by Neil Bauman, Ph.D.
A lady explained,
I am wearing open-fit hearing aids and the rubber dome sometimes comes off and gets lodged in my ear. I have gone to the emergency room at our nearest hospital but they are not equipped with the proper tools to help me. I’ve had to wait for days to see an ENT to have this thing removed. I have called the people who sold me the aids and they are not equipped to help me either. Is there a tool that I can purchase so that I can take it to the emergency room and have them safely remove the dome?
It is a frustrating event and no one seems to know why this happens. Have any of your clients experienced this?
Yes, there are specialized tools for removing these domes and wax from a person’s ears, although only doctors (ENTs) and specially licensed audiologists and hearing aid dispensers are allowed to use them.
However, the domes should never accidentally come off in your ears in the first place! If they are doing this, something is wrong. There are two likely possibilities.
First, the domes are not being installed properly. They need to be pushed on the shaft “all the way”, meaning until the number on the tube or receiver is covered completely, or they can’t go on any further. If the domes are not pushed on properly, they can fall off. Good audiologists/hearing aid dispensers do not have their domes fall off.
Second, domes are one-time-use items. If you or your dispenser take a dome off to clean it, or to replace the wax guard, the dome must be thrown away and a new one used—even if the dome still looks like new. This is because the dome stretches to fit on the receiver or tube. If you reuse a dome once it has been stretched, it won’t fit tightly again and will fall off eventually.
Thus, the solution to your domes coming off is only use new domes and push them on “all the way”. Do this and you should not have this problem in the future.
What difference does the size of dome make. I have 2 hearing aids with different size domes – one has a small dome and the other is a lot bigger (plus size).
Hi Mo:
The different sized domes accommodate different sized ear canals.
At the same time, audiologists use larger molds if you have moderate to severe to profound hearing losses. The idea is to block (occlude) the ear canal to give you full frequency range. Smaller domes (open molds) are used for milder losses and also to reduce the occlusion effect and to filter out low frequencies.
I suspect you have different hearing losses in each ear–thus the need for different sized domes.
Regards
Neil
I purchased new Kirkland Signature 5.0 model hearing aids from Costco last week (brand new model out for only a month). Three days later both domes came off in my ears. I tried to pull them out but all I did was end up pushing them in further in. I had to go to ER to have them removed. It took the doctor almost 45 minutes to get them out. He said a few hearing had yet to solve this old problem and they shouldn’t be allowed to continue selling them until they fix the problem.
Hearing aid domes should be engineered not to come off under normal use. And a warning should be given to users not to attempt to remove stuck domes. The vendors know about this defect but continue to sell them without any warning. When I returned the hearing aids to Costco with my complaint, the hearing aid center told me they use to have a removal tool but last year Costco told them they could no longer remove stuck domes because of liability concerns.
Solution? Seek immediate medical attention and send the bill to the vendor or manufacturer. If the vendor/manufacturer doesn’t, at a minimum, pay the bill and refund your purchase, get an attorney and seek a civil remedy. (class action?)
Yes. Class action is a great idea! Just spent one day off work and over $100 getting a dome out of the ear. This is ridiculous.
I have Resound hearing aids. Last year I made 3 trips to Urgent Care for removal AND I even had to visit an ear Clinic in New Zealand.!! Now I am visiting Iceland and tomorrow aI need to find an Urgent Care for the same problem and I am sick of this. What can be done. ?
Hi CJ:
The first thing is, make sure the domes are seated properly on the receivers. If they’re not put on properly,, they can pull off. Second, if the domes pull off too easily you probably need to get new domes because as they get older, the domes stretch and then can pull off.
Third, if a dome gets stuck in your ears, and that has happened to me occasionally to, I have my wife use blunt, not pointed, tweezers to pull it out. Just have her slide one side of the tweezers down along the side of your ear canal and between the dome and your ear canal. Then squeeze together and gently pull the dome out. She needs to be careful not to scratch your ear canal. If I’m alone, I’ve actually done this myself. Use the same procedure–but you have to use feel, not sight in this case. Sometimes it takes several tries before you can “grab” the edge of the dome.
As far as I’m concerned, if you have a pair of tweezers you can do it yourself or get somebody else, as long as the very careful. You don’t have to go to a doctor.
