Price for custom molds (RIC)

Hearing Aids
#1

I have an Audiologist appointment in a couple days. I’m feeling like I probably will need to move away from my open domes. After a lot of reading on the topic, I’m becoming open to the idea of just skipping the closed domes in favor for either the Phonak slim tips, or maybe even custom molds. I suppose like a C-shell (or other small in canal molds)

I’m wondering what the going rate is for the molds.

I understand it probably varies greatly, esp depending on the materials used, so please qualify your answers…

I just want to be prepared to know the ballpark of what I might be getting myself into financially…

thanks

#2

I think it’s pretty common for acrylic or silicone molds to cost $100 each or $200 per pair. That was awhile ago so costs could be higher now. I would expect titanium molds to be higher still. If you’re buying a new pair of hearing aids with the molds, the audiologist may offer a better deal.

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#3

The cheapest I’ve paid was about $120/pair for silicone. The most expensive was about $225, but that included a one-time fee for an impressions that could be reused. No idea about other materials. None of them were official Phonak molds.

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#4

Just looking at your audiogram, there’s about 30dB + of low frequency response that disagrees with further occluding the canal.

Unless you specifically want more closed moulds for music, calls or more noise reduction. It might be worth considering keeping as much venting as possible given your local climate.

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#5

Thanks.

This will be a stand-alone “upgrade”…not buying new aids at this time. That might be a factor

and it’s the main reason I’m asking the question about cost. I purchased these as a package price…aids + service + insurance + blah blah…all at one not-so-low price. Now that I’ve had them a while the couple of times I’ve had to go in for service the prices seem to be very steep. I’m 100 % supporting of the idea of paying for her time and expertise…but my sensibility would rather pay a fair price all along rather than this pricing model…kind of makes it hard to swallow if she’s grossly overcharging
(For example, I had to replace my receivers out of warranty. She charged $150 per side… for parts I know I can get from ebay for about $21 and my kid could change them out!) I paid it anyway because I do value the work she has done and wanted to consider that other programming or work might have been needed at the same time (it wasn’t but I do value her checking everything so I’m ok with the idea of paying something more than $21/ea)… I’d like to get another few years out of these aids but not at that sort of x7 margin! If molds should be $100 each side but she’s charging x7 at $700…then I kind of want to know that going in to consider alternatives

I understand my last audiogram isn’t for sure pointing to shells of any kind, but she’s been hinting at closed for a while now. I did try closed domes once very briefly and hated it…so I’ve told her in the past that I would resist that at all costs…

I’m now considering shells for better performance and because of the itch I’m getting from the open domes… which I’ve recently realized might be because of the domes themselves. Until recently I’ve assumed the itch was just the nature of closing off the ears…moisture, or whatever.

I’ve been reading comments from several folks here blaming the itch on the elastomer domes and saying that it went away with molds.

Also, I have noticed that the quality of sound (mostly when streaming) is so much richer when I plug my fingers in closing off the receivers inside the canals.
And since I’ve been struggling more and more with speech and missing things in general, I’m starting to think that maybe I should explore getting everything out of these aids that they can give.

And I know little about it but yes I’m assuming that whatever I’d get would have a substantial vent

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#6

I’m a big fan of custom molds but I too question how much benefit you’d get from them after looking at your audiogram. To me the big pluses of custom molds are 1)getting enough low frequency gain (you don’t really need any) and 2)getting enough high frequency gain without feedback (you should get enough with open domes) I think any earpiece can possibly promote itching. You said you hated “closed domes.” Why? Occlusion? I’m not sure I understand what problems you’re trying to solve. If you want better sound quality from streaming, increasing the low frequency gain in the streaming program might work.

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#7

Direct Hearing charges $100 for a single Phonak titanium earmold.

I found this manufacturer in Germany, but they only ship within Europe.

