Guest guest Posted September 10, 2006 Report Share Posted September 10, 2006 The first three or four sets of ear molds our son got (from age 10mo through 3yo) were colored, on the advice of the audiologist. It gave our son the chance to have " fun " molds, which made the hearing aids more acceptable. We moved to a new city and state when our son was about 3yo. When we went to get new ear molds for his OTE hearing aids, though, the audiologist told us not to get colored molds. Apparently our son's ears were red from an allergic reaction to the dyes in the ear molds, and the audiologist felt that dye-free molds would be better. We have bought dye-free (clear) molds ever since. Advantages: Less cost than colored molds, with no chance of irritation. They are also virtually invisible--The OTE's aren't easy to hide, but DS doesn't have bright yellow and orange banners promoting their presence. Disadvantage: The only real disadvantage I can see is that the HA's are not as visible to people who don't already know he is hearing impaired. He does have bright yellow set of swimming molds that he wears instead of HA's when he is swimming. They are designed to float, and are supposed to be brightly-colored in case they fall out while swimming. But he only wears them for an hour at a time at most. Kiminy Thoughts? Experiences? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 10, 2006 Report Share Posted September 10, 2006 I was never told that the clear were cheaper. Hmm. I kinda like Ian's HA's to just be out there. That way no one has to stare to see what the heck it is around his ear. That and the mohawk that he is currently sporting usually make people take a second look anyway. Ian is only 3, but when he gets old enough to chose, I will let him go for it. He isn't allergic, and hasn't gotten any rash from them. So I figure it couldn't hurt. Plus it is pretty easy to find bright green ear molds on the floor in the car. Tawnya Colored Ear Molds? The first three or four sets of ear molds our son got (from age 10mo through 3yo) were colored, on the advice of the audiologist. It gave our son the chance to have " fun " molds, which made the hearing aids more acceptable. We moved to a new city and state when our son was about 3yo. When we went to get new ear molds for his OTE hearing aids, though, the audiologist told us not to get colored molds. Apparently our son's ears were red from an allergic reaction to the dyes in the ear molds, and the audiologist felt that dye-free molds would be better. We have bought dye-free (clear) molds ever since. Advantages: Less cost than colored molds, with no chance of irritation. They are also virtually invisible--The OTE's aren't easy to hide, but DS doesn't have bright yellow and orange banners promoting their presence. Disadvantage: The only real disadvantage I can see is that the HA's are not as visible to people who don't already know he is hearing impaired. He does have bright yellow set of swimming molds that he wears instead of HA's when he is swimming. They are designed to float, and are supposed to be brightly-colored in case they fall out while swimming. But he only wears them for an hour at a time at most. Kiminy Thoughts? Experiences? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 10, 2006 Report Share Posted September 10, 2006 Kim, We started out with the flesh toned hearing aids and have moved to colored ones. is currently sporting red, white, and blue, swirls. I'd have to say that this pair, and the ones that were very pink with glitter stood out the most, and yet most people do not notice them. It's not like I always keep her hair down either, I usually pull it back out of her face. That way she can see where she's going (lol) and also so that people might see her aids. There are many different makers of ear molds out there...although your audi may only use one or two. If you want to try colored mold again, maybe there are some that use a different material. There is also the chance that he could have outgrown the allergy. Debbie Some men see things as they are and ask why. Others dream things that never were and ask why not. G.B Shaw --------------------------------- Talk is cheap. Use Yahoo! Messenger to make PC-to-Phone calls. Great rates starting at 1¢/min. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 10, 2006 Report Share Posted September 10, 2006 Hi, Kiminy! My son is 11 and when we moved 2 years ago to Indiana, we had a similiar experience. He had new ears molds made with the new audi and had a bad reaction that resulted in itchiness. He couldn't bear to keep them in. I noticed the molds looked like they were made from a different substance than his old ones and went back the the audi. She insisted that the cause was the dye, not the material. He always has had colorful molds with no problems. I offered to pay for a new set if she would send them to a different lab that would use a different material. She said it wasn't possible. I did some research on the web and found out that earmolds are made of acrylic(Lucite), vinyl, or silicone. I went back to my primary physician to get a referral to an audi who was more used to dealing with children. We went to the new place, which happened to be Riley's in Indianapolis and had the molds remade. They were made in the original substance and colored and he's had to problems ever since. Thoough color isn't essential, it allows for some individuality, which is important to my son. By the way, we were told that the cost of colored mold weren't any more than natural color. You might request to have a different lab do the molds. Good luck. -Dora > > The first three or four sets of ear molds our son got (from age 10mo > through 3yo) were colored, on the advice of the audiologist. It gave > our son the chance to have " fun " molds, which made the hearing aids > more acceptable. > > We moved to a new city and state when our son was about 3yo. When we > went to get new ear molds for his OTE hearing aids, though, the > audiologist told us not to get colored molds. Apparently our son's > ears were red from an allergic reaction to the dyes in the ear > molds, and the audiologist felt that dye-free molds would be better. > We have bought dye-free (clear) molds ever since. > > Advantages: Less cost than colored molds, with no chance of > irritation. They are also virtually invisible--The OTE's aren't easy > to hide, but DS doesn't have bright yellow and orange banners > promoting their presence. > > Disadvantage: The only real disadvantage I can see is that the HA's > are not as visible to people who don't already know he is hearing > impaired. > > He does have bright yellow set of swimming molds that he wears > instead of HA's when he is