Hello everyone! Good morning! As you can see I am
not in my usual filming studio, you could call it a studio, but today, I
am headed to get ear mold impressions and I wanted to
bring you all along, as you can see I'm on the way to the audiologist
and we are gonna have such a good fun time! I hope you stick around to the end
of this video because if you do I'm going to share
one tip to prepare yourself to get the best ear mold impression possible
for when you go to the audiologist. Here are the steps of things to expect
when you get your ear mold impressions made. If you haven't already, please take
a moment to like this video and subscribe to my channel.
I look forward to making more great content to increase awareness for the
deaf and hard of hearing not just to increase awareness for other
people about the deaf and hard of hearing
but to help us deaf and hard of hearing people learn more about ourselves.
If you're a parent of a child with hearing loss and you have any questions
about the ear mold impression process or if you are going to get your molds
for yourself and have any questions, please let me know in the comments below.
I'm not an expert but I feel like I can share some tips and tricks.
Step one is examining the ear. Your audiologist will use an otoscope to look
inside your ear. What this is, is it's like a light and a
magnifying glass. It allows the audiologist to see if
there's any wax blocking your ear canal. Ear wax, or cerumen is healthy for the
ear but when you're making ear mold
impressions you want to make sure it is all out of the ear or else the ear wax
will show up in your ear mold impressions. Step two:
your audiologist will insert a cotton stop or a block.
This cotton stop will be inserted into your ear using a little
probe. Now, I want to say during this step if you experience
any pain or discomfort, please let your audiologist know.
Sometimes those cotton stops and blockers can be pushed too
far and it makes the whole ear mold impression process just kind of painful.
When I was young I was too afraid to say something so I just dealt with the pain.
I did not like getting my ear mold impressions done, so if you're a parent
of a child with hearing loss you may notice that your child doesn't like
getting ear mold impressions done this could be a reason why. Other people
may really enjoy ear mold impressions so make sure if you experience any pain
or you notice anyone experiencing any pain that you say something.
Step three: your audiologist will mix the material
or put a cartridge into the earmold impression
gun. There are two different types of impression mechanisms there's a simple
syringe and in that they will need to mix the
impression combination so you have the silicone and the
silicone hardener when those are mixed in a one-to-one ratio it creates an
impression combination that hardens in just a
matter of minutes so your audiologist will either put this
silicone combination into a syringe or they will use the
impression gun which once the cartridge is connected is
simply just used to squirt the solution into your ears your audiologist will
then use this ear impression solution and fill your ear
with it. Some people really like this sensation,
some people do not. It is funny and weird to have that going
into your ear and filling it. You will feel underwater,
your ears are plugged, they will feel plugged,
and it will only take a matter of minutes before they are out so enjoy the
whole experience. So the next step is to let the
impressions cure, that means "harden". Once your impressions harden they
will be ready to be taken out. Your audiologist will poke them a little
bit to decide if they're hard enough. Once they're hard enough, then your
audiologist will remove these impressions.
It is fascinating to see these impressions when they come out
this is what the inside of your ear looks like!
And the ear mold company will use these impressions to create the ear mold
in the color of your choice. Once that impression comes out,
your audiologist will inspect it (them) for any issues deformities air bubbles or things
that may cause issues when creating your actual ear mold
if you haven't already this will be the time that you will get to pick your
hearing aid (mold) color. Typically, audiologists have
colors of little samples that you can go through on a
ring. My audiologist did not have that due to coronavirus they didn't want
people touching the same samples so I went online to see
my ear mold color options. I am super excited to get a color,
there are so many colors you can choose from.
What color do you think I'll pick? I will let you know in a future video
when I get them. I want to know what color you think I'll get
in the comments below. Keep in mind that there are neon colors
sparkly colors, normal colors, and you can mix and swirl up to three
colors. So exciting! So picking out colors is definitely my
favorite part of getting ear molds. I think I just love that
some people say their favorite part of getting ear mold impressions is the
actual impression of the ear which is like good
but I just think the colors are way fun because it lasts a lot
longer. Anyway, just my two cents: there you have it now you know how ear
mold impressions are made and what to expect when you go to the
audiologist for your new ear mold impressions!
Now remember like I said earlier don't hesitate to speak up if something
doesn't feel right. You know your ears the best and the
audiologist is there to help you. Thanks so much for sticking around
to the end of this video. I want to share one tip: if you have long hair that goes
over your ears it is really beneficial to pull your
hair up before you go to the audiologist. The reasoning for this is because your
hair gets stuck in the ear mold impression
goop and when it gets stuck you either have to pull it out rip it out or redo
the impression, so make sure your hair is out of the way.
If you have any questions or comments about this process,
please let me know in the comments below and please take a moment to like this
video and subscribe to my channel! I look forward to making more great
videos that increase awareness for the deaf and hard of hearing
not just for other people to become more aware about the deaf and hard of hearing
but also for us deaf and hard of hearing people to
become more aware of ourselves and that we deal with things that are
different compared to hearing people. I hope this video helped, I hope you have
a great day!