Ear or Hearing Aid?

Posted by neil10 @neil10, May 8, 2021

My two Costco KS 8.0s worked fine until a couple of months ago when I started to have problems with one. The introductory chimes in one HA faded progressively over several weeks to the point where it was almost impossible to hear. I assume that this was an accurate measure of overall HA performance on this side. Mysteriously the chime noise level, and hence my hearing on this side, has now started to rebound and is virtually back to normal. In theory this strange behaviour could be due either to the behaviour of my ear or the HA.

Sadly I am currently hundreds of miles from the nearest Costco HA centre. Does anyone have a possible explanation for this strange behaviour?

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@mazeppabob

@neil10
For about a year now I get a feeling like there is a bug in my ear crawling around. It can happen in both ears. I went to the doctor and had him check. No bug and no explanation. The only way I can get it to stop is to lay on my side and put a few drops of hydrogen peroxide in and let it bubble away for a while. This lasts for a few weeks. Doe's this sound like a dry ear issue?

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@neil10
I assume the doctor you went to was an ENT and he ruled out infection or fungus. Did he clean out your ears or comment that your ears were dry or had a lot of wax or that you had eczema? Is he the one who suggested hydrogen peroxide?

Does anything come out of your ears after you use the hydrogen
peroxide? I don’t want to suggest anything but I will tell you that I have flushed out gently with warm water with the syringe that comes in the box with Debrox and it’s helps with itchiness and hopefully flushes out some residual dried wax. I don’t do this too often and only when my hearing is severely compromised by the dryness as wax is a natural protector of the ears. And I use mineral oil on a semi regular basis. My itchiness is mostly gone. I have never had the sensation of a bug crawling around and thank goodness you don’t didn’t have one....happens but I think it is rare.

FL Mary

REPLY
@rosemh

Mary,
I know what you are talking about. I have Costco Phonak H/As and i loved them when I got them. But then my right ear started feeling clogged up and I couldn’t hear out of that ear at all. Then, sometimes, I could hear just fine. This is the 2nd et of hearing aids that I am experiencing this trouble with. I went to my ENT Dr. and he said my ears were fine. I go to Costco, and they try to help. I’ve emailed Phonak and asked for their help. They gave me a number of suggestions to make on my phone regarding blue tooth. But the problems persisted. UGH! Yesterday morning. out of sheer frustration, I went to my box of old hearing aids and with the TV on, I tested my hearing and comprehension. Now I am back to wearing a pair that I purchased from Costco prior to blue tooth and my right ear has been fine and no clogged up feeling. I am wondering if blue tooth has anything to do with it because when I’d open and shut the batter door on H/A, I’d hear just fine for seconds or somethings minutes or sometimes hours. Now, without blue tooth on my old hearing aids, I can hear! So thankful for that.

Let me know if any of you have had this experience. By the way, my hearing loss is moderate to severe in both ears.

Rose

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@rosemh

My aids do not have Bluetooth...I am waiting for the Phonak Paradise from my Audi which will be my first time with a Bluetooth aid.

I would like to know if the problematic hearing aids are BTEs (behind the ear). Do they have tubing connected to a custom mold or dome?
Tubing is notorious for getting moisture and getting clogged up with wax which might explain intermittent hearing problems. I re tube my own on a regular basis. Tubing can dry out and even crack if it’s too old. The mold or dome can accumulate wax and debris. These instruments have to be kept super clean and dry preferably in a dry and store container at night. I take my tubing off the ear, separate my mold and wash them once in a while ...I like to make sure air and water is flowing through them. I also have a bulb like blower that you can use to send some air through the tubes. Disconnect the tube from the hook so you are not blowing moisture back into the aid. Don’t push too hard on the mold or dome...it does not need to be jammed into the ear. I am assuming your audiologist told you about how to care for aids.

If this is the type of aid you have, take a close look under a magnifying glass. Hopefully someone else may have a suggestion about any physical problems with the Bluetooth. Other than the clogged ear does the Bluetooth work for you? Seems a shame you have to go back to older aids but happy that they at least work for you. Maybe it’s a connectivity issue but I am unfamiliar with the Bluetooth workings for hearing aids. But I am going to find out soon!

