Earmolds

[Guest guest]

Hi all - I'd really appreciate any ideas you guys have about earmolds. Our

older son, Tommy, wears Phonak Claros 311 dAz hearing aids. He also has the

integrated FM on his aids that he wears at all times. He has a sloping moderate

to profound hearing loss and is 10 years old.

We've had a terrible time with earmolds for him - we started out with

Microsonic, but the Microsonics rubbed in his ear and caused hot spots; then we

switched to Patriot earmolds (I can't remember the company name - they are in

Roanoke VA), then we switched to yet another brand (it's early - I can't

remember that company either but they are in Michigan). He had feedback

problems - particularly in one ear. Now we're back to Microsonic and it's the

same - feedback and uncomfortable, and he says the molds themselves are

uncomfortable.

This has occurred with three different audiologists at Dartmouth-Hitchcock

Medical Center (and my younger son has the same set of molds since summer) so I

don't think it's our audiologist. Do you have any ideas? It's so frustrating

for poor Tommy!

By the way, we're loving our younger son's Supero 411 hearing aids - I couldn't

believe we'd see such clearcut results! We can talk in the car and he's hearing

things he hasn't heard before (Sam has a cookie bite loss - he's 8 and is

profoundly deaf). When he was fitted, he asked my husband if he could wear them

home!

Thanks for any advice - it's much appreciated!

Barbara

[Guest guest]

This conversation is extremely interesting, since Phonak Claros 211 dAz is

what Brad Ingrao has suggested might be the best choice for me. For those

who don't know who Brad is, visit his website at

http://www.bradingrao.com/

Barbara, I'd ask to see just what the provider is ordering for your son.

Sometimes what they're ordering isn't 'best' for meeting your son's needs.

For the earmold JD wears on his implant side (or should I say, isn't

wearing), I take him to another provider who deals with another factory. All

American Lab (which I'm really not all that happy with) insists for some

reason I'm not sure of, on double dipping the earmold, which makes it

uncomfortable for JD and it ALWAYS causes sores. For the last 2 earmolds

we've gotten from them, JD's ended up not wearing because even after sending

them back and having the audiologist make adjustments to them, they still

cause sores in his ears. It's really frustrating because if it's for the

implanted side, a tight fit isn't essential since sound doesn't travel

through it at all! I also have problems with getting a good fit on his other

ear as well. For this ear, I like to take him to a provider that deals with

Westone. I've yet to get one from them that wasn't right the first time (not

saying that they don't make mistakes or errors, they just haven't with JD

yet). Really weird since I know they double dipped this one as well.

Also, I would suggest you write to Brad and ask him what he would suggest

for Tommy. You may also want to read his article " More Than Meets The Ear:

Understanding and Maximizing Your Child's Earmolds " at

http://www.bradingrao.com/More%20Than%20Meets%20the%20Ear.pdf

and

" I am Junior's Earmold: A Report from the Trenches " at

http://www.bradingrao.com/I%20am%20Junior's%20Earmold.pdf

Hugs,

Kay