swimming. They are designed to float, and > are supposed to be brightly-colored in case they fall out while > swimming. But he only wears them for an hour at a time at most. > > Kiminy > > Thoughts? Experiences? > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 11, 2006 Report Share Posted September 11, 2006 The reason we have colored molds is that Ian likes them. Period. It's the only reason. He still likes the colors, likes to combine different ones in swirls, sometimes with really gross results (red/yellow/back did NOT look like flames, they looked like mold was growing in his ears, IMHO) We first brought up the color choices to help Ian own his hearing loss, to see it as something he could participate in, not just something that happened to him. We learned of Ian's loss at the end of 2nd grade and not until the beginning of 4th did we finally had a correct diagnosis and he was finally aided that school year. So, for Ian, it is a bit different than most kids on this list. He remembers hearing, remembers wind in the trees, the sound of water, whispering, he even had perfect pitch. So for him it was a process of accepting and becoming accustomed to a new reality with different end results. He was going to become deaf, slowly. picking the colors, learning how to maintain his equipment and to remind him that it was expensive electronic stuff that he was taking care of, empowered him. Nothing " expensive electronic stuff " to bring out the geek in any boy. Getting bright blue aids and picking out the mold colors at first was for his self esteem. Then it became his signature. Ian is the boy with the blue aids, everyone seems to know him. Not that he's hugely popular, he's a nice sort of quiet kid with a nice circle of friends but not in " the " crowd at school. So, for us, there was a good reason to get the colors and it worked. If he had allergic reactions, we'd switch to the clear molds, but I'm sure Ian would still keep the aids cased in blue. And if your son wants to try colored molds at some point in the future, go ahead and give it a shot. Allergies change over time, so in a few years he may be able to (and want) colored molds again. I'd order one colored and one clear as the test. Worse case, he's still allergic and you go back to clear. Best case, he's good with them and then he gets to play with the colors again. Best -- Jill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 11, 2006 Report Share Posted September 11, 2006 Dora, Great post! Ian also had trouble with his first molds, they were made of a more resistant substance, not nearly as flexible and as a result his ears would get red inside the ear, but not into the canal. We asked about a softer material and the next ones were much softer and no redness. I'd forgotten about that. He's had a couple different manufacturers over the years, but we've stuck with the softer versions. A couple of his friends have allergies to latex, which was news to me, I didn't realize people could be allergic to things like that. So perhaps the allergy is to the material and not the dyes. Ian as a bunch of allergies, but so far no problems with the molds, thank goodness. Good post ... thanks Jill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 11, 2006 Report Share Posted September 11, 2006 Our boys have always had colored earmolds - they found it fun to get to choose. they took great pains to match their earmolds with their rubber bands on their braces! Our audiologist doesn't charge extra for colors, by the way... It's the same price clear or colored. My favorite earmolds ever were the glow-in-the-dark molds - they were hysterical! Barbara KiminyMe wrote: > The first three or four sets of ear molds our son got (from age 10mo > through 3yo) were colored, on the advice of the audiologist. It gave > our son the chance to have " fun " molds, which made the hearing aids > more acceptable. > > We moved to a new city and state when our son was about 3yo. When we > went to get new ear molds for his OTE hearing aids, though, the > audiologist told us not to get colored molds. Apparently our son's > ears were red from an allergic reaction to the dyes in the ear > molds, and the audiologist felt that dye-free molds would be better. > We have bought dye-free (clear) molds ever since. > > Advantages: Less cost than colored molds, with no chance of > irritation. They are also virtually invisible--The OTE's aren't easy > to hide, but DS doesn't have bright yellow and orange banners > promoting their presence. > > Disadvantage: The only real disadvantage I can see is that the HA's > are not as visible to people who don't already know he is hearing > impaired. > > He does have bright yellow set of swimming molds that he wears > instead of HA's when he is swimming. They are designed to float, and > are supposed to be brightly-colored in case they fall out while > swimming. But he only wears them for an hour at a time at most. > > Kiminy > > Thoughts? Experiences? > > > > > > > All messages posted to this list are private and confidential. Each post is the intellectual property of the author and therefore subject to copyright restrictions. > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 11, 2006 Report Share Posted September 11, 2006 Thanks for all of the replies about the ear molds. For the record, our son (almost 12yo) has no problems flaunting his hearing aids. He actually wears his hair in a very close crew cut--by his own choice--so there's no hair at all to hide anything. He does get colored swim molds, mainly to make them easier to find if he loses one while swimming, and the next time he needs new molds (probably 3-4 months at the rate he's growing!), I'll ask about the colored molds. Kiminy __________________________________________________ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 11, 2006 Report Share Posted September 11, 2006 check out the glow in the dark earmolds - they were my absolute favorite! We have an appointment Nov. 17 to talk to our ENT about a second implant for our son, Tom - exciting! Kiminy wrote: > Thanks for all of the replies about the ear molds. > > For the record, our son (almost 12yo) has no problems > flaunting his hearing aids. He actually wears his hair > in a very close crew cut--by his own choice--so > there's no hair at all to hide anything. He does get > colored swim molds, mainly to make them easier to find > if he loses one while swimming, and the next time he > needs new molds (probably 3-4 months at the rate he's > growing!), I'll ask about the colored molds. > > Kiminy > > > __________________________________________________ > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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