Mothers new Oticon OPN minirite 3

Hearing Aids
#1

Hi,

About 3 weeks ago I had my mother fitted for hearing aids. Our 30 days is a couple days away. She had a stroke 25 years ago and suffers from aphasia ( inability to speak clearly). I love her to death and I am her full time caregiver but she is about as dumb as it comes with any kind of technology stroke or not.

Anyway… She got the OPN 3, MINIRITE T 312 2. Both sides. With an 8mm power dome (we also tried 6mm) she tells me they hurt. When she has them on and we use the remote 3.0 she alone clicks maybe once or twice. Does this turn them way up? Do there need to be many more clicks? Can they be too loud?
Issues:

  • The doctor does not seem experienced or patient with complicated patients and I fear he is leaving out some things that might help us get her a better fit.

  • She can’t keep them in for longer than 15 minutes because she says they hurt and bother her.

  • I just put them in my ears for the first time with the button pushed to the lowest level. Nothing is louder in fact they are currently working as ear plugs. I am a bit fearful to turn them up. They have a constant buzzing sound but my mother says she does not hear any buzzing sounds.

My questions… Would the BTE be a better option with a custom mold? I assume the receiver in the canal is not going to work for my mother? Do BTE molds NOT go in as deep?

I have no idea how to fit the current mold in her ear. Do I push in hard or soft. I guess we have them programmed to just one program. I am charging up my old iphone to download the app.

Lastly is there such a list of everything that could go wrong with hearing aids? If I give my mother a list then it may be easier to configure a good fit. A list with everything for instance pain levels, buzzing noises and “what if” scenarios?

#2

If she can only keep them in for 15 minutes at a time, I’d say take them back and get a refund and startover with a new provider. You might want to consider something like this:

Really depends on what you want to accomplish. You don’t give a lot of info, but my take is that she doesn’t really want to wear hearing aids and when you’re around it would be really nice not to have to yell. Something like this device could help. If you want to go the hearing aid route, you’ll need to find a provider that will work with you to find something comfortable. I don’t think there’s much comfort difference between RICs and BTEs. Good luck.

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#3

If you could share her audiogram with us we could help more.

I feel for you and your situation. Whatever she gets to help her hearing has to be absolutely comfortable or she won’t wear them.

I agree with taking the aids back for a refund. Somehow a new start is needed. MDB gives great help. The sound pocket talker might work. The Bose Hearphones might be a possible.

More people will chime in soon to help you.

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#4

@cindycrom, It sounds like you need a new audiologist–someone who will take the time to get to know your mother and fit her hearing aids correctly. You might want to return the aids for a refund and go elsewhere. The hearing aids should not cause pain. Sometimes there is a little discomfort at first, but pain is an indication that something isn’t right. Perhaps the 8mm power domes are too large for her ears, and, if she also wears locks with them, the fit can be even tighter and cause pain.

Turning the volume up one or two clicks shouldn’t hurt her, but you might hear more feedback (buzzing, whistling, etc.). Again, this is a fitting issue, and your audiologist should be making adjustments. It’s possible that Oticon OPN isn’t the best choice for your Mother with her aphasia problems. Or, if you do stay with OPN, you might need the top of the line, because it has better noise reduction settings. I wish you the best in finding an audiologist that can help.