Mold fitting question

[withears]

Except for the mold fitting, I love my new aids and my new hearing (3 months).
BUT!
Can anyone tell me just how a mold is supposed to feel like when correctly made?
The reason for my question is although I have no pain or discomfort as such, I find that I have to continually push the molds back in my ears, especially when I am hot and sweaty. My Audi told me that they were not made tight because I did not need it. (No arguments there). I have skeleton #2 style but the helix locks are missing. The Audi said she did not have enough mold making material to fill my large conch area of my ear lobes to be able to make the helix lock in each ear. She said she did not have a big enough syringe. Is it normal to make molds without the helix locks?
I should note that I never get feedback even when the molds "come lose".
My hearing loss is mild to moderately severe high frequency only; I have Tego Pro BTE's.

[Admin]

You really dont' want a very tight fit, particularly with a high freq hearing loss.

Maybe your audi can use more impression material to create a helix lock or make the fitting just a little snugger at the aperture for better retention.

[ZCT]

You know I've been taking impressions since 1993. I have NEVER met anyone who has such big ears that I cannot take an impression of their ears.

I have to say the fact that a professional would make such a statement is deeply concerning. Unless you neglected to mention that you are an elephant, I believe she is being too lazy to remake your defective molds.

The helix lock missing is not a problem, sometimes that is reduced or removed for comfort. But equally if the molds keep slipping out, they have simply not been fitted correctly. Personally I would demand a new set, or a refund for the cost of the molds so I could buy a set elsewhere.

[withears]

Hi ZCT,
Thanks for the professional feed back.
I subsequently had new molds made: they are semi skeletel with flex canals, they were supposed to be long canal and tight fit to help with the occlusion...my request, they also have SAV and presently am using 1.4mm vents. The result after wearing them for several weeks, is they are very comfortable, feedback is better, they are not quite so obvious (visually), they upped the high frequency (my request) to compensate for the longer canal. Because they tapered the canal end the occlusion is still there but a little less...maybe. The helix lock is small but as the molds do not come out, I am not concerned. After your feed back and my teaching my self about hearing aids and fitting in general, next time I will look for a more experienced fitter.:(

[Hask12]

You should not have to keep pushing them back in, sweating or not, even when chewing. ZCT, I am very impressed with your knowledge regarding hearing aids and fittings. I have been wearing these things for over 30 yrs and am no where near as informed as you seem to be. Where do you get all your info.

[withears]

You should not have to keep pushing them back in, sweating or not, even when chewing. ZCT, I am very impressed with your knowledge regarding hearing aids and fittings. I have been wearing these things for over 30 yrs and am no where near as informed as you seem to be. Where do you get all your info.
I appreciate the vote of confidence. Where did I get all the info? My main source of info was from here: http://www.hearingreview.com
Go into the archives there is a lot there. In addition, my being semi retired at the time, I was able to spend a lot of time going through the internet checking out information. I was motivated by my hearing loss (speech recognition) which could not be helped until the digital programmable hearing aids had come along. Also I was motivated by Hearing Instrument Fitters and Audiologists who complained about trying to fit people who were either reluctant to wear HA's or had the attitude " I can't hear...fix it!" and others who simply were not prepared to take ownership of their hearing loss. My present HIS refers to me as her "special case". I think I have proven that the more we as users are prepared to learn about hearing loss and hearing aids our selves then the more successful will be the outcome. My advice is to study websites like this one and do not be overwhelmed by the technical buzzwords. Just glaze over them and things will slowly start to make sense. The more you put into your research then the more you will get out of it. Be patient and learn. The very fact that you are here reading this proves that you are well on your way. Good luck.

[Raudrive]

I appreciate the vote of confidence. Where did I get all the info? My main source of info was from here: http://www.hearingreview.com
Go into the archives there is a lot there. In addition, my being semi retired at the time, I was able to spend a lot of time going through the internet checking out information. I was motivated by my hearing loss (speech recognition) which could not be helped until the digital programmable hearing aids had come along. Also I was motivated by Hearing Instrument Fitters and Audiologists who complained about trying to fit people who were either reluctant to wear HA's or had the attitude " I can't hear...fix it!" and others who simply were not prepared to take ownership of their hearing loss. My present HIS refers to me as her "special case". I think I have proven that the more we as users are prepared to learn about hearing loss and hearing aids our selves then the more successful will be the outcome. My advice is to study websites like this one and do not be overwhelmed by the technical buzzwords. Just glaze over them and things will slowly start to make sense. The more you put into your research then the more you will get out of it. Be patient and learn. The very fact that you are here reading this proves that you are well on your way. Good luck.

Thanks for this post. I too am one of those who will try to learn everything possible to get the best product or do repairs myself.

We all put our pants on one leg at a time. We all can learn anything we want.