Preventing domes from coming off: a glue that works?

Hearing Aids
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I’m new to this forum. I’m in a trial period with entry-level hearing aids (Phonak Marvel RIC for my mild to moderate loss).

I’d like to find a way to try to ensure that the domes don’t come off in my ear canals. Having a dome come off is more of a problem than for most people because of an injury.

A few years ago, a plastic earplug for swimming came apart w/o my knowing in my ear canal, leaving behind a hard section. It stayed there for more than 2 months until I got severe ear pain, worsened tinnitus and hyperacusis, and dizziness. I went to an ENT who found the piece of plastic lodged tightly against my eardrum. He removed it and found my eardrum had become retracted.

Since then, that ear canal has been extra sensitive. After 2 weeks using the new Phonak aids, one of the domes came off in the injured canal as I was (gently and carefully) removing the hearing aids. The audi I’m seeing is the closest one available, and is a 2 hour r.t. drive. She removed the dome the next morning.

I’ve seen a few postings on this forum about gluing domes to the receiver. Some people mentioned plastic model cement, Pliobond, and super glue, but I haven’t seen a posting from anyone who has actually used glue successfully.

Because the injured ear canal is sensitive to being occluded, I’m not interested in a mold at this point, but would like to try gluing the dome – if there’s a kind of glue that can eventually be removed from the peg end of the receiver without damaging it.

Has anyone found and used a glue that works well?

Many thanks!

1 Like
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Think about getting molds. Much less likely to leave anything behind. Much more comfortable.

WH

7 Likes
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Gluing the domes on would make it hard to remove them to check on the wax filters. Make sure the audiologist gave you Phonak domes. It’s physically possible to use one brand’s receivers with another brand’s domes, but some combinations won’t fit as tightly.

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Welcome to the Forum. FWIW, I agree with @WhiteHat 's suggestion. But, if you’re stuck on domes, try propolis (the Wiki article is good), applied daily. I’m not referring to the capsules - I mean the sticky, unrefined beeswax.

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If they’re the right domes for the hearing aids, they shouldn’t come off if they’re placed on securely. I’d stay away from glue. The most secure domes I know of are Signia/Rexton Click Domes/Sleeves, but they only work with Signia and Rexton

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6

You shouldn’t use any glue that is strong. Besides the wax guard issue mentioned, domes do clog with wax and wear out or tear eventually, and if you can’t get one off the aid, that’s a problem. They need cleaning and replacement. Wax guards need replacement. Using a more permanent adhesive would also risk permanently clogging the part of the aid behind the dome if you got too much on there.

You could do something like a drop of rubber cement very carefully applied where aid and dome meet. With a little thumb friction on the aid, rubber cement is removable. Check with your audiologist though, first, because you could cause a warranty problem doing this, or the audi may have a better solution like stepping up one size in the dome, making it unlikely to get stuck in the ear canal even if it comes off.

Given your medical history, ear molds might be too painful, though you’d have to try to see.

When I put domes on, i tug them slightly to be sure they’re really on, and I haven’t had a problem with domes coming off my current aids. I used to have the issue with older aids and had at least two visits with an ENT to remove a dome embedded in the ear canal. I don’t use any kind of adhesive with my current aids and domes and don’t have this issue now.

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An alternative is to ask your audiologist to switch you from RIC-type hearing aids to Behind The Ear (BTE) type hearing aids. The latter type do not use domes so there is no worry about losing a dome in the ear channel.

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Using glue that gives off ions like cyanoacrylate will potentially kill the sensitivity of your mics.

You can potentially use UV set acrylic on clear mould/domes.

Like noted above; you might want to check the compatibility of the domes you are using.

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Save yourself a whole lot of time and effort… get custom

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Exactly as I was thinking, seems the easiest way forward.

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First, your biggest challenge with mild and moderate hearing loss is communication in a noisy environment. The entry level means that most of the features reducing the noise are disconnected. Your entry level hearing aids are for face-to face communication in a quiet room. Is that what you are paying for?
Second, the domes protect the ear canal and prevent blocking the receiver from ear wax. Domes are supposed to sit very tight on the receiver. If Phonak domes don’t work properly, you can use domes from another brands. But don’t use glue. You won’t be able to clean a wax guard and as result will need to buy a new receiver every month,

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Custom hearing aids have some disadvantages

  1. For any repair, the hearing aids must be sent to manufacturers. Two weeks without hearing aids.
  2. Custom hearing aids have less microphones which means less scanning the environment.
  3. They cause earwax blockage
  4. They break more often. After a 3-year warranty you pay from your pocket.
  5. Oclussion effect is annoying for people with normal hearing in low frequencies.
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@videomix : Are you sure those that are posting aren’t simply referring to custom moulds? That’s usually what is meant around here.

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Moulds are always custom. When we say custom, it usually means hearing aids.

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Since most new users have RIC aids, around here, reference to custom molda is much more common than references to ITC and CIC which are always custom.

One advantage of custom molds is they usually have an embedded pull wire used for removing them from the ear.

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@prodigyplace: Thanks for covering my 6 on the “custom” usage, here in the Forum.

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17

Agree. However, I found out that earmolds “eat” too much gain. When I perform the real ear measurement, it shows that more gain is required but sometime more gain is not available, or it distorts the sound. Earmolds are also very visible to others, and the receivers are sticking out. Modern technology of some hearing aids let use the domes with no feedback issues (no cutting the gain off).

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Many thanks for the suggestions – and thanks to all others who’ve responded. Much appreciated!

Hamjor1, you wrote “the audi may have a better solution like stepping up one size in the dome, making it unlikely to get stuck in the ear canal even if it comes off.” I’d like to understand this: How would using a larger diameter dome make it less likely to get stuck in the ear canal? (Seems paradoxical, but maybe it’s true.)

Have you ever tried using rubber cement for this purpose yourself? – I’m wondering if it would stick to the silicon dome material.

I checked with my audiologist about the dome that came off: It’s made by Phonak and should be compatible.

I’m still hoping to find a more secure way of using domes. I see the advantages of custom molds, but don’t think my injured ear canal would tolerate one.

19

Thanks videomix for the heads-up about the entry-level Phonak Marvel aids that I’m currently trying. The audi I’m seeing was honest about their limitations – such as not working satisfactorily when there’s background noise. That seemed OK with me, since I’m normally in a quiet environment.

But what she didn’t tell me is that these Marvel aids (at least so far – and I’ve already had 2 out of the 3 allowed free fittings/adjustments) are really intolerable when it comes to my amateur playing guitar or flute. The aids actually screech painfully at certain frequencies (C# and Eflat octave 5, C and C# octave 6, G and G# octave 6, and other notes).

Are Phonak Marvels an impossible choice for someone who plays a musical instrument?

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Widex Moment will be your best choice.