Re: Tube coming out of ear mold

[Guest guest]

Sue--

We've had this happen countless times, especially with the glitter

molds. From what I've been told, some of the earmold materials do not

hold glue very well, so you can't glue the tubes in at the factory.

I've actually invested in having the materials at home so I can replace

the tubing myself. Depending on what kind of tubing and molds you have,

it may be possible for you to just stick the tubing back in. It will

come out again, but then you just stick it back in place. If it doesn't

go in easily, you have the kind where the tubing actually has to be

replaced.

Replacing the tubing takes less than a minute. If your audiologist

can't see you on certain days, the office should be able to direct you

to an audi who can. It is a simple repair that doesn't take any time at

all.

I will say that with the glitter molds, I did super glue them once (with

the audi's permission, knowing we were just a few days away from picking

up replacement molds). It did not hold for more than a few days, but it

bought us the time we needed until the new molds came in.

As pretty as the glitter molds are, they just don't hold the tubing in

very well. That's why I wound up getting the stuff to make the repair

at home (extra tubing, regular old needlenose pliers, and a tube

expander--the little tool that widens the end of the tubing to fit over

the ear hook).

Kerry

Tube coming out of ear mold

Hi everyone,

For the third time this week, my kiddo has pulled her tubing from

her ear mold, not intentionally, but since she got her new molds

recently, this seems to be quite a problem. I need to take them back

to her audi, (again) but in the meantime because her audi can only

be reached on Mondays and Fridays, I need to know if there is a way

for me to be able to put the tube back in. I'm having her use her

old earmold for now, and she's REALLY embarrassed by that. (Her new

molds are glittery, so she feels like a princess, while her old ones

are the what used to be clear ones that now look pretty yucky. )

Anyway, if anyone has any idea on how I can fix this, I'd really

appreciate it.

Oh, one more thing, the battery compartment door is loose on this

aid as well. How does that happen? I'm really concerned that when

the school is taking her FM system off, they're not being as careful

as they should be.(And as expensive as this aid was...)

Again, thanks for any help or insight.

Sue

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[Guest guest]

Sue,

I had this problem with Aidan's hearing aids early on and it has again of

late reared its ugly head. Our audiologist was not very understanding

either. She was able to put a lock on it. It was something that fits over

the tube and keeps it coming all the way out. There is a metal one that is

not as big as the clear plastic one that she puts on it.it might even be

something that she put on that was part of a new tube.

Aidan's latest was when he ripped it out and the actual earmold itself

ripped too. Thankfully, it had been about 6 months so we were due new

molds.

God Bless,

Mom of Aidan (4) mod-sev hearing loss, Noah (8) UC, PSC, osteopenia, Zoe

(13) so far so good.excelling at soccer

<http://www.pscpartners.org/> http://www.pscpartners.org/

[Guest guest]

You can just stick it back in, you may have to wiggle it a bit if you have much

of a curve inside the mold. And you want it to line up right so the mold and

hearing aid are in alignment. But we go months with that happening. I think

when they first come from the factory they are glued into the ear mold. But at

our house they never stay that way! Maybe this set wasn't glued well or at all.

You may not be able to thread it through if you have a tubing that is larger at

the end that is in the ear. I f that is the case, you might take the tubing off

the aid, and run it through from the ear end and pull it through 'backwards'.

We've not had the problem with the battery door though. We own our FM so she

kept them (we call them the " clickers " because they click on to the HA) on 24/5

during school times. We did have to replace the FM boots though because they

would lose the ability to transmit a good signal. in GA

[Guest guest]

That's why I wound up getting the stuff to make the repair

at home (extra tubing, regular old needlenose pliers, and a tube

expander--the little tool that widens the end of the tubing to fit over

the ear hook).

If you have friends in the medical field, ask if they can get you some

hemostats. They are little locking tools like a needlenose pliers, except they

are even smaller. Very handy tool and can do things no other tool can do. Like

fuss with tubing.

[Guest guest]

I have not had the tubes come out on their own, but recently my

three year old got ahold of his 9 year old brother's aids. He had

seen me remove the earmold and tube from the aid, for the purpose of

cleaning the earmold. So he took it upon himself to remove

everything from the earmold, including the tubing. (He was going to

wash them)

I spent 15 minutes trying to get the tube back in the earmold to no

avail. Our audiologist is 45 minutes one way, on the days she is in

the clinic, so knew that that was not a feasible option. At this

point I was very frustrated, and determined to repair this myself.

This is the method that worked for me, and I did proceed with great

caution, so as not to poke a hole in anything. They have stayed

repaired for the last two weeks with no problems.