Cordially,
Neil
I don’t believe it’s an old dome problem. I just had mine replaced and it came off less than a week. After experiencing the first time of a dome coming off a brand new hearing device within two weeks after purchasing it. My mom wears the same device and warned me about the domes. Just thought it was her trying to put it on like she did her mold hearing device. Nope it’s not that she didn’t make sure the dome wasn’t on properly because she did. And also taught me to do the same. The big problem is these domes don’t stay in the ear. They keep sliding out no matter what size dome. We tend to push them back in the ear and to me the suction between the dome and ear canal cause the domes to come off. Let’s get this fixed or go back to a mold.
I know this is an older post, but I also have Resound hearing aids that I purchased from Costco. I’ve had them almost a year and the domes have come off in my ear 4 or 5 times. I check every day before I put them in that they are pushed down as far as they can go. As Dr. Bauman stated, there is absolutely no reason the domes should ever come off. I want to take them back to Costco, but I’m unsure if they’ll take them back after such a long time. I’ll have to research their return policy.
This is what I just learned recently about my Costco Resound hearing aids, after having to make multiple trips to my ENT for dome removal (MD office doesn’t have the proper equipment) that when I have to change the wax guard, I should also give the metal stem a wipe-down with rubbing alcohol. Ear wax is waxy, and if it accumulates even though you won’t see it on the metal stem, the stem will become too slick for the dome to firmly adhere.
I have the Resound hearing aids from Costco that I purchased back in may 2020.
I’m so flustered and irritated that I’ve had the domes come off, lodged in my ear canal and had to go to the ENT 3 times just month of November! twice while traveling and having to go to urgent cares in unfamiliar cities.
That’s $350 a visit!!
What is being done to correct this? I see others have the same issue.
The Urgent care Dr said to get In touch with the company.
Has anyone having this same problem contacted ReSound? If so, what has been the solution?
Thank you
Hi Sherri:
In my case, the secret is never to put old domes back on once you take them off to clean the wax out for example. Always put new domes on at that time and make sure they are pushed on properly. Then mine stay on.
Maybe that is something you should try.
Cordially,
Neil
You know Neil, I, too, have the resound hearing aids from costco and I have my 4th one stuck in my ear now in the first year. I clean the hearing aid outside with alcohol, then put a brand new one on. And I tug on them before I put them on to make sure I have them on tight. Still comes off in my ear. It seems to be more of a resound Costco problem hearing aid.
I agree with what you said about ear wax. It happened to me with a different brand. Thanks for the tip about wiping down the metal stem with rubbing alcohol!
I have had the same issue with the domes getting stuck in the ear canal. Once on vacation in New Zealand…Four trips to local Urgent Care where they used a longer instrument than other Doc’s had. The Doc’s there actually recognized me and stated that the issue had to be addressed. Went to Costco….again….and a new person said I just needed larger ones !!!….No problem since….this should not have been a ‘secret’ solution. Very distressed with this.
Can a dome be pushed so far in that a doctor can’t see it? Two doctors have looked both say there is nothing there yet it still feels like there is and now I have a drainage and pain.
Hi Kathryn:
If a doctor uses his otoscope he can see right down to your eardrum so there is no way he can’t see a dome if it is in your ear canal unless he’s blind.
And if you want to see for yourself, go to an audiologist or hearing aid dispenser. Many of them have small probe otoscopes that hook up to a monitor so you can see exactly what they see. That’s what I’d do–then you can satisfy yourself that either something is there or not.
Drainage and pain are most likely signs of ear infections–either in your ear canal if the draining is COMING from there, or in your middle ear–in which case there could be a tear/hole in your eardrum if it is draining into your ear canal rather than down your throat via the Eustachian tube.
Cordially,
Neil
I have had PE tubes to relieve pressure in my right ear- I currently do not have tube in that ear and have a large hole. Yesterday an open fit dome got stuck in my ear and I fear it may have gone through the hole. I can’t see my ENT until tomorrow afternoon. Can you advise on removal options and urgency of case? Note- this is in my only hearing ear.
Hi Andrea:
Personally, I don’t think this is an emergency if you are going to see your ENT tomorrow and you don’t have any bad pain or other problems.
I don’t really think the dome will go through the hole in your eardrum. Domes are bigger than your ear canals and collapse to fit them. I think it is just “stuck” in place waiting for your doctor to deal with it, unless you really pushed it way in in attempting to get it out.
Can you still hear to some degree as it is now? If so, and if it were me, I’d wait till tomorrow. If it is causing you real problems, then head for the emergency room.
Cordially,
Neil
I have Resound hearing aids. My domes come off from time to time. I just fill the sink with warm water and fill my Murine ear wax bulb syringe with warm water, shoot it up against the top of my ear canal and the dome flushes right out. I use the same technique to keep wax build up down.
