The Purpose of the Earmold

If you wear behind-the-ear (BTE) hearing aids, your hearing aid is made up of two parts: the hearing aid element that sits behind the ear and an earmold that sits in the bowl of the ear, while tubing connects the two pieces. The earmold plays an important part in helping you hear.

Basics of earmolds

Every earmold is personalized. It is made to fit exactly in the bowl of the ear (concha) or in the ear canal. The earmold has a hole on the side that sits next to your ear canal. This hole conducts sound directly to the ear canal. The earmold has a vent on the other side to improve sound quality. The vent helps you hear your own voice more naturally. The occlusion caused by blocking the ear can make the sound of your own voice seem hollow. To others, your voice sounds the same your voice sounds odd to you. The vents on earmolds reduce the occlusion and as a result, your voice sounds more natural.

Making an earmold

Earmolds are made at the hearing aid factory using an impression of your ear and ear canal made by the audiologist. The process isn’t painful and only takes a few minutes.

First, the audiologist inspects your ears to make sure that no skin, wax or debris would prevent an accurate impression from being made. Your ears might need to be cleaned.

Next, the audiologist will insert an oto block (a small piece of cotton) at the base of the ear canal to keep the molding material from reaching your eardrum.

The audiologist will mix together two liquids that harden when they come in contact with each other. This mixture will be injected into your ear. You will sit and wait for three to five minutes while the material hardens. Once it has firmed up, the audiologist will remove the mold and inspect it to make sure there are no holes or air gaps. After it passes inspection, the impression will be shipped off to the factory and turned into an earmold.

Cleaning your earmold

Your earmold needs to be cleaned regularly.  Follow these steps:

• Remove the earmold from the tube that connects it to the hearing aid.
• Rinse the earmold with warm running water.
• Soak the earmold in a bowl filled with warm, mild soapy water for about 10 minutes.
• Wipe the earmold dry a soft lint-free cloth.
• Dry the earmold overnight on a towel with the sound outlet end pointing down.
• The next morning, re-attach the earmold to the tube on the hearing aid.

If you have questions about your earmold, feel free to ask your audiologist. They will ensure you have the appropriate pieces for not only your hearing aid to function properly, but to help you hear better too!