Is an Audiologist mold impression worth the money versus do-it-yourself?

Audiologists are a ripoff. I made my own customs by pouring jelly in my ears and sticking my head in the fridge.

 

Now my music tastes of blackcurrent.

Yes, that may be true. But trying to resell DIY earbuds is hard to do. People want a company that people can trust and have a reputation.

@cifani090 the OP is not making his IEM he is just thinking of making his own molds to go to JH.

 

To the OP, if you live in an area where audiologists are reasonable (some members have had their molds made for around $50) then I would just use an audiologist. But at $100 you have to decide whether it's worth trying to use a kit and do it yourself or not. There is a bit of risk as you are putting something foreign in your ear and if do it wrong you could hurt yourself. But if you take your time and follow the instructions properly you may be able to not only do this but potentially get a better fit as you will be able to feel where your setting the spounge in your ear. I believe schwallman has had audiologists make him molds and had made his own as well and had better luck with his own.

 

I have just ordered an impression kit from the Earplug store and intend to try to make my own, so if your not in a hurry I can post my experience afterwards or we can correspond by PM.

Ohh, i never thought about doing it that way. I thought he was going to make his own earbuds, but making your own impressions ive never thought about, but its a good idea. As dweaver said,"putting something foreign in your ear and if do it wrong you could hurt yourself," is very true and overall if something did go wrong, seeing an audiologist would just be cheaper in the end, but not if the audiologists in you area are over $100.

It depends on if you are comfortable or if whoever is helping you is comfortable with putting that stuff inside your ear. I am not so I went with an audiologist. I got charged $50 which isn't too bad considering it's right in the middle of NYC where everything is expensive. Of course a couple weeks after I got my customs in the mail I found out about a place that does it for $20 near my house..

 

If you can find a reasonable price from an audiologist ($100 is not) I would go with an audiologist but of course you may be comfortable with saving a couple bucks and doing it yourself. I'm sure DIY isn't too difficult as when I got mine done at an audiologist it didn't look too complicated.

Make a thread or use this one.  I just got my kit for 4 impressions.  Lets see what happens.  I figure if I can listen to ER4s then I can do this.  

^^ I will be posting my results in this thread. I look forward to reading about your results. I imagine my kit might be in by the end of next week or early the week after.

How much is a do-it-yourself impression kit? I paid $25 to get my ear impressions done by an audiologist. Before doing the impressions, he checked for perforated eardrums, impacted earwax, and excessive ear canal hair. The last two, if existing, will negatively affect the ear impressions. My suggestion is to call around and find the cheapest price possible for ear impressions done by an audiologist. My 2 cents.

x2, going to a qualified audiologist, preferably with the JHA Audiologist Cheat Sheet PDF printed in your hands is the least risky method, aside from attending Can Jam or similar event where JHA is in attendance as they normally do free impressions on the spot for those who order during the event.

 

The frustration, extra shipping costs and delays associated with a refit process alone are worth a reasonable investment $50-$75 for an audiologist visit if it results in a quality mold.

Yeah, $100 is waaaay too much to pay for a set of ears.

 

On the upside, if something goes wrong, then you can enjoy iBuds and HE90's equally.

Edit: To add to the conversation, the value of an audiologist is not that they pour resin in your ear and give you a thing.  It is in the diagnosis, if you should have something to your ears that precludes a safe molding procedure, etc.  So sure, most of the time, a do-it-yourself job might be ok.  But on the off-chance that you risk serious damage where an audiologist would catch the diagnosis, is it worth your ears?

Edited by Omega - 8/2/10 at 2:33pm

x2. And in my case it included a hearing test, and a little trip (on video monitor) down the ol' ear canal, a la"Fantastic Voyage".

 

Trying to do this procedure yourself, risking the health of a fairly delicate area (which the OP clearly values pretty highly given the purchasing decision),  and risking a $400 investment coming out wrong, seems like a really bad idea.

 

@joay, have you actually tried the JH5s? (I'm a big fan of them, btw.) Where were you planning to get them? Some JHA dealers offer free or discounted impressions. And free impressions are often available at larger meets.

I'm going to get customs by the end of the year, and I will have an audiologist do it. I'm all for DIY, but I think the extra cost is worth it to have someone take a look in there. If there's a problem, it's well worth the few extra dollars.

The way I like to think of it is that you are already spending anywhere from a couple hundred to around a grand on a custom earphone. Why cheap out for a couple bucks on the impression? Going to an audiologist doesn't guarantee no refits as that's part of the process but it lowers it. Also Andrew does bring up a good point as some audiologists do offer free or discounted impressions if you buy the JH customs from them if theres one of those audiologists who are also JHA dealers.

 

If you are comfortable with DIY then go for it and it may very well turn out to be fine but I'm more comfortable with someone who knows what they are doing to handle my impressions than someone who is just reading some instructions.

If you are going to spend the money on customs,  you might as well get it right the first time and have it fit correctly by going to a qualified audiologist.