FL Mary

REPLY
@imallears

@neil10
I assume the doctor you went to was an ENT and he ruled out infection or fungus. Did he clean out your ears or comment that your ears were dry or had a lot of wax or that you had eczema? Is he the one who suggested hydrogen peroxide?

Does anything come out of your ears after you use the hydrogen
peroxide? I don’t want to suggest anything but I will tell you that I have flushed out gently with warm water with the syringe that comes in the box with Debrox and it’s helps with itchiness and hopefully flushes out some residual dried wax. I don’t do this too often and only when my hearing is severely compromised by the dryness as wax is a natural protector of the ears. And I use mineral oil on a semi regular basis. My itchiness is mostly gone. I have never had the sensation of a bug crawling around and thank goodness you don’t didn’t have one....happens but I think it is rare.

FL Mary

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@neil10
He was my primary care Dr. not ENT. We usually have to start with primary then get a referal. Anyway, I was sure there was a bug in there. I tried a few things and it would stop and then start again. The sensation was making me a little crazy. He did say the ears were clean no wax.
Now that I know what to do if it starts I am not going to worry.
Thanks for the reply.

REPLY
@imallears

@neil10
I assume the doctor you went to was an ENT and he ruled out infection or fungus. Did he clean out your ears or comment that your ears were dry or had a lot of wax or that you had eczema? Is he the one who suggested hydrogen peroxide?

Does anything come out of your ears after you use the hydrogen
peroxide? I don’t want to suggest anything but I will tell you that I have flushed out gently with warm water with the syringe that comes in the box with Debrox and it’s helps with itchiness and hopefully flushes out some residual dried wax. I don’t do this too often and only when my hearing is severely compromised by the dryness as wax is a natural protector of the ears. And I use mineral oil on a semi regular basis. My itchiness is mostly gone. I have never had the sensation of a bug crawling around and thank goodness you don’t didn’t have one....happens but I think it is rare.

FL Mary

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I have had that sensation, it's an itchy, irritating weird feeling that in my case is caused by eczema, extreme dryness and is helped by the hydrocortizone cream the doctor recommended. He told me never to use hydrogen peroxide again, as I did that weekly?? thinking I might have an infection due to the weird feelings and feeling stopped up. He said that is a drying agent, do not use it...so, I don't. The cream helps all my symptoms. I suggest you have your ENT help with this and ask him about using the cream. My ENT is at Mayo and I do trust his advice. Hope this helps. Blessings elizabeth

REPLY
@imallears

@rosemh

My aids do not have Bluetooth...I am waiting for the Phonak Paradise from my Audi which will be my first time with a Bluetooth aid.

I would like to know if the problematic hearing aids are BTEs (behind the ear). Do they have tubing connected to a custom mold or dome?
Tubing is notorious for getting moisture and getting clogged up with wax which might explain intermittent hearing problems. I re tube my own on a regular basis. Tubing can dry out and even crack if it’s too old. The mold or dome can accumulate wax and debris. These instruments have to be kept super clean and dry preferably in a dry and store container at night. I take my tubing off the ear, separate my mold and wash them once in a while ...I like to make sure air and water is flowing through them. I also have a bulb like blower that you can use to send some air through the tubes. Disconnect the tube from the hook so you are not blowing moisture back into the aid. Don’t push too hard on the mold or dome...it does not need to be jammed into the ear. I am assuming your audiologist told you about how to care for aids.

If this is the type of aid you have, take a close look under a magnifying glass. Hopefully someone else may have a suggestion about any physical problems with the Bluetooth. Other than the clogged ear does the Bluetooth work for you? Seems a shame you have to go back to older aids but happy that they at least work for you. Maybe it’s a connectivity issue but I am unfamiliar with the Bluetooth workings for hearing aids. But I am going to find out soon!

FL Mary

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They are BTE connected by a plastic covered wire to an ear mold. Every night I put them in an electric drying chamber. I can’t separate the mold from the wire.

REPLY
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