Those impressions aren't the worst I've ever seen, but I have some concerns about the area I've circled here (
1):
This area is absolutely
critical for the CIEM to form a reliable seal, in the ear, as I've illustrated with the
(also inadequate) ear impression pictures I Photoshopped, in the following image. I appreciate that it may look trivial, but I promise you, the
tiniest inadequacy in your ear impressions, in these critical areas, really can make the difference between listening pleasure (and correct bass response) and frustration with poor seal and poor sound quality:
Look how perfectly these areas have been moulded in the following impressions. This is the kind of impression quality you should try to aim for:
Ideally, the audiologist should also have used more silicone on the areas I've drawn lines on (
2, in your picture).
Look how much more of the ear has been successfully moulded - both in the innermost part of the ear (past the 2nd bend), and in the outermost part of the ear, in the yellow, pink, and blue impression pictures I've posted. The outermost portions have, admittedly, been moulded even more than necessary, in the yellow, pink, and blue impressions, but this is so that the CIEM-maker definitely has as much information as they could possibly need, rather than having barely enough, or slightly less than they need. Yours are, IMO, a bit less than they need, for the outermost parts of your ears, and a bit less than they need for the innermost portions of your ears.
It's a pity, because the rest of the impressions look OK.
However,
if they were my impressions, I would not be willing to risk using them, because it's a major hassle and expense for the customer and for the CIEM-maker, if re-fits turn out to be necessary.
Consequently,
if they were my impressions, I would make the effort to go and have another set of impressions done.
It appears, to me, that the audiologist you went to is probably not familiar with doing impressions for CIEMs, and generally tends to do impressions only for hearing aids. It was a good effort, but not really good enough for a reliable CIEM fitting. Hearing aids generally tend
not to extend as deeply into the ear canal as CIEMs, and tend
not to protrude as far to the outside of the ear as CIEMs. I suggest you take along some print-outs of the yellow, pink, and blue impressions I've posted, as an easy example to the audiologist, of your specific requirements. If you read the following post, you will also find links to some instructions to guide your audiologist. This isn't about offending your audiologist by teaching him/her to suck eggs. It's just that you need to be very explicit about how your needs for CIEM impressions are
not the same as people's needs for hearing-aid impressions.
www.head-fi.org/t/578855/things-to-consider-before-getting-your-custom-iem-impressions-done-the-perfect-fit#post_7871678
I suggest you get a second opinion, by emailing your impressions pictures to the company you are buying your CIEMs from. They will tell you if they are happy with them, or not.
Good luck with your CIEM buying experience
