{"id":814,"date":"2022-03-17T22:57:15","date_gmt":"2022-03-18T05:57:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mccoyinstitute.org\/?p=814"},"modified":"2022-04-13T13:16:30","modified_gmt":"2022-04-13T20:16:30","slug":"audiologists-help-you-avoid-the-dangers-of-home-ear-impression-kits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mccoyinstitute.org\/audiologists-help-you-avoid-the-dangers-of-home-ear-impression-kits\/","title":{"rendered":"Audiologists Help You Avoid the Dangers of Home Ear Impression Kits"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>An ear impression is a physical replica of the ear used in the making of <a href=\"https:\/\/mccoyinstitute.org\/hearing-aids-overview\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">hearing aids<\/a> and hearing protection devices (HDPs). They are made by injecting a silicone-based impression material into the ear canal and external ear cavities. In order to get the best fit, you need an accurate, customized impression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Done incorrectly they can lead to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Poor hearing<\/li><li>Low quality protection<\/li><li>Injury<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Because of the risks you should only have your impression done by an audiologist and avoid using at-home kits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Home Impression Kits Provide Poor Ear Protection <\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1280\" height=\"853\" src=\"https:\/\/mccoyinstitute.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/pexels-karolina-grabowska-8092983-1280x853.jpg\" alt=\"Close up of a woman's ear.\" class=\"wp-image-816\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mccoyinstitute.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/pexels-karolina-grabowska-8092983-1280x853.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/mccoyinstitute.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/pexels-karolina-grabowska-8092983-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/mccoyinstitute.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/pexels-karolina-grabowska-8092983-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/mccoyinstitute.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/pexels-karolina-grabowska-8092983-scaled.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1280px) 100vw, 1280px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Exposure to loud noise is one of the leading causes of hearing loss. <a href=\"https:\/\/mccoyinstitute.org\/hearing-loss-overview\/protecting-your-hearing\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Hearing protection<\/a> devices are used to protect your ears from noise damage when you are doing things like:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Working construction<\/li><li>Hunting or shooting<\/li><li>Attending loud concerts at <a href=\"http:\/\/1904musichall.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">1904 Music Hall<\/a><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>A 2013 study compared hearing protection devices made with a home kit versus ones made by a professional.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Researchers took two sets of impressions from each participant. One by an amateur participant using a replica of a do-it-yourself home impression kit. The other was taken by a licensed audiologist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>They found that the HDPs made by an audiologist were significantly <a href=\"https:\/\/digitalcommons.latech.edu\/cgi\/viewcontent.cgi?article=1296&amp;context=dissertations\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">more effective at blocking out sound<\/a> than the ones by an amateur.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Incorrect Ear Impressions Increase Injury Risk<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Using home ear impression kits may also increase your risk of injury.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A 2012 study sent out surveys to otolaryngology departments asking about their experiences treating secondary <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/26548100\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">injuries caused during at-home impression taking for hearing aids<\/a>. They found that:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>301 institutions treated a total of 460 impression-related injuries<\/li><li>64.8% (298 cases) of injuries were caused by foreign bodies in the ear left during the removal of the impression material<\/li><li>32 of those 298 cases required surgical intervention under general anesthesia to treat<\/li><li>31.7% developed bleeding and fluid in the ear following removal of the ear impression<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Have an Audiologist Address Your Hearing Needs<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Your hearing health is important. While do-it-yourself ear impression kits may seem appealing, they often result in an inferior product. Audiologists are expertly trained to provide you with a quality listening experience and reliable ear protection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you have additional questions or wish to schedule an appointment with an audiologist, call <span class=\"company-name \">The McCoy Institute<\/span> today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><ul class=\"related-posts\"><li><a href=\"https:\/\/mccoyinstitute.org\/tips-for-wearing-hearing-aids-and-glasses\/\" class=\"related-post\">Tips for Wearing Hearing Aids and Glasses<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/mccoyinstitute.org\/what-are-the-different-parts-of-a-hearing-aid\/\" class=\"related-post\">What Are the Different Parts of a Hearing Aid?<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/mccoyinstitute.org\/can-a-bone-anchored-hearing-device-help-those-with-single-sided-deafness\/\" class=\"related-post\">Can a Bone-Anchored Hearing Device Help Those with Single-Sided Deafness?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An ear impression is a physical replica of the ear used in the making of hearing aids and hearing protection devices (HDPs). They are made by injecting a silicone-based impression material into the ear canal and external ear cavities. In order to get the best fit, you need an accurate, customized impression. Done incorrectly they&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":816,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"Your hearing health is important. While do-it-yourself ear impression kits may seem appealing, they often result in an inferior product.","_seopress_robots_index":"","schema":"","fname":"","lname":"","position":"","credentials":"","placeID":"","no_match":false,"name":"","company":"","review":"","address":"","city":"","state":"","zip":"","lat":"","lng":"","phone1":"","phone2":"","fax":"","mon1":"","mon2":"","tue1":"","tue2":"","wed1":"","wed2":"","thu1":"","thu2":"","fri1":"","fri2":"","sat1":"","sat2":"","sun1":"","sun2":"","hours-note":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-814","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hearing-aids"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mccoyinstitute.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/814","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mccoyinstitute.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mccoyinstitute.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mccoyinstitute.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mccoyinstitute.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=814"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/mccoyinstitute.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/814\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":825,"href":"https:\/\/mccoyinstitute.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/814\/revisions\/825"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mccoyinstitute.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/816"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mccoyinstitute.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=814"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mccoyinstitute.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=814"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mccoyinstitute.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=814"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}