the Audiologists impressions thread (pun most definitely intended ;) ) - Page 14

Quote:

Originally Posted by DougofTheAbaci 

I called her for a quote yesterday, haven't heard back yet.

 

I did just hear back from Nancy Taitz of Ave. Hearing Aid Center. She was listed on the Ultimate Ears website. Price quoted was $65, which seems reasonable.

It was $75 if I remember correctly.
 

$75 to mail my impressions to Ultimate Ears for me. I'm not buying from UE so it's $65 to handle it myself.

Can anyone recommend an audiologist they've had a good experience with in Toronto Canada?

For New Yorkers, I'm going to update my recommendation for Andrew Resnick. He's a musician and does ear impressions for pro-musicians for Future Sonics, Westone and JHA.

His prices are a little more ($85), but the extra service is worth it. He did a new set of impressions for free for me when I needed them, even doing two sets, one mouth open with a large bite block, one mouth closed.

When I when back for a new custom, he again did a double set of impressions, mouth open with bite block and mouth closed and the second set of impressions were at no extra charge.

So, if you aim for quality over a cheap price (and if you're going for customs, then that should be you), then he's one of the best in NYC.

The Hearing Enhancement Center in Costa Mesa, California is an excellent place to go if your looking for impressions.  The Audiologist, Mark Dobkin, was extremely professional and the the molds he took were top notch impressions.  I just received my Westone ES5s and the fit is perfect with no seal issues while talking or eating.  If you are in SoCal and need impressions for Westone, go see the Hearing Enhancement Center.  1-949-645-0886

@EC09

There are several Sensaphonics Golden Circle audiologists in Toronto, all specifically trained in working with in-ear monitors. You might try one of these::

Musicians Clinics of Canada
Marshall Chasin

HEAR Toronto: Centre for Advanced Hearing Care
Ross Harwell M.Mus., M.Sc.

The Hearing Source
Edmond Ayvazyan

There are a couple others listed that might be suburban. Full list at:

http://www.sensaphonics.com/?page_id=488#AB

for my refit impressoons i too found an audiologist in albany, ny that was on the sensaphonics list.  she claimed that the impressions were perfect so i will see what the wizard has to say about them.  they were 100 instead of the 60 i paid last time however it is more important to have the best set of impressions made even if they cost more because it will cost you less in the end with the additional shipping charges and be less of a headache.

Sounds like Janelle Lane? One of our Golden Circle group, trained to work with musicians. She's very good.

About two days ago I had some ear impressions made at Parker Hearing Institute in Torrance, CA. They charged me $60 for take-home impressions for both ears. They have walk in hours from 11-12pm and were pretty fast in accommodating me. The audiologist who did mine I think was name Kim… I showed her instructions and she followed them somewhat, but didn't provide a bite block or tell me to open my mouth, claiming open vs closed jaw impressions won't really make a difference. I still bit on two fingers.

Anyway, my experience was very painful. The first time she tried fitting in the cotton otoblock thing, she must've hit my vagus nerve or I have very sensitive canals because I felt a really sharp pain in my ear, enough to make me lose balance even when seated. She pulled out and went with a smaller piece of cotton and inserted it again, just as painful as the last time. I expressed some discomfort and she warned me "this is probably stimulating your vagus nerve. You might feel like you need to cough." I replied, "or cry…" She repeated the process on the other ear but while painful it wasn't as intense as my left ear.

It's been two days now and it still hurts to yawn, swallow, or even burp, especially in my left ear. I don't know how common this is or if this is even normal, but I'll try to wait it out a bit longer. Sometimes I'll feel a spontaneous sharp pain in my right ear, and just now I started hearing gushing sounds in my left ear that prompted me to document my experience in this thread… And if anyone has any advice/input about my current pain situation, please PM me with some insight?

I wouldn't say I have dirty ears so I don't think it's a coincidental infection, I think it has something to do with her using too large of an otoblock the first time around. YMMV but I had a painful experience, was not offered a bite block or instruction to bite even though I handed her some instructions from the manufacturer, and was charged slightly more than I had hoped. At least they offer walk in hours and the impressions came out decently/nicely. I don't think I'd go back and instead I'd try that place in Costa Mesa that's been recommended multiple times in this thread.

Quote:

Originally Posted by n00b 

About two days ago I had some ear impressions made at Parker Hearing Institute in Torrance, CA. They charged me $60 for take-home impressions for both ears. They have walk in hours from 11-12pm and were pretty fast in accommodating me. The audiologist who did mine I think was name Kim… I showed her instructions and she followed them somewhat, but didn't provide a bite block or tell me to open my mouth, claiming open vs closed jaw impressions won't really make a difference. I still bit on two fingers.

 

Anyway, my experience was very painful. The first time she tried fitting in the cotton otoblock thing, she must've hit my vagus nerve or I have very sensitive canals because I felt a really sharp pain in my ear, enough to make me lose balance even when seated. She pulled out and went with a smaller piece of cotton and inserted it again, just as painful as the last time. I expressed some discomfort and she warned me "this is probably stimulating your vagus nerve. You might feel like you need to cough." I replied, "or cry…" She repeated the process on the other ear but while painful it wasn't as intense as my left ear.

 

It's been two days now and it still hurts to yawn, swallow, or even burp, especially in my left ear. I don't know how common this is or if this is even normal, but I'll try to wait it out a bit longer. Sometimes I'll feel a spontaneous sharp pain in my right ear, and just now I started hearing gushing sounds in my left ear that prompted me to document my experience in this thread… And if anyone has any advice/input about my current pain situation, please PM me with some insight?

 

I wouldn't say I have dirty ears so I don't think it's a coincidental infection, I think it has something to do with her using too large of an otoblock the first time around. YMMV but I had a painful experience, was not offered a bite block or instruction to bite even though I handed her some instructions from the manufacturer, and was charged slightly more than I had hoped. At least they offer walk in hours and the impressions came out decently/nicely. I don't think I'd go back and instead I'd try that place in Costa Mesa that's been recommended multiple times in this thread.

 

 

..... this sounds painful! And expensive! yeah.. not all audiologist can do these properly. people who know what these are for and have done it many times before are certainly better!

How did the impression go though? did it resulted in good fit on your customs?
 

The pain completely subsided after maybe 5 days. There wasn't any bleeding or anything during the process but again, I am probably an anomaly. The place has good reviews elsewhere, but I thought I'd share my experience. Also, I think the impressions came out well, but I haven't gotten my reshells back to see the final fit. Here's a picture of the impressions for reference:

There wasn't any pain when I had mine done. As she was inserting them she said, "Tell me when you feel the slightest pressure." and the second I signaled she stopped. The whole process was very comfortable.

yup... i didn't feel any pain during the process either...  well if the fit turned out to be well.. a little pain won't kill ya.. but if the fit is horrible.. yeah... you should go berserk or maybe not....

Quote:

Originally Posted by DougofTheAbaci 

There wasn't any pain when I had mine done. As she was inserting them she said, "Tell me when you feel the slightest pressure." and the second I signaled she stopped. The whole process was very comfortable.

Where did you get yours, I live in SF and currently I'm looking around. A place close to where I live called Union Square Hearing charge $50 and I called Musicians Hearing Services, she said $100 because I'm sending my impression to some company she doesn't know about.