@bluejay2025: Me, too. I prefer it to potentially damaging the mics by poking the brush bristles into them.
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I remember discussion in another thread about the cause of mic failure, and the common denominator there seemed to be vacuum use. In my case, my Prezas were cleaned during a Costco visit, and a week or so later the right aid started going very quiet in a quiet environment. Introducing noise or speech would cause the aid to work again, after which it would go silent.
I subsequently had the aid replaced under warranty. The thinking then, as discussed in the other thread, was that the vibration of the mic from the vacuuming caused the intermittent failure. Who knows what really happened, but I’m leery of getting a vac close to a mic now.
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The magic word here is free. The op says his audiologist wants him to sign up for a prepaid service to have his aids routinely cleaned. I feel this service should automatically be included at the time of purchase of the aids and not be an additional fee. Otherwise I’m there everyday to get my aids cleaned
I am confused as why he wants him to buy this service. Vacuuming is including when I bought my aids and I go get them cleaned and checked the vacuum my aids during this time and it is free.
My insurance only pays for the HA’s, initial setup of them with audiologist, three visits in first year, and 5 years of batteries - that’s it. I called them to verify this. Anything else I need is on my dime. It’s not optimal but it is what it is.
Okay. That is why he wants you to buy an extra service plan. I know others that have used insurance or managed care programs get that same deal.
And what does he do during those 3 visits
When I asked about the 3 visits, I was told they can be used for anything I’d like. I’ll definitely use the first one for a vacuuming/cleaning training session.
If you are limited to 3 visits it might be good to take notes and really try to get the aids tuned properly for your speech understanding in all environments.
Cleaning hearing aids you can do.
Good luck
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Or you could do both. In other words anything you like
This thread raises a broader question about what is the best place to buy a product that will inevitably need service throughout the lifetime of the device. If you have concerns about being able to pay for that maintenance you should consider purchasing your HA’s from a place where the follow up service is included in the purchase price, like Costco. Alternatively you could negotiate a price for that with the independent audiologist at the time of the sale. There are trade offs in most purchases in life, Costco is somewhat limited in it’s offerings, but one price gets you a180 day return window, free replacement for the duration of the warranty, and free service at any Costco.
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Or you find a cheap price fir hearing aids - either on-line or at Costco - and take them to your favorite Audi for professional expertise when needed. Lots of alternatives.
You know what they say about putting lipstick on a pig?
Since I’ve already learned how to do self adjustments for my reverse slope hearing loss, investing in and using a little vacuum seems very doable - and necessary based on the feedback here. The only thing I’ll do differently next time (5 years from now), is I’ll seek out an audiologist that has more experience fitting my unique condition.
Some clinics are bundled and some aren’t. Sounds to me like in this case the audiologist is just giving the patient the choice as to whether to get the care plan or not rather than just bundling it in from the get-go and pretending those services are free.
If the care bundle covers annual reassessment and real-ear verification appointments along side the unlimited appointments and cleanings, it’s not a bad deal. Even better if it covers batteries and/or wax removal. Typically care packages are priced towards the average patient, but also priced to promote follow-up (clinicians do actually like their patients to hear optimally and so do like them to come back into the clinic regularly). For people who end up being in constantly, they tend to be a good deal whereas for people who decline their annual appointments they tend to be a bad deal. So it’s a question of how average you are, and how average your ears are. People with ears who hate hearing aids (moist, waxy, extra bendy, generally difficult) often need those extra appointments. Some people are also more able to care for their hearing aids than others, given individual differences in fine motor skills and eyesight.
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My Audi has never charged me for what we are talking about as routine maintenance. You don’t have to go to Costco to receive that. All you have to do is ask ahead of time what is included with the purchase price. A lot of Audis don’t try to nickle and dime you after you buy aids from them.
I remember that thread, too, @jay_man2. I scored a neat, spring-loaded vacuum device from @gorgeguy. It’s like a hypodermic needle in reverse. Hit the trigger and it delivers a single burst of reverse air flow that sucks up the wax.
I produce dry, flaky cerumen, that can get into mic ports and block the sound. My device does a good job at clearing the ports without damaging the mics.
Would this be the thread in which vacuuming was discussed as a possible cause of mic failure or is it another one? ReSound Preza issue If so, thanks if anyone can provide the link.
Not sure where it was discussed, but it’s hugely unlikely to be the actual failure mode.
Nearly all HA mics were designed to withstand explosive decompression, so a few minutes of cannula suctioning isn’t going to cause an issue.
If there’s goretex screens in play, then the material ahead of the mic, might cause a problem. Usually it’s misted sticky or charged particles that cause the greatest problem, either by blocking the fine mesh of the internal mic screen or by stripping the diaphragm/electret of charge.
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The failure mode on the Quattro’s that I’ve had problems with is very odd. Walking, talking, chewing, loud noise all seem to reactivate external mic input but the mic input dies away if I’m just sitting around. All the failed Quattro’s I’ve had, too, worked fine just after booting but die away just sitting around. Jostling the HA body or the receiver wire reactivates the mic, too. Streaming is always stellar, even on a failed device.
One thing that I’ve noticed is that all Quattro’s but my latest left replacement have somehow accumulated gunk internally. When one looks at the bottom of the HA body at the clear plastic window over the internal serial number, on all previous Quattro’s, the inside of the window has accumulated debris like very fine dandruff, dust, dirt, obscuring the serial number. So I’ve also been wondering if as originally manufactured, the Quattro’s don’t have high enough dirt resistance (the IP rating is 58) whereas the Ones have an IP 68 rating as do the Marvels and the Paradises as well. So if dust and dirt had anything to do with the problems I’ve experienced, I’m not sure why walking, talking chewing, and other movements reactivate the sound. Sweat-induced corrosion has been mentioned as a possibility in the past but in the last two years, especially with the pandemic, I haven’t been doing any real sweating and don’t wear the devices outdoors when it’s hot out in Texas.