Phonak filter life
Oct 26, 2012 at 1:03 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 9

metman

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I have a pair of Audeo 012's that I use all the time (hours a day most days), and I like them a lot, except for the fact that the filters, especially for some reason the one in my left ear, seem to wear out incredibly quickly.  I replace a filter to fix volume or range problems every 3-10 weeks.  Does anyone else have this problem with this line of iems?  If so, has anyone found a way to remedy it?
 
Oct 26, 2012 at 1:14 PM Post #2 of 9
Quote:
I have a pair of Audeo 012's that I use all the time (hours a day most days), and I like them a lot, except for the fact that the filters, especially for some reason the one in my left ear, seem to wear out incredibly quickly.  I replace a filter to fix volume or range problems every 3-10 weeks.  Does anyone else have this problem with this line of iems?  If so, has anyone found a way to remedy it?

maybe clean your ears a bit more often? like once a day? I've noticed that when I use iems, My ears like to produce much more wax than what they normally do...
 
Oct 26, 2012 at 1:21 PM Post #4 of 9
One way to preserve the filters is to first remove them and then submerge them in hydrogen peroxide (3% solution). Let them sit for several minutes until the accumulated ear wax dissolves. Rinse them out delicately with normal water and let them dry in a container that has those moisture absorbent packs or dry uncooked rice. Once it is dry, it will be good as new.
 
Oct 26, 2012 at 1:37 PM Post #5 of 9
Unless I have somehow mutated in to the only human I know of with clear or white ear wax, that's not the problem.  Since it seems like the left bud flakes out more often, could it be a seating problem in the bud itself?  I'm also left handed, so the left bud is the one I tend to take out when someone is talking to me or I want to hear something in the environment.  Could the air pressure change of removing and inserting the bud in my ear screw with the filters somehow?
 
Oct 26, 2012 at 2:26 PM Post #6 of 9
So when you replace the filter, everything goes back to normal?
 
Remember that filters use a porous material which earwax can clog. It doesn't have to be visible. Someone had a similar issue with their TF10 and there was nothing conspicuous about the filters, but when he scraped the surface of the filters on one side, that side became noticeably louder.
 
Oct 26, 2012 at 3:55 PM Post #8 of 9
The other thing that makes me think it's not wax is that the sound quality doesn't degrade slowly, but all of the sudden drops significantly.  The effect can also sometimes cut in and out over a number of hours.  I still think it unlikely, but I'll see if trying to clean them helps out next time one cuts out.
 

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