I was fairly recently fitted with Oticon Engage HAs with moulds and have found that - usually after wearing them for a long time or doing fairly physical work - a relatively small amount of sweat builds up in my ears.
In one ear in particular - usually the left - this appears to affect the sound quality like putting a finger in my ear.
By pulling the mould out slightly I can hear better, but it immediately returns to the ‘finger in ear’ effect when I let go.
I think it might be because the point at which the tube exits the mould sticks to the inside of my ear when wet or damp from sweat.
I find taking out the HA drying the inside of the ear with a tissue and not putting the HA back for a few minutes usually solves the problem although it’s not always convenient to do so.
My inclination is to make an appointment with the audiologist and see if they are prepared to modify and replace the mould.
Has anyone else had this experience or have a better solution?
Thanks.
Pending on your hearing loss molds are typically fit with vents. Have you got a vent in your ear mold? Is it plugged?
Does the sound tube protrude out of the ear mold on the inside part that goes into your ear canal? If it does that is incorrect, it needs to be flush or even a little into the mold.
I had problems with sweat with my battery hearing aids, sweat would plug the air holes in the batteries and shut down the hearing aid. With my new rechargeable aids I have to pull out and dry off the dome often because of moisture plugging the vent hole.
They do have vents Raudrive and I’ve checked but they don’t appear to be plugged. The right one has the tube slightly projecting from the mould - I realise it shouldn’t be - but the problem is mostly with the left one.
When I wore aids the BTE aids were much less trouble about sweat than RIC type aids.
I never had issues with batteries getting wet.
I have read that some ear mold materials are worse than others about sweating. What type do you have?
I occasionally had a similar issue with the right hearing aid on my last set, but in my case the problem turned out to be that the sweat/moisture allowed the ear mold to move around a little bit and it would slide inward enough to block the speaker output. This was absolutely maddening when I was eating - chew…chew…CRAP! can’t hear on right side!..pull ear mold out a little…ok, that’s better…chew…etc.
I fought with it for at least 5 or 6 years. At one point my audiologist’s response was “well, what do you want ME to do about it?” (…jerk…I want you to FIX it!)
Last year, my right receiver started buzzing & I didn’t want to deal with my non-helpful audi. I found a place where I could order them online and get both for less than I would have paid for one with “mr helpful”, Only problem was, I had to order a specific size (length) of wire - and there were five choices.
I had to look at the receivers under magnification, but I saw that the left side was a #2, and the right was a #3. I put them back in and looked closely in the bathroom mirror. The left side wire rested gently against the top of my ear. The right side hovered 1/8 inch above. If I touched the wire at all it would push the receiver into my ear and mute that side.
Long story not much shorter, I ordered a pair of size #2 and never had the problem again. Thinking back, shortly after I had gotten those aids, the clinic I was using was bought out. The new audiologist didn’t like that I had 60db receivers and wanted to move me to 85db. He said that he had an extra set and could swap them out right then (for only $150 each) and I let him do it. I think he just sold me whatever he found in his cabinet & never looked at the size.
The net of all of that would be that I suggest that you verify that the aids physically fit you correctly. The symptom that you describe sounds very much like the one that I experienced.
I do experience an issue which I put down to sweat in the ear canal. When using my RIC aids (Phonak Paradise / KS10s), after a few days, the low frequency sounds become more obvious as if a slow build up of occlusion is happening. This does not happen with my ITE aids (Phonak Virto Q90s). Both have the same size vents (2mm) and both are custom acrylic molds. The ITE molds sit much deeper in the canal than the RIC molds. Why one suffers the issue and the other doesn’t I do not know.
I do use a dryer overnight but that does not solve the issue, so I suspect the issue is a build up of sweat in the ear canal. If I leave the RIC aids out for a few days (using the other aids), then the RIC aids will be better but will slowly return to the boomy sounds over a few days.
I intend to bring up my issue with the audiologist when I next see them next month and will report back if they have any useful suggestions.
I’m also going to ask if I can try reverting to the old dome type fittings to see if I can manage with those, because the problem is frustrating when attempting conversation at the moment.
I have been wearing aids for 20 years, mostly ITE aids but most recently aids wirh cutom ear molds. I hike or walk a lot of distance when ever possible, yes sweat does effect my ability to hear at times. Not only sweat in the ear canal, but sweat from my head that wets my aids due to what little hair i have. Honestly my only concern is preventing damage to my aids, which has happened a few times. I wear a sweat band to keep sweat from my aids, and i carry qtips to dry my ear canals, and eye glass cleaning clothes to dry my aids and of course clean my glasses. And yes i have heard all about not using qtips but have been very effective with using them for 20 years. I don’t have ear wax issues and when my doctors and audiologists have changed my ears they have always be clear of ear wax. I haven’t ever had an ear infection.