Friday 4 February 2011

Ear-plugs for Lotte - The story continues....

Today - Friday -  Lotte got her ear-molds.... The ones we had made earlier..
Transparent with glitter in it... Great stuff... We didn't order it this way, but it was a great idea of the person that ordered it...

It took some time to fit the ear-molds & flex tube to the BTE.. but we managed.. The problem seems to be that the soft-plastic tube comes out from the side, and then has to go up to the BTE...

For us... it is not as secure as on the shoulder, so we are a bit sceptic still, but on the other hand... most kids wear it like this.... Guess we need to get used to it..
So does Lotte... She will need to learn to insert the earpiece, and then hang the BTE on the ear... Practice makes perfect... so that's what we will do tomorrow...

As can be seen below, the BTE is too big for her ears.

But there is the option to use cables to hang the battery-compartments on the shoulder with the processor and microphone on the ears.... Another experiment for tomorrow.....

Just wondering if Lotte is OK with having something on the ears AND on the shoulders.....

8 comments:

Dan Schwartz said...

Lotte does not need a full earmold, which is uncomfortable & unsanitary (common audie mistake also made with CROS hearing aid transmitter retainer earmolds): Instead of a #6 shell mold made out of slilcone, a NAEL #13 or #15 earmold is recommended for CI retention (and CROS/BiCROS transmitters). To see what they look like: http://www.westone.com/earpiece-guide

[Also, you're not supposed to use your hands when mixing additive cure silicone, due to skin oils changing the properties -- You use two spatulas to mix it on a piece of paper or aluminum foil. This differs from the older condensation cure silicone, which used a little squeeze of curing agent from a tube. This is the reason why it's much better to use the Matrix impression gun with the mixing tips: http://www.earimpressions.com/products/products.cfm ]

PinkLAM said...

Hi, I know that in the Cochlear Online store in the US, they sell special earhooks that keep the earmold on better than the regular Freedom earhook (the ear-molds may slide off the regular ear hook at times, causing a problem!) Also, from the last picture, it looks like the tubing might be just a little bit too long, but it might just be the picture. If you notice the BTE falling off, you might want to just barely trim the tubing so it stays on better.

Good luck with using the BTEs on the ears!

Cloggy said...

@ Dan:
We really have no say in which compound to use, how to use it and how to apply....
It's just "done"... what do we know...
Lotte wore the molds for the whole day.. and she has no problem with them.. So far so good....

@PinkLAM:
We adjusted them this morning...

Cloggy said...

From Facebook...

Dan Schwartz:

Lotte Sofie:

Dan Schwartz: It's easy to order a kiddie to wear something needlessly uncomfortable.

But, what is a hearing aid dispensing engineer with 25 years experience supposed to know about how to keep a BTE in place?
22 minutes ago · Like
Lotte Sofie Not that easy... so we never tried...
But what do you mean?
17 minutes ago · Like
Dan Schwartz One more time:

Lotte does NOT need her ears plugged up with earmolds designed to contain sound from a high power hearing aid just to hold a silent CI processor in place.

....

Lotte Sofie:
I read the comment but the mold is made... I will take your comments for the next one that will be made... whenever that is.
The one she has has 2 holes.. One straight through, and one for the tube.....
Like I said... She indicates they are comfortable....
If not... she'll be the first to tell us....
(She's the kind of girl you cannot tell how and what to wear...)

Melanie said...

Can't you just use toupee tape to keep the BTE in place??

Cloggy said...

Absolutely...
I recall we did that a long time ago.. when Lotte wore HA's (Pre-CI) and she absolutely hated them....
But that's 6 years ago... Perhaps an idea to do that again...

Monica Bocaner said...

Her tube is too long. We had the exact same problem, and even a couple of audiologists couldn't figure it out. But we saw our CI guy, he shortened it the littlest bit, and it fits perfectly. If you're afraid to cut it, just push it up onto the plastic piece as much as possible. Or just cut the littlest tiniest bit at the time. If they have to, replacing the tube isn't a big deal.

We have the clear with purple glitter. Have had clear with silver in the past. Love it!

Jennifer Root said...

Before you know it, Lotte will be putting the ear plugs in like a pro. My girls have done it themselves since they were six and they don't let me touch their ears now, lol! Pretty ear plugs too, I like the glitter.

(Some) Milestones

  • 2013-08: Grade 6
  • 2012-08: Grade 5
  • 2011-08: Grade 4
  • 2011-03: BTE's on the ear
  • 2010-08: Grade 3
  • 2009-08: Grade 2
  • 2008-08: Mainstream School (6y. old)
  • 2006-10: All-hearing Kindergarten (4y. old)
  • 2004-11-22: CI activated (27 m. old)
  • 2004-10-04: Bi-lateral CI (26 m. old)
  • 2003-08: Deaf/HOH/CI Pre-school/"DEAF" Kindergarten (12m. old)
  • 2003-07: HA's fitted (11 m. old)
  • 2003-06: Diagnosed deaf. Start sign-language (10m. old)
  • 2002-11: Suspicion loss of hearing (4 m. old)
  • 2002-08: Born - A fierce LION
--- Google Analytics