I took a large paper clip and unfolded it. I threaded it through

the tube , making it straight and stiff. I then was able to get it

to feed into the earmold working from the outside in. When it

reached a certain point, it pushed out a hard plastic thing, which I

presumed to be some sort of an anchor that was intended to keep the

tubes in (unless faced with the efforts of a 3 year old). I pushed

the tube through the earmold until it came out the other end. I put

the anchor back on the end and then was able to remove the paperclip

and push the anchor and tube back into the earmold. And Voila! Good

as new. Wish I could say that my 9 year old was glad.

Just one more tool that you may want to add to your tool kit:)

>

> Hi everyone,

>

> For the third time this week, my kiddo has pulled her tubing from

> her ear mold, not intentionally, but since she got her new molds

> recently, this seems to be quite a problem. I need to take them

back

> to her audi, (again) but in the meantime because her audi can only

> be reached on Mondays and Fridays, I need to know if there is a

way

> for me to be able to put the tube back in. I'm having her use her

> old earmold for now, and she's REALLY embarrassed by that. (Her

new

> molds are glittery, so she feels like a princess, while her old

ones

> are the what used to be clear ones that now look pretty yucky. )

>

> Anyway, if anyone has any idea on how I can fix this, I'd really

> appreciate it.

>

> Oh, one more thing, the battery compartment door is loose on this

> aid as well. How does that happen? I'm really concerned that when

> the school is taking her FM system off, they're not being as

careful

> as they should be.(And as expensive as this aid was...)

>

> Again, thanks for any help or insight.

>

> Sue

>

[Guest guest]

Kerry Dowling & Dan wrote: As pretty as the

glitter molds are, they just don't hold the tubing in very well. That's why I

wound up getting the stuff to make the repair at home (extra tubing, regular old

needlenose pliers, and a tube

expander--the little tool that widens the end of the tubing to fit over the ear

hook). <end of snip>

Wow, I'm surprised to hear(read) that. has had glitter molds for about

the past two years and we've never has the tubing fall out. At least now if it

happens I won't be surprised.

Debbie, mom to , 6, moderate SNHL and , 3, hearing

Some men see things as they are and ask why. Others dream things that never were

and ask why not. G.B Shaw

---------------------------------

What are the most popular cars? Find out at Yahoo! Autos

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 2/9/2006 12:13:27 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,

dsheater@... writes:

Oh, one more thing, the battery compartment door is loose on this

aid as well. How does that happen? I'm really concerned that when

the school is taking her FM system off, they're not being as careful

as they should be.(And as expensive as this aid was...)

Again, thanks for any help or insight.

They may be being rough, or it may just be regular wear-n-tear on the aid.

This is our most common repair. We've never sent an aid in for internal repairs

-- but they do go in once a year for their annual summer servicing.

I'd send the aid in now for this to be repaired. Once that door falls off,

the only way I know of to hold it on is duct or electrician's tape. Once

you've got tape in the aid, then the FM can't be used with that aid. It just

won't

fit over the tape or make the connections. Depending on the aid, you can

have a locking door put on -- one that opened with a little screw. It's a bit

of

a pain when changing batteries, but it won't open with the constant FM

changing.

We've never had the locking door, but one of Ian's old aids had to door

fixed twice in a year, and I was going to ask for that if it broke again. But we

needed new aids, so the old aid still sits in a little box, looking lovely

with its silver duct tape holding its door on. Since he's 15, he is the one

putting on and taking off the FM and is incredibly careful with his equipment.

As for the tubing, we have one of the aids doing that now. It needs a

different style of tube put on. When we got the one new aid, they were out of

the

tubes with the little metal cuffs at end. So she used the totally smooth

tubing. He pops that tubing out anytime his finger catches the tube, and every

time he takes out the aid.

We have an appointment next Wednesday to address many things, including the

fact that the new aid STILL won't work with the FM -- can you see me pulling

my hair out? Thousands of dollars for new aids and the boy has put an old

analog back in so the FM will work.(sigh)

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 2/9/2006 12:13:27 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,

dsheater@... writes:

Oh, one more thing, the battery compartment door is loose on this

aid as well. How does that happen? I'm really concerned that when

the school is taking her FM system off, they're not being as careful

as they should be.(And as expensive as this aid was...)

Again, thanks for any help or insight.

They may be being rough, or it may just be regular wear-n-tear on the aid.

This is our most common repair. We've never sent an aid in for internal repairs

-- but they do go in once a year for their annual summer servicing.

