixed the problem and with no occlusion. This is my first time with HAs and I don’t even know they are there since sport locks.

I lost my HA twice from removing my reading glasses.I then tried hard custom molds and had the same results. Then I went to Costco and had custom soft molds made and that ended the problem.Also, they are really comfortable.

I was having the same problem with new KS5s which had the sports lock plastic strip installed. The sports lock didn’t help. I’ll have the Costco tech try different tube lengths and dome sizes again. Can Costco make these custom molds? And, at the risk of sounding foolish - what are they molding, the ear contour for a specially fitted receiver tube?