Just found their representative in the US:

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#8

Keep in mind that you are not just paying for the cost of the physical mold. You are paying for the materials used to take the impression as well as the clinical time to take the impression and then to re-fit and re-verify your hearing aid settings once the molds are in. Plus shipping and handling charges.

Margins on earmolds tend to be pretty low.

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#9

Are there potential safety issues with a titanium mold? It seems in some situations the mold could be impacted and cause injury or there could be swelling and then like a titanium ring the mold can’t be easily cut out.

#10

it’s been a while so it’s not fresh in my memory, but several reasons come to mind (in no particular order)
a) occlusion (hearing my own voice)
b) occlusion, blocking outside ambient sounds
c) comfort - pressure in the canal from the dome pressing outward to seal
d) and more lately now, I’m thinking about the almost incessant itching that might be coming from the elastomer they use for these domes

seems plausible to me that compared to closed domes, properly fitting molds that are made out of the correct material (whatever that is for me) will likely take care of points c and d
and it seems plausible that a properly engineered vent would at least minimize the problems with points a and b

The primary problem I’m trying to solve is speech understanding which I presume is due to a worsening high freq loss
so maybe, just maybe…improving the acoustic coupling by getting the seal just right + orienting the receiver at just the correct angle and position in my canals might help with the primary problem…

edit: I should add… at this point this is just “general research” I have no idea what the hearing test might reveal, what my audiologist will suggest, etc… I’m only just trying to learn and understand options.

#11

side question: for RIC aids, if/when the wire fails (or the receiver itself), are they permanently attached to the mold? or can I or the Audiologist change the receiver?

#12

Back in school, I was playing football (soccer) while wearing CICs and had an ear canal wound when the ball hit my head.

I think the safety issues are the same with any in-canal device (CICs, earmolds, earbuds, sound monitors, hearing protectors, etc).

You just have to avoid these situations.

#13

Unless you have pretty big ear canals, there is a good chance that with your audiogram you will find custom tips more occluding than closed domes.

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#14

Whether the receiver is permanently attached depends on the hearing aid brand, mold type, receiver strength, etc. Many are not one unit but some are.

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#15

I’m not aware of any risks with titanium earmolds. On the contrary, they are more resistant (won’t break or crack like the acrylic ones) and the material is hypoallergenic. Also, they can make them smaller as it requires less material for toughness.

#16

So I had my appointment. Updated my hearing test, it was close to the last one and she called it “stable”. She said it would not be good to go closed domes or molds, even with an open vent
so she turned up some of the ranges for speech a bit and also applied the volume update that showed where I have been turning up the volume in certain situations

Sadly my turning up the volume manually has been limited, only doing it recently experimenting when I have time and think of it, so that’s not really a great set of data to show where I’m having issues. I really should have been cranking them up more than I have. Still, an overall adjustment ‘up’ is better than it was I suppose.

…so I’ll see how this goes!

#17

Have you tried “ear oil” for itching? Several brands on Amazon. I find it very helpful. My ears are apparently really dry - - I never have a wax issue. And domes/molds do itch at times, but ear oil fixes the problem

#18

I haven’t…well not a product marketed as such.
I have used olive oil a couple times and I think mineral oil once or twice. Temporarily helped of course, but I’ve been hesitant to do it except at bed time. Just hasn’t seemed like a great idea to put my receivers into an oily ear…

Do you use this oil while wearing the aids? No issues?

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#19

Miracell ProEar, Ear Drops for Itchy Ears is what I use and you can get it at Amazon. If you just search “ear oil” you will get many hits.
It seems much lighter that olive oil or such.
I put just ONE drop or less on the end of my little finger and rub that around the inside of my ear canal. It does not seem to be enough to really make the ear “oily” but just enough to lubricate the dry skin and I have never had a problem. It was originally recommended by my Audi many, many years ago.
Hope this helps you!

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#20

Just curious, I moved back to Minnesota from Florida where I lived for 19 years, close to Orlando. I do miss the weather. Hope you are doing well.