A few facts:
My ears sweat. I routinely dry them with Q tips every few hours: Sweat!
I don’t seem to have wax. Or with all that Q Tip action - no free wax.
The speakers should probably be replaced regularly… say once a year at minimum, due to possibility of wires fraying.
The front surface of other speakers I had examined seemed quite hardy - a wire grill, or a tough acrylic screen of some kind.
In my c-Shells I measure the speaker grill to be at least 3/8 deep, recessed from the front Mold port.
Using those green tooth picks, cotton tips, fishing tackle and the like, I routinely - say every ten days or so, run the tackle through the vents from both sides and use the ear picks to probe and scrape away whatever might have adhered on the screen.
THE IMPORTANT things to consider is that while the speakers are deeply (3/8") recessed, the wax guards would actually protruding above the surface.
SO in my early younger, ignorant and foolish years - I often found myself with suddenly muted aids, and would have to affect a wax guard change in the field… not a pleasant experience.
Now - nearing 70 years of age, I have wised up! No such sudden blockages! They, like the dryers being sold, are not needed. I routinely dry my aids, by placing them atop, or adjacent to my computer vents - which in my high powered graphics machines are always exhausting hot air - both my main computer and my laptops.
If I was wearing guards, they would constantly be getting gummed up due to my ear sweat, which unless I am having monsoons, tornados or hurricanes in my canal, will not for the most part affect the deeply recessed speaker.
I believe this is at least the third time I have detailed my thinking on this.
But I am happy to share once again.
Like to know your take on this as well ?
Just to clarify, IF I did have abundant wax production, still I would not use guards. The wax would surely gum them up rapidly.
And one more thing… knowing that the speakers are about 3/8 recessed… (insert the green toothpick like a dipstick and measure yours, yourself. But I have gently inserted the hearing aid speakers, inverted, into warm water about half inch to slosh away any front gummed speaker grills I might have had - just bobbing up and down a mm or so. Then dry a few hours or overnight…
Years ago, I dropped a hearing aid into hot coffee. Still works!
Nuff Said?