I had new hearing aids around Christmas but the moulds are so uncomfortable, I am using my old "aids". If I use the new aids, I appreciate that I can hear better, but the moulds are so big that they are painful so I can only wear them for 10 minutes at a time. I can feel my pulse in my left ear where the moulds are pressing the ear out.

Has anyone any recommendations as to how I can make them a little more - or should I saw a lot more - comfortable please.

Hi Pepsi, get some new impressios taken and a fresh pair of new earmoulds. If your aids are NHS try there first, or a private dispenser can probably provide earmoulds for no more than £50 a pair.
Anything else such as filing earmoulds down is usually pretty unsuccessful although surprisingly commonplace, so I guess it must work occasionally!

In the meantime, have you tried putting the new aids on the old moulds?

Oxo,

I was under the impression that the NHS could come down hard on any private dispenser who *interfered* with their H/A's - including anything that could conceivably alter the performance or output, such as altering/changing the tubing and/or the earmould.

Or is this a local thing decided on by each PCT accordingly ?

Smoker

In practice if an NHS patient attends a clinic why can't they just pop their NHS mould back on for the visit then nobody knows they have other moulds? I have seen many patients interchanging private and NHS moulds/aids and if they have a different material privately they have got along better with I have also changed the NHS moulds to the material they prefer. Personally I would advise the original poster just to go back and ask them to remake their moulds anyway.

Thanks willow, as I said, go back to the original supplier first
DON'T persevere with painful moulds, the results can be severe.
Also, if the aids are private the replacement moulds should be free of charge anyway as the first set are clearly unsuitable.
Smoker, I leave NHS aids alone(beyond donating the occasional battery for people who get "caught short"), but if a client wants something different in terms or earmoulds and can't/won't approach the NHS then I don't see a problem with providing assistance.