Tulip domes driving me crazy

Hearing Aids
#1

Got my ReSound Vidas from Costco this evening. The Audi fit me with tulip domes and initially they felt fine, I could hear very well and no feedback whatsoever. As the night went on, my canals began itching like crazy. Just insanely crazy. I also began to notice a lot of occlusion in both ears and when I spoke. I feel like I’m under water and it’s incredibly distracting. Is this normal with tulip domes?

On the phonak b70s (which I currently still am in possession of), the private audiologist fit me with a closed dome on the left and open on the right. No occlusion effect and my own voice sounded very natural to me and my canals felt fine after wearing them all day, although definitely some feedback on the right.

Should I keep trying the tulips? I have my next appointment next Saturday, but I’m not sure I can tolerate these until then.

#2

I would give them another day or two.

If you can’t get used to them, they will have to change them out. Will your old domes slip on to the new receivers? You could try that and see how it goes.

#3

Can I put phonak domes on the Resounds? I did test last night to see if they’d go on, which they did but felt ever so slightly looser than the tulips.

At any rate, I return the phonaks on Wednesday and I’ll be SOL until Saturday then.

#4

Yes. You have to be slightly more careful. Make sure they are on snuggly, and if you pull the receiver out of your ear and the dome is missing, get someone to have a look in your ear before putting a new one on. It’s easier to pull one dome out of an ear than three.

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#5

Neville: I suppose if you had closed domes your ear drum would be quite snuggly in the winter.
Ohh…snugly. :slight_smile:
Just goofin’ around that’s all. :slight_smile:

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#6

I do see people whose ear canals get painful in cold wind. I don’t know what that is. Maybe a dome wedged in there would keep them warm.

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#7

Ha funny my ear canals hurt a lot in cold weather.maybe hearing aids will help that. :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

#8

I had closed domes on my HA’s, they also created huge problems with occlusions. It’s an easy fix, one of the other members on here told me, what to do bit I can’t remember who it was. Purchase a leather hole punch and using the smallest size put one hole in the dome close to the tip as you can get it. Problem solved. May not be ethical but it works. Just one thing take the domes off when you send the HA’s away for service as they will not be returned, you will be sent new ones.

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#9

How not? It’s your stuff. Do with it what you wish.

#11

I should have said it might not be the best thing to do instead of ethical. Poor choice of word.

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#12

Sometimes folks are actually sensitive or allergic to the dome material. I am hideously allergic to any clear or tinted plastic mold, but I can wear the smoke-colored silicone domes for 14-16 hrs a day without trouble. My aud-guy steered me away from the clear silicone domes cuz several of his patients had a reaction to them: redness and itching within hours or a few days.

As for the dome style & occlusion factors: DO try different domes! If they fit snug on the receiver, they can be interchanged. I wore Widex tulip domes on my Oticon Opn aids for several months. Then I switched to generic double-domes that I bought at Amazon.com.

My newer Phonak Audeo B-Direct aids are fitted with the same smoke-colored, silicone double-domes, and seem to give me no reactions. Only prob I notice is that they tend to slip out during the day as I articulate my face with speech, eating, etc.,

My current solution for that prob is to take a narrow, 1/3" long piece of clear packing tape and literally TAPE the wires to my ears to the domes stay put! LOL. Low tech!

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#13

Good to know! These tulips are the smoke colored ones but the tips are actually quite firm and bigger and longer than other domes. I can feel them poking my canals and it hurts.

I did a little DIY and cut teeny tiny holes to allow for some venting and it fixed the occlusion problem, but not the itching and irritation. I will definitely ask for new domes when I go on Saturday. These definitely won’t work long term. I guess I have sensitive ear canals. I wore other domes no problems, so it’s not a problem with domes in general, just these ones.

#14

Don’t ask me how I know how much Kaiser Permanente charges to pull a Phonak dome that was tried on a ReSound receiver from your ear canal. If you’re thinking of trying that pull a Nancy Reagan, and Just Say No!

#15

I’ll bite. How much?! I’m getting used to these tulips domes. They don’t bother my ears too much anymore. Thank goodness because the phonak domes weren’t snug enough to my comfort.

#16

I too struggled with the larger domes at first, but it’s well worth the battle to just get through this. My biggest reason? Loss.
When I first started wearing behind the hear aids it was all about comfort and a feeling of not ever knowing they were there. Then… I lost my aids 3 different times while taking off a sweater in the woods, giving a grandchild a piggy-back ride, etc. With a super comfortable dome I would be unaware that the HA was lost for many minutes until it was too late.
This cost me $1,000s :slight_smile:
Eventually you will grow into the domes and not feel a thing.

#17

Sorry if this is too late. I had the same problem with tulip domes. At my next Costco fitting we tried power domes in the left because it’s much worse and open domes in the right. No more itching and I even sometimes forget they’re there. Not saying it’s perfect but much, much better. At least for me. As always, your mileage may vary.

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#18

^^^ I’m wearing the Phonak double-dome power domes but I had to take a nail scissor and trim off that itty bitty LOOP on the top of the dome. That little sucker would poke into the sides of my ear canal and leave a small red SORE every day.
What a goofy design!

#19

Well, I switched out for open domes today and they are much more comfortable, although I prefer the sound from the tulips with the tiny holes I cut in them to vent them. Everything seems much tinnier/harsh and less full than before. I’ll give these a couple weeks before going back and seeing if there is yet another option.