Hi Frank:
That obviously works. But a word of caution. Don’t “shoot” the water with any pressure or you can cause damage to your ears. See my reply to Clark on Sep 30, 2016.
Cordially,
Neil
The following worked for me:
Put ear drops in the ear canal. With warm water in an ear cleaning bulb, spray water in the ear canal as briskly as possible. It may take several bursts of water, but the foreign object will eject into the sink.
Hi Clark:
That method worked for you, but I don’t advocate squirting water with any pressure at all into your ear canals. That can and does cause tinnitus if the water jet hits your ear drum with any force.
If you are going to do this, I’d put the tip of the syringe into the hole in the middle of the dome and slowly and GENTLY squirt water through the hole to slowly build up pressure and “blow” the dome out. That should also work without the risk of tinnitus, hearing loss or hyperacusis.
Cordially,
Neil
I just received new hearing aids from the VA. I previously wore Phonak and never had an issue. But the Resound hearing aids (new) gave me a problem .When I removed them the dome came off on my left ear and I didn’t notice it. After my shower I swabbed my ears with Q-Tips and inadvertantly pushed the dome way back into the canal causing pain, but I didn’t realize why. The next morning I woke up with a bad ear ache, and figured that I must be getting an infection or something. Since I don’t wear my aids at home all the time this went on for 2 days. The ear ache became unbearable and I went to the ER to get checked out. The Dr. proceeded to tell me of my situation and really had to dig to get the dome out. He warned me the proceedure was going to be painful and he was not kidding. Now I check my hearing aids every time I take them out to make sure the dome stayed on and not in. Sounds like Resound may be having a problem with keeping the domes on. I never, in years of wearing my Phonak brand have had this problem.
Hello, I recently had the same issue and now I loss my hearing in the ear its been two days now and hope to regain my hearing back. The VA needs to get better hearing aids. Seems that this issue is not uncommon. Did experience a terrible pain trying to get the dome out in the ER.
I have worn hearing aids for 6 years. I recently bought a new pair, a different brand than my first. Of course the domes are not compatible between the two brands. I received the new hearing aids last Monday and on Tuesday I had a major fall which sent me to an ENT doctor for a possible broken nose. While being examined the doctor removed a hearing aid dome from each ear. At first I thought they were from the new aids and were left in the canals by accident just a few days prior. After cleaning them and trying to fit them on the new aids, it became apparent they were from my old hearing aids. The bottom line is, these domes could have been in my canals for years without me knowing it. Are there any known effects of having foreign objects, such as the domes, in your ears for a long period of time, such as balance? By the way, my hearing improved greatly, after they were removed.
Hi David:
I think the main effect is hearing loss as the domes block sound getting to your eardrums. One possible bad thing is that if moisture was trapped between your domes and the eardrum, it could result in an infection in your ear canal. But since everything seems to be fine after the domes were removed, I don’t think they did any damage.
What I can’t understand is how the domes on your new aids would stay in and work properly with the old domes below them.
Cordially,
Neil
Thank you for the response. I can hear better with them removed.
I today had a hearing aid done removed from ear by my lovely audiologist with special tool but didn’t realise there was one in there and I have been using hearing aid and dome on top of old dome for weeks without knowing apart from a little whistling from hear aid.
I just got new hearing aides yesterday. When I removed them to go to bed I noticed one had a dome and the other didn’t. I went to Urgent Care and they pushed it farther into the ear canal. I now can hardly heard anything. The place will not be in the office until Monday. What can I do?
Hi Loretta:
The dome won’t hurt you being left in for a couple of days. It just leaves you hard of hearing in that ear and may feel uncomfortable. If you can see the doctor on Monday, he should be able to take it out and all will be well.
In the future, make sure your domes are pushed on properly so this doesn’t happen again.
Cordially,
Neil
It has happened to me that an audiologist and two gp’s failed to see a total of three domes stuck in my ear! Just saying .
I as well have a set of Resound HA’s that I have had the dome lost in an ear twice now.
I think that I have discovered why the Dome is coming off. If you examine the part that goes in the ear canal carefully you might find that the clear plastic part that has the pull-out extension attached that over time the pulling on it actually pulls it up higher on the metal part that holds the ear was plug and the rubber dome. If you get a magnifying glass you might see that it is about 1/16″ from being completely seating to the bottom. That does not leave enough room for the dome to seat on the post completely.
Can you wear the hearing aid without the dome. I out in the middle of no where for 10 days & both domes came off. They had been on about 6 days so I’m not sure why this happened . Should I just not wear them until I get back home?
