he can hear!!! (somewhat)

i am very glad he doesnt mind the hearing aids, but i am wondering if the ear molds fit right because they are constantly whistling..
 
frankiesmom said:
i am very glad he doesnt mind the hearing aids, but i am wondering if the ear molds fit right because they are constantly whistling..
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Go back to the audiologist and ask to have them remade.

If they do fit, the audiologist can show you how to get them in with a better seal so the don't whistle.
 
frankiesmom said:
i am very glad he doesnt mind the hearing aids, but i am wondering if the ear molds fit right because they are constantly whistling..
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As Bott pointed out if they really are not fitting properly, you can have them remade. I just wonder if perhaps they are not in his ear the way they are supposed to be. If the eat canal portion isn't actually sitting properly in the eat canal, you will get feedback. I'd try putting them on him again if they are still whistling, and do the ear canal portion first then twist it back and up in his ear.
 
it seems like the part that goes in the outer part of the ear doesnt fit..it wont lie flat, i guess..and then it works its way loose.
 
For a period of almost 6 months, during a nice growth spurt apparently, we were going through 2 ear molds every month. We would pick up a new mold and get fitted in the same visit whenever possible, bc we knew that they would be whistling like mad within 2 weeks. And then there was the one she ate :roll:. My daughter's skin is so delicate, that if they weren't fitting right, they wouldn't just whistle, her skin would blister up, and ooze, and was so painful for her. It was pretty scary sometimes.
 
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frankiesmom said:
it seems like the part that goes in the outer part of the ear doesnt fit..it wont lie flat, i guess..and then it works its way loose.
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That usually means it's not properly positioned in the ear canal.
 
GrendelQ said:
For a period of almost 6 months, during a nice growth spurt apparently, we were going through 2 ear molds every month. We would pick up a new mold and get fitted in the same visit whenever possible, bc we knew that they would be whistling like mad within 2 weeks. And then there was the one she ate :roll:. My daughter's skin is so delicate, that if they were fitting right, they wouldn't just whistle, her skin would blister up, and ooze, and was so painful for her. It was pretty scary sometimes.
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Ouch! Sounds like she was having an allergic reaction to the material?
 
CSign said:
Ouch! Sounds like she was having an allergic reaction to the material?
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I think it was just where it was the slightest bit different from the shape of her ear canal, it would rub raw. And fast, too, within a day. We would shave them a bit, use different lotions. There was one we got from our audi, but now I can't recall what it was.
 
frankiesmom said:
thanks for the advice. he might be overwhelmed..with so many other kids around, it gets pretty noisy around here.
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Not so much overwhelmed. If he were overwhelmed, he would be attempting to take the aids off or protesting in some way. It is more that he just does not understand yet that the new stimulus he is getting aurally needs to be paid attention to. He is unnaccustomed to paying attention to sound, and therefore, it simply does not get his attention in the way it does a hearing person.

Just as a hearing person will filter what sounds they need to pay attention to and fail to process the ones that aren't important (such as refrigerator running in the background, etc) he is currently filtering all sound. He will become more discriminating with time.
 
Bottesini said:
Go back to the audiologist and ask to have them remade.

If they do fit, the audiologist can show you how to get them in with a better seal so the don't whistle.
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Or how to have him in clothing that won't rub up against the BTE and dislodge the mold just enough to get feed back.
 
frankiesmom,

I just wanted to say that I do not recommend signing and speaking at the same time with him. He needs to grasp the fundamentals of language, and if you confuse sign and speech together, you actually interfere with his ability to understand and intuit the uses of language. SimCom, or signing and speaking at the same time, create a very confusing linguistic atmosphere for any child. This would be especially so for Frankie.

That is not to say that you should never speak to him. Of course expose him to spoken language, but not in combination with sign. The languages need to be kept separate. Just have specific times or activities with which you will use spoken language, and drop the sign for those times. If he needs signed clarification for comprehension, offer it, but don't speak at the same time.
 
frankiesmom said:
it seems like the part that goes in the outer part of the ear doesnt fit..it wont lie flat, i guess..and then it works its way loose.
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It may need to be trimmed down a bit. If he moved a little when they were taking the impressions, it could have dislodged a bit of the impression material so that the poured mold was a bit off in that area.
 
Frankiesmom, can you check if the upper part of the ear mold is securely tucked into the upper part of his ear? There's a sort of ridge there, and the mold needs to be securely fit and placed firmly underneath that.

Maybe a quick appointment with the audi where you can practice this a bit with him might help. Of course Frankie might not have infinite patience with your practice! This is where the idea of keeping the battery compartment a bit open until the ear mold is in will be helpful, because it will whistle unpleasantly if it's on while you're trying to put the mold in. Close the battery compartment after you're sure the mold is properly in and secure.

Have you tried the Oto-ease or another lubricant? That might make a big difference in ease of getting them in.
 
Beach girl said:
Frankiesmom, can you check if the upper part of the ear mold is securely tucked into the upper part of his ear? There's a sort of ridge there, and the mold needs to be securely fit and placed firmly underneath that.

Maybe a quick appointment with the audi where you can practice this a bit with him might help. Of course Frankie might not have infinite patience with your practice! This is where the idea of keeping the battery compartment a bit open until the ear mold is in will be helpful, because it will whistle unpleasantly if it's on while you're trying to put the mold in. Close the battery compartment after you're sure the mold is properly in and secure.

Have you tried the Oto-ease or another lubricant? That might make a big difference in ease of getting them in.
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Oto-ease! That's the lubricant I was trying to think of! That helped ease any rubbing, too.
 
GrendelQ said:
Oto-ease! That's the lubricant I was trying to think of! That helped ease any rubbing, too.
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yeah it can be great stuff! my earmolds are a little tight in the mornings, and it really can help. When my audi first put some on my molds I was so disgusted by the feel of it though... but now I don't mind it... if its a bit tight, i put a drop on there and they slide right in.
 
Beach girl said:
Frankiesmom, can you check if the upper part of the ear mold is securely tucked into the upper part of his ear? There's a sort of ridge there, and the mold needs to be securely fit and placed firmly underneath that.

Maybe a quick appointment with the audi where you can practice this a bit with him might help. Of course Frankie might not have infinite patience with your practice! This is where the idea of keeping the battery compartment a bit open until the ear mold is in will be helpful, because it will whistle unpleasantly if it's on while you're trying to put the mold in. Close the battery compartment after you're sure the mold is properly in and secure.

Have you tried the Oto-ease or another lubricant? That might make a big difference in ease of getting them in.
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that is exactly where they arent going in right..for me. my husband came in earlier and popped them in like hes done it his whole life!
:lol: we couldnt find that stuff at walmart, do you have to go to the drug store?
 
I got it from the audi. It's probably available on-line someplace. Google it and you'll probably find some vendors.

That's good that your husband was able to get it in. It's just that extra little "twist and tuck" motion that does it. Once he got them in, did that stop the whistling?
 
yep! i was able to do it yesterday..i guess i will get better as time goes on. its definitely a learning experience.
 
It is indeed.

Now that you know why the feedback is happening and how you have to put the earmolds in, it will be like second nature to you before you know it.
 
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