For anyone who hasn’t been following my story, I recently returned the Phonak Infinio Sphere i90 hearing aids and am moving on to try a pair of Widex hearing aids. My other audiologist refused to make molds with a small vent despite my hearing loss needing it and having had a small vent since I was 4 years old (my whole life).
But so… the online distributor can’t make the impressions for me. But I called a local audiology clinic and they said to me, they are unwilling to order custom molds for hearing aids I did not buy from them but that they would do the impressions of my ear for 25$ each and give me the impressions and I can figure out what to do with it.
Are there any good independent labs I could order the molds through myself or is it possible for me to send my impressions to Widex?
As mentioned, Lloyd’s Hearing Aids is a one stop hearing aid place.
I have had 3 sets of silicone molds made with Lloyd’s. All three were canal lock molds for my hearing .
If interested give them a call and let them help you.
Lloyd’s has an expert fitter who will help each person design the right mold for them. For me I needed silicone due to my profound hearing loss. The OP could use hard lucite if they liked.
A cotton pad was placed in the ear canal prior to syringing the cast material into the ear canal. My wife helped on the first set or two. I do remember making a set by myself once. It’s very easy process. Lloyd’s guarantees the work. If the mold doesn’t fit right they will do it again.
I’ve heard enough nightmare blow-by ENT surgical EMI material removal stories that is be very nervous about a do it yourself kit. Though I’ve seen some kits where you sort of squish it in yourself and it’s so plasticine-y and you’re so shallow that there probably isn’t much danger.
Is there really that much risk? It seems pretty gentle when I’ve had it done. The person taking the impression seems a little stressed placing the foam stopper.
@AttilaDaPun I found an audiologist who said they would take impressions, but wouldn’t order widex custom molds (they said they’d give me the impressions though). I found another audiologist who said that she works with Widex and is willing to order me custom molds. I am seeing her in like two weeks!
@Neville I’d personally never take my own impressions just because I already am fearful of it going wrong even when a professional does it. In your experience, are accidents when audiologists do the impressions rare?
EDIT: But, I would be willing to have the audiologist give me the impression and i’d order molds myself if the labs allow it. I called around. most don’t! Lloyds sounds great though!
If I recall correctly, @monke has lifelong had 0.6mm vents, but one audiologist copped an attitude of “I am the audiologist and you’re not” and wanted to give @monke AOV vents.
Sightly different view on that if they didn’t supply the aids. I’m afraid you don’t have the leverage there. I’d still ask them (and pay for) a set of impressions if you needed them though.
Not quite the same if he didn’t purchase them at the location, but I don’t see why they can’t come to an agreed solution. A pressure vent actually makes the loss easier to fit than an AOV anyway.
I mean, worst case scenario, the one we’re all frightened with in school, is that the material blows by the block and through a previously un-noticed eardrum perforation into the middle ear space, encases the ossicles, and requires surgical removal by ENT with various outcomes from full resolution to permanent conductive hearing loss. It’s rare. It’s probably blown up in audiologist’s minds because it’s a nightmare scenario for any of us. It does happen, so it’s good that your clinician seemed stressed and fussy about placing the block–that’s the most important part. I don’t personally know anyone who has had something like this happen. Mostly blow-by, even if it touches an intact eardrum, doesn’t do much beyond causing some discomfort. If the eardrum is intact and there’s significant blow-by then the ENT may need to remove the material from the ear canal if the patient has a bendy canal and manual removal doesn’t work, that’s painful but not typically permanently damaging. This is complicated if there’s a previous history of surgery leaving offshoots and pockets in the ear canal. I’ve hear of situations where a bad batch of material broke off during removal and needed ENT removal, again painful but not permanently damaging. I think I recall one situation with a colleague where EMI material pulled off some scabbing that a patient had in their ear canal leading to unresolvable bleeding because they were on a pretty heavy dose of bloodthinners and they had to go to the hospital to have it resolved. But I have personally never had an incident in a decade of practice with multiple earmolds on adults and babies, so yes it must be rare.
Otoscan is nice because it gets rid of all of this risk. The worst you can do with the otoscan is poke someone in the ear canal and give them a bruise. Very expensive device though, and doesn’t work well in all cases.
Thanks for the detailed bad situation mold impression, enlightening. I can sure see how a new audiologist would be very nervous doing mold impressions after that discussion.
Lloyd’s did ask me if I had any ear canal issues which I told them no.
