How to clean domes

Hearing Aids
#8

My HA’s are IP57 rated:

"IP57 indicates that the hearing aid is water resistant and dust protected. It survived immersion in 1m of water for

30 minutes and 8 hours in a dust chamber as per the IEC60529 standard"

The real world is that I got caught in a hard rain for about 30 seconds in July 2014 before I could get under cover. The left one was not working when I got inside. After two days in my dryer it started working again and then two weeks ago it died completely. It was replaced under warranty.

Remember that the sales rep only cares that his samples are working immediately after the demo is over. In real world it is our money that we are risking. I view water resistance as a plus, but I’m not going to intentionally tease the gorilla by putting them in water.

— Updated —

My HA’s are IP57 rated:

"IP57 indicates that the hearing aid is water resistant and dust protected. It survived immersion in 1m of water for

30 minutes and 8 hours in a dust chamber as per the IEC60529 standard"

The real world is that I got caught in a hard rain for about 30 seconds in July 2014 before I could get under cover. The left one was not working when I got inside. After two days in my dryer it started working again and then two weeks ago it died completely. It was replaced under warranty.

Remember that the sales rep only cares that his samples are working immediately after the demo is over. In real world it is our money that we are risking. I view water resistance as a plus, but I’m not going to intentionally tease the gorilla by putting them in water.

#9

Using a dryer overnight (I use the one I got from Costco) also dries out the wax, and makes it more readily crumble off when poked at with the wire cleaner.

Regards,

Ira Z.

#10

I have Phonak Audeos.
Some audiologists prefer that you simply wipe the domes with a dry cloth and then buy replacements from them every three months.
They might even give them to you for free, but not once a week.
My domes get a significant amount of sticky wax on them, so I clean them and replace with clean ones once a week.
My domes are the open kind, made of grey silicone (rubbery) and so are easy to wash. (I don’t use alcohol or wipes, or chemicals other than very dilute dish soap.)
I have a small glass jar with a top. I put the domes in the container, with enough very, very dilute dish soap solution to barely cover them, then shake well and leave them for an a few hours, or overnight so that the wax softens.
Then, fill the bathroom sink with water and massage the domes in the water to get all the junk and soap off, then pinch dry in a towel. Leave them sit in the air on a kleenex to be sure they are totally dry.
Replacement domes for my hearing aids at Amazon, cost about 60 cents each. I have about 20 domes, and I replace this supply with all new ones about once a year.
I use a loupe weekly to check if the wax traps have any junk in them. If they look OK, I don’t replace them. My wax traps on Amazon are $2.25 each, a pair is $4.50, so I try not to replace them too often, but on the average, about every two months.

#11

Costco gives me as many free domes and wax guards as I want.

I clean the domes with a dry cloth, and replace domes and wax guards (for free) every 2 months.

#12

On the domes themselves, not the receivers, a cheap ultrasonic cleaner with a mild soap solution works well. A thorough rinse with water would probably be advisable to get rid of traces that might be irritant to the ear canal.

#13

I use a 5 in 1 cleaning kit, bought in Amazon to clean my HA including the domes. I do it every 2 or 3 times a week with a alcohol wipe also to leave it shinny. Bellow you can find the link to the cleaning kit.

Its cheap, easy to use and the magnet is the most used by myself to avoid droping and later loosing by batteries (size 312).

Regards

#14

very good looking kit, I shall look for a UK equivalent

#15

Domes can be cleaned simply by running them under warm to hot water. Take them off first, of course. They come off very easy and go back on very easy. There is no need to go to any special trouble.

Ear Wax dissolves and rinses away very easily with just warm running water. Keep spares handy in case one should tear or if one gets lost down the sink. Use the sink strainer. Dry it off with a paper towel and make sure it is dry where it presses onto the receiver. If worried about it not being fully dry; replace it with a spare and let the one you just rinsed dry overnight.

The instruction to simply rinse domes clean under running water came from my Widex Unique Fusion 330 RIC/RITE user manual. The method works great!

1 Like
#16

I clean my domes simply by wiping them after I take them off at night and put them in my UV/dryer. Then in the morning before I put them on I brush them with the little brush that came with my HAs. Often I notice a few flakes of dried wax coming off when I brush them. The dryer probably dries and hardens any wax deposits during the night. This is the procedure my HIS suggested for me.