Hi Carol:
The domes aren’t stuck in your ears are they? If so, I wouldn’t wear your hearing aids. However, if you have the domes, just push them back on. Be sure they are properly seated so they don’t come off again.
Alternately, you could wear your hearing aids without the domes IF your hearing aids don’t feed back because of the loose fit. If they help you hear better, wear them. If not, wait until you’re back in town. Just be careful they don’t fall off.
Cordially,
Neil
Is there a brand of hearing aids that does not have an issue with domes getting largest in your ears?
Hi Debbie:
I don’t think it matters what brand of hearing aid you use–if you use receiver in the hear hearing aids that use domes, there is always the possibility of them coming off the receiver and thus getting stuck in your ears.
If you want to avoid that, then don’t get receiver in the ear hearing aids. Get the “older” style where the receiver is in the hearing aid and a thin tube goes to the custom made ear mold in your ear. That should solve the dome coming off problem.
Cordially,
Neil
Hello Dr. Bauman,
In 2018, I had a hearing exam at my local Costco. The technician found a dome stuck in my right ear that I did not even know was there. It probably had been stuck in my ear for six weeks or so. I then went to Sharp Rees-Stealy Urgent Care and it took the physician a long time to remove it. My ear also ended up bloody, which took a week to heal.
The other day, a dome again got stuck in my ear when I was removing my Covid-19 mask. (These masks are a pain to wear and remove while wearing hearing aids!)
This time I went to a nearby hearing aid place and they actually had a special tool for removing stuck domes. The tool looked like a scissors with the end opening up and closing; it was perfect was grasping the dome. The whole procedure took less than a minute! Are you familiar with this special tool? Is there a name for it? Where can I buy one?
Thanks.
Jay in San Diego
Hi Jay:
When domes come off, in my experience it is because they are not pushed on properly, or when you take it off to clean it and then it never fits as tight as before. Thus, I now use a new dome if I have to take one off. I throw the old one away. Since I’ve been doing this, I’ve not had one come off in my ear.
Sometimes I can get a dome out by myself using tweezers, other times my wife can do it for me. I’ve only had to go to a doctor once to get one removed–it was in too deep for us to get it out.
The doctors just use forceps of one kind or another–basically scissor-shaped tweezers to get the dome out.
If you want to get forceps for yourself, go to Amazon.com and type in “forceps” and you’ll see many kinds of forceps for sale there. Look for a picture of one that looked like the one your hearing aid dispenser used and it should work for you too.
Just be very careful–you don’t want to puncture your eardrum or worse.
Cordially,
Neil
Many complaints on Resound domes coming off in your ears. I had it happen 4 times in over a week. Problem started when my audiologist gave me new replacement domes. These domes are new replacement domes (light grey). Never had this problem for 2 years when I had the original domes (dark grey). Resound needs to fix their problem. Not buying Resound again. Had Phonak before, never had a dome come off in my ear in 5 years.
I had my hearing aids serviced at Costco yesterday…a job that takes them a few minutes. They replaced the domes etc. Tonight I took my hearing aids out and the dome of one is stuck in my ear canal. Never had this happen in 20 years of hearing aid use. Someone at Costco Hearing Aids needs more training. What a nuisance for me and others who may find themselves in this position.
Hi Anita:
If the domes are not put on “all the way”, it is easy for them to come off and get stuck in your ear canal. I found that if you took a dome off to clean it and put it back on–it was much more likely to come off than if you used a new dome each time.
I now wear hearing aids with small custom-made ear molds that are comfortable, unobtrusive and cannot come off. Now I don’t have to worry about domes coming off anymore.
Cordially,
Neil
That what I did too. I actually custom made mine using a pair of old non-working hearing aids I had. No more fear of a dome coming off.
I will be getting new hearing aids soon. The domes always come off and I e been to Urgent Care too many times.
So I sewed a piece of stretchy string directly to the dome, now when I take out my hearing aids, I only need to pull on the string to get them out. This has worked for me for several months, I will probably do the same thing with my new ones just to be safe.
Hi Lauren:
That’s a cool idea. Getting domes stuck in your ears in so fun. I used to have that problem from time to time. However, with my new aids my audiologist suggested that for my kind of hearing loss I’d do better with small earmolds with the receiver in the earmold. Now nothing can get stuck in my ears when I take them off.
So this is another option rather than having domes. They are still receiver-in-the-ear hearing aids and are very comfortable to wear. In fact, they are finally so comfortable I forget I have my hearing aids on–which is something that has never happened before in my many decades of wearing hearing aids.
Cordially,
Neil