I purchased Phonak Naida aids from my university audiologist a while back. They’re terrific. But they have ear molds, and the ear molds can’t be removed for cleaning. I’m told I should bring them in every six months for cleaning, $60 a shot. Is that the way things are supposed to be?
Some molds can be removed but some cannot (cShell); depends on the style of mold you have. There is no way things are “supposed to be,” it just depends on your aids and your needs!
(edit to add - cShells are not an option for Naidas, so you should be able to clean them on your own)
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Can you tell me what “cShell” means? Is it a type of mold?
What kind of Naidas? (Basically BTE or RIC?) If BTE with tubes (rather than RIC with wiresI) I’m pretty sure the molds are removable. If for whatever reason they are not removable and you really want to clean them yourselves, you might consider a JodiVac.
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I agree with MDB. You will pay for the Jodi vac in two visits to the audi although there are much cheaper vacs on Amazon. And there is a 100 videos on YouTube on how to clean your hearing aids.
Whoops, I glossed over the part that they are Naida aids. The molds should definitely be removable and cleanable on your own.
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No, no, it’s nothing like that. They’re just clear plastic molds connected by tube to the aids. I’m pretty sure they should be removable and my audiologist just screwed up and won’t admit it. All the instructions I see on line show molds just like mine being pulled off the tube to be cleaned.
That’s what I thought, Speedy. My question now is, can I get this straightened out? Can they be made removable?
Can you attach a picture of them? Surely you can do it on your own; not sure why they would hide something like that from you. Hopefully it was just a misunderstanding.
Processing: image.jpeg…
For some reason I can’t upload the photo. I keep getting an “uploading error” message. I’ll try again.
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That seems to have worked.
I’ve talked with the audiologist repeatedly about it, and she assures me it can’t be done. I was finally turned over to a tech who took them into a back room to, as she said, clean them using special equipment, and charged me $60. I think it’s a matter of not wanting to admit an error. All the tubes seem to have been glued together.
Those tubes are removable. They’ll need replacement in 6-18months anyway.
Edit: your audiologist is talking rubbish or has no experience in dealing with a BTE and acrylic mould that you have there.
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on Amazon … do a search for “Phonak BTE tube”
and you will see the tube
also look at this :
https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=phonak+how+to+replace+BTE+tube+
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Thanks, everyone. I’m going to find an audiologist to show me how to do this. I don’t want to risk taking it apart and not being able to put it back together.
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cshell means canal shell,
You can do this yourself. You can buy replacement tubes in various materials, some are moisture resistant. Do some research and save yourself time and money.
With naida you might benefit from thick wall tubes.
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Thanks, Michael. I’ve already purchased two sets through Amazon, one with 3.2 outer diameter, the other with 3.5. I bought both because I didn’t know what the difference was. Does it have to do with the thickness you mention?
Does it make any difference whether my ear molds are hard or soft?
@corrado - Your audiologist is talking rubbish and you can absolutely remove and re-attach the ear mold portion. It is likely, though, that after 3-4 months your ear mold tubing has hardened so badly that you are unable to remove it on your own and will need the assistance of your audiologist.
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