Well, after bragging above about getting 6 weeks to 2 months out of a set of domes, I had a pair crap out on me in 2 weeks. One of them tore while I was wiping it down. The previous pair had been replaced because of a tear, but the “defective” dome waited a decent period of time, close to 10 weeks. I hope my audiologist calls to set up the Marvel trial before I run out of my remaining domes. Of course what I have should be last me until summer.
As a newbie learning the ropes, I’d better understand when folks report domes biting the dust if they mentioned (or reminded me!) what they’ve been cleaning them with and whether they remove (or even unfold) the domes from the receivers every day. Don’t mean to make it sound like a critique of lgpiper’s report. Just a request that might help me appreciate dome durability better.
I never cleaned domes. Never had to change a plugged up wax guard. I simply don’t make much wax. But I changed domes and guards once a month anyway as a matter of maintenance.
In reading this thread, I have a vague feeling that different HAs have different kinds of domes. So, one kind will last for ages for some people and others will pretty much need replacement within a month or two. I’ve only ever worn one pair of HAs, so have no experience with anything other than Oticon Agil Pro.
I think I did mention something far above my last post. I have a special cloth my audiologist gave me that I use to wipe the domes and wires down each night. I don’t use any solvents and the like. I wash the cloth out in soap and warm water every once in a while to get the wax off the cloth. The cloth is a little bit like a thin flannel.
When I had my last check up with my audiologist, my domes had been for 2 months and a week, and my audiologist thought they were pretty grubby (they start to look oily or greasy or something, and also discolored) and needed replacement.
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OK. Thanks! I stopped being lazy and found your original post on how you clean them. Doesn’t sound like you remove them. Maybe unfold them?
Maybe I can sneak another (somewhat off-topic) dome question into this thread rather than reviving an old thread and notifying all the posters in the old thread:
If one is going to try a power dome vs. an open dome, how does one figure out from the size of the open dome what size of power dome might fit best? For ReSound, the open domes and the power domes don’t seem to be the same diameters. Should imagine the power dome compresses less so that one would probably want to try a slightly smaller size power dome than for an open dome. Was going to try without running to audi for refitting due to venting difference, etc. For tulip domes, I see (at least for ReSound) that one size fits all.
EDIT_UPDATE: In the fitting software, the ReSound open domes and the power domes have the same size designations so I just ordered one set of 7M power domes as I currently use 7M open domes. If the ReSound Surefit Receiver and Dome Guide is done to scale, they do appear to be different sizes with the open domes being slightly larger.
I do not remove them from the receiver. I do try to wipe down the back side of the domes as well. Sometimes, after a month or six weeks, one of the domes will slip off when I’m wiping things down. I just put it back on and it works fine. If the inadvertant slipping off becomes too frequent, I tell myself it’s time to change domes. The time between my changing domes is generally longer in the winter than in the summer.
It has happened that I wanted to do some wiping and my special cloth wasn’t available. But my handkerchief seems to work fine. I use the end into which I have not blown my nose. 
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I imaging an open dome might not last as long as a closed dome of the same size and material. Less material, so physical strength might fail sooner. The openings make additional tear points. Etc.
My audio says that he recommends I change my domes (power domes) every six months unless there is something obviously wrong. I have not noticed any detoriation with my domes.
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