There was a thread here a few weeks ago comparing domes and moulds, and most people seemed to prefer moulds. So I decided to try them, and got fitted (acrylic, soft tip) 5 days ago. I’m finding them difficult to get used to, and wondering whether they’re just a poor fit.
I’d had domes for a year, and my main complaint was of poor mid to low frequency coupling. Not a problem in daily life but when I tried direct input shoes for music listening I found the response rolled off at 12dB/octave below 375Hz. The same with telecoil input. Mid frequencies were poor and bass non-existent. Useless for music. In daily life the mid to lower frequencies bypass the domes.
I’d hoped the moulds would give a better fit and hence better LF response, but a test with telecoil input seems to indicate little if any improvement. Should it, with a better fit?
I have several problems with the moulds.
First, I have a stuffed-up feeling, and my own voice and chewing sounds are very loud. (Bone transmission?) Is this an inevitable consequence of a good seal that I’ll get used to? Listening to a conversation while eating seems harder than it should be.
Related to the good seal, it’s harder to hear a telephone earpiece as the mould blocks the sound, and it isn’t picked up by the hearing aid. Likewise, headphones (using my home-build equaliser).
Also, the moulds are hard to insert correctly (nearly impossible at first without a mirror) and there is pressure on the auricle which has caused soreness. Any pressure on the back of the auricle (sitting up in bed against a pillow, or leaning back in a high back chair) causes discomfort verging on pain.
I’m inclined to go back and get re-fitted with the domes, unless the consensus here should be that I just need to get a better fit.