I'd send the aid in now for this to be repaired. Once that door falls off,

the only way I know of to hold it on is duct or electrician's tape. Once

you've got tape in the aid, then the FM can't be used with that aid. It just

won't

fit over the tape or make the connections. Depending on the aid, you can

have a locking door put on -- one that opened with a little screw. It's a bit

of

a pain when changing batteries, but it won't open with the constant FM

changing.

We've never had the locking door, but one of Ian's old aids had to door

fixed twice in a year, and I was going to ask for that if it broke again. But we

needed new aids, so the old aid still sits in a little box, looking lovely

with its silver duct tape holding its door on. Since he's 15, he is the one

putting on and taking off the FM and is incredibly careful with his equipment.

As for the tubing, we have one of the aids doing that now. It needs a

different style of tube put on. When we got the one new aid, they were out of

the

tubes with the little metal cuffs at end. So she used the totally smooth

tubing. He pops that tubing out anytime his finger catches the tube, and every

time he takes out the aid.

We have an appointment next Wednesday to address many things, including the

fact that the new aid STILL won't work with the FM -- can you see me pulling

my hair out? Thousands of dollars for new aids and the boy has put an old

analog back in so the FM will work.(sigh)

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 2/9/2006 12:13:27 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,

dsheater@... writes:

Oh, one more thing, the battery compartment door is loose on this

aid as well. How does that happen? I'm really concerned that when

the school is taking her FM system off, they're not being as careful

as they should be.(And as expensive as this aid was...)

Again, thanks for any help or insight.

They may be being rough, or it may just be regular wear-n-tear on the aid.

This is our most common repair. We've never sent an aid in for internal repairs

-- but they do go in once a year for their annual summer servicing.

I'd send the aid in now for this to be repaired. Once that door falls off,

the only way I know of to hold it on is duct or electrician's tape. Once

you've got tape in the aid, then the FM can't be used with that aid. It just

won't

fit over the tape or make the connections. Depending on the aid, you can

have a locking door put on -- one that opened with a little screw. It's a bit

of

a pain when changing batteries, but it won't open with the constant FM

changing.

We've never had the locking door, but one of Ian's old aids had to door

fixed twice in a year, and I was going to ask for that if it broke again. But we

needed new aids, so the old aid still sits in a little box, looking lovely

with its silver duct tape holding its door on. Since he's 15, he is the one

putting on and taking off the FM and is incredibly careful with his equipment.

As for the tubing, we have one of the aids doing that now. It needs a

different style of tube put on. When we got the one new aid, they were out of

the

tubes with the little metal cuffs at end. So she used the totally smooth

tubing. He pops that tubing out anytime his finger catches the tube, and every

time he takes out the aid.

We have an appointment next Wednesday to address many things, including the

fact that the new aid STILL won't work with the FM -- can you see me pulling

my hair out? Thousands of dollars for new aids and the boy has put an old

analog back in so the FM will work.(sigh)

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 2/9/2006 1:45:07 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,

pcknott@... writes:

If you have friends in the medical field, ask if they can get you some

hemostats. They are little locking tools like a needlenose pliers, except they

are even smaller. Very handy tool and can do things no other tool can do.

Like fuss with tubing.

We picked those up at a medical supply place near my in-laws. For some

things you have to have a prescription, but not for those. I now have a pair in

each car's glove compartment, not for the aids, but because they are great for

removing splinters and taking off ticks. (we live in tick country, right next

to a NY state preserve)

As for the tubes, we usually have a couple extras on hand, but none right

now. The school's audi will gladly give me extras because she knows I'll handle

those little things myself so that Ian's is never without his aids in

school. Makes her job easier.

Best -- Jill

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 2/9/2006 1:45:07 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,

pcknott@... writes:

If you have friends in the medical field, ask if they can get you some

hemostats. They are little locking tools like a needlenose pliers, except they

are even smaller. Very handy tool and can do things no other tool can do.

Like fuss with tubing.

We picked those up at a medical supply place near my in-laws. For some

things you have to have a prescription, but not for those. I now have a pair in

each car's glove compartment, not for the aids, but because they are great for

removing splinters and taking off ticks. (we live in tick country, right next

to a NY state preserve)

As for the tubes, we usually have a couple extras on hand, but none right

now. The school's audi will gladly give me extras because she knows I'll handle

those little things myself so that Ian's is never without his aids in

school. Makes her job easier.

Best -- Jill

[Guest guest]

Been meaning to offer a little tip on this subject. If you need an emergency

adhesive for an earmold repair, try clear fingernail polish, but use extreme

care not to get any into the tubing. I'd much rather have you using that

than super glue which can actually shorten the life of an earmold.

Hugs to all,

Kay

Kay

kay@...

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