Widex SmartRiC, new mold, sound now "muffled"

Hearing Aids
#1

So I got fitted with my SmartRIC (Moment 440) a month ago or so. Initially it was fitted to my existing ventless custom acrylic mold. All was well. At the time though, we ordered new mold, because my existing was 8 years old and I was concerned about longevity.

The new mold is identical, acrylic, ventless, except that it sits the receiver a bit deeper in my ear. From this point out, things have sounded “muffled” a bit, for the lack of a better way to describe, and the lower frequencies seem stronger. It’s almost as if I’m missing some mid-range. If I set the programming to “clarity” it helps, and the issue also goes away in Music mode, (but that presents a different set of issues).

The fitter did rerun the programming for the new mold, but yet this issue remains. It actually got worse, the low frequencies were overwhelming, so we backed off to the prior programming. It is stumping him to the point he recommends I just go back to my old mold. I know how good this can sound, I can’t imagine what is happening here that can’t be resolved just because the receiver is mm deeper in my canal.

Any suggestions?

#2

Receiver outlet is pointing into the wall, you audiologist needs to cut a slot across the inner face of the mould or shorten it with a Dremel.

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#3

That is not something I had considered, interesting. Even considering that music mode seems to “fix” the issues, this may still be the solution? I’d hate to shorten it, this particular mold walks out the least of any mold I have had in years.

Thanks for the input. I will work with this info and see what happens.

#4

This ought to show up during REM, right?

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#5

Not necessarily, the displacement caused by the REM tube might create enough gap to let the sound out.

The potential reason why the bass is overcooked is that if you run the Sensogram with an occluded outlet, the revised audiogram created is substantially flawed.

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#6

It did not take long to see you were right. I changed back to my old mold and all the issues vanished. Looking at the molds side-by-side the differences are subtle, I never realized what a difference that can make. Thank you for your insight!

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