#17

Where do you get the water resistant rating, as I’ve not seen it mentioned for Phonak or Resound (maybe…coz they aren’t? <G>).

Thanks.

#18

All the major brands have a nano coating that is typically IP57 or better. Wikipedia has a nice explanation of IP ratings.

1 Like
#19

IP Rating Chart:

First Digit (intrusion protection)

  1. Protection from a large part of the body such as a hand (but no protection from deliberate access); from solid objects greater than 50mm in diameter.
  2. Protection against fingers or other object not greater than 80mm in length and 12mm in diameter.
  3. Protection from entry by tools, wires etc, with a diameter of 2.5 mm or more.
  4. Protection against solid bodies larger than 1mm (eg fine tools/small etc).
  5. Protected against dust that may harm equipment.
  6. Totally dust tight.

Second Digit (moisture protection)

  1. Protection against condensation.
  2. Protection against water droplets deflected up to 15° from vertical
  3. Protected against spray up to 60° from vertical.
  4. Protected against water spray from all directions.
  5. Protection against low pressure water jets (all directions)
  6. Protection against string water jets and waves.
  7. Protected against temporary immersion.
  8. Protected against prolonged effects of immersion under pressure.
#20

Don’t put your trust in IP ratings. Protect your HAs in every way possible. Use HA sweat bands as a standard practice. Technology ends at the chip, the thing you pay big bucks for. Structurally, HAs lack much integrety. They are environmentally prone to damage.

#21

New routine: I replace the domes every night. I have a stock of 20 tulip domes that get rotated every 20 days. Each night the dirty domes get cleaned with dish soap and running water and placed in the drier overnight before going back into stock. My aids are ready to wear with fresh clean domes in the morning.

Aids also go in the dryer but I use HA sweat bands 100% of the time so there is never any cleaning needed of the aids themselves.

This method is far easier and less time consuming for RIC and instant dome use.

#22

I hope no one minds if I continue this thread. I’ve had aids for about a month now (Oticon, open domes), and was thinking maybe I should do something about cleaning soon. So today I checked the instructions, and for open domes it just says don’t. It says replace them once a month.

I don’t remember my audiologist saying anything about this, but maybe I just forgot. Should I try wipng them, or ask her about replacements?

#23

Some use alcohol wipes. I just splash a dab of alcohol on a clean towel or washcloth creating a temporary wet spot, and then clean my domes in the little wet spot.

#24

I have a lot of wax that will plug vents in double vent bass domes (Oticon) in one or two days. I replace domes daily. The dirty domes go in a small cubic microwave-safe food container. When I run low on clean domes I put about 1/2 inch fresh water in the container, heat in microwave oven for 20 seconds, put on cover, and shake briskly for a minute. Drain on paper towel, pat dry. The domes come out as new. There does not appear to be any damage to the domes from this process. I think the clean domes every day help keep the wax in my ear under control. Also wax guards last a lot longer than they did before for me.

#25

I remove the open domes every night(except when I’m at work) and clean the domes with alcohol wipes $Au7 for 200 at a discount pharmacy. They dry quickly and I replace the domes back on the receivers and place the aids in a D-dry ( drier and UV sanitizer). I replace the domes when they start to tear - usually about every three months.

#26

I’ve got Costco KS7 aids, but they are actually Siemens/Signia, so that’s who the domes, receivers, etc. come from.

If there’s wax in the opening of the domes, I just use my fingernail to clean it out.

If there’s wax deeper in there, then I pry off the domes. It’s often impossible to get the wax out of the wax traps, and if so, I replace them. But I have to do this maybe once or twice a year. It’s dead easy.

I don’t replace the domes unless they’re damaged or seriously gross. Which means maybe every two or three months.

I used to be a lot more obsessive about all these cleaning / drying routines, but it doesn’t really seem to make a difference. At night, I try to put the aids someplace where I won’t step on them, basically.

I realize this is all a lot different for CIC aids etc. where the electronics is stuck down inside your ear all day.

One thing I do wonder about is the microphones, especially with the cumulative effects of sweat. But I don’t see anyone fussing over that.

#27

Mine came with a small spiral brush to clean the microphones. I also have a Jodi-vac but only use it occasionally because it does not seem to find much that the occasional brush and more frequent wipe with the microfiber cloth have missed.

Since I paid a high price for these aids I really want to make sure they last as long as possible.