Ask an Audiologist: When Your Piercings Get in the Way of You Listening to Your Tunes
Hearing Solutions often receives some rather unique questions regarding hearing health.
One inquiry to our Ask an Audiologist series is a practical question about best practice for wearing your earphones with your piercings.
Ask an Audiologist
I just want to know what the best practice would be for custom-fit earphones (moulding to your ear) and having a conch, tragus, and/or daith piercing.
Should the person remove the piercing prior to getting an impression for an ear mould or keep it in so that the mould takes into consideration the space that the piercing takes up?
Thanks!
Audiologist Response
Thank you for your submission to Ask an Audiologist.
That is a good question and I am not sure that there is any particular best practice for the situation. I would say that there are both pros and cons to removing the piercing prior to taking the mould of the ear, and it depends on what type of earring it is (a stud, a ring or a bar, for example).
If the patient plans to keep the piercing in at most times, I would suggest that they wear the piercing during the impression. This may not be possible depending on the type of earring, but if it is, it should give the best fit and be easiest for the patient to use. I called a local earmould lab and they said that it would be best for the patient to be wearing the earring during the impression so that the space can be accommodated for the mould. Thankfully most companies that make moulds allow for at least one complimentary “remake,” which would allow for more than one impression to be taken if necessary.
If you are interested in exploring the options for custom earphones with us we would be happy to book you an appointment with one of our Audiologists. If you have any other questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
All the best,
Stephanie Loder, B.Sc., M.Cl.Sc., Reg. CASLPO Audiologist, Aud(C)
Stephanie is a registered Audiologist with the College of Audiologists and Speech-Language Pathologists of Ontario. Stephanie currently sees patients at Hearing Solutions’ Carlingwood Shopping Centre location in Ottawa.
