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Growing Up Deaf - Ear Molds

That Pink Stuff in the Ears

By Jamie Berke, About.com

Updated: December 20, 2007

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Growing Up Deaf Serial

As I grew, my ears grew right along with me. That meant getting new ear molds rather frequently.

Getting new ear molds made was not fun! I had to sit still for about fifteen minutes while this pink stuff called silicone firmed up in my ear. Plus my ears were (and are) so small that sometimes the impression was not successful and the audiologist would have to repeat the process to get a decent impression from which to make an ear mold. The audiologist once complained that my ears were the size of a two-year-old baby's.

My ears would literally burn, while I sat there trying not to talk or move my mouth or sneeze. I kept having bad reactions to the silicone. Finally they found out my skin was allergic to silicone. The audiologist had to invent a new ear mold material just for me!

I do have one fond memory associated with getting ear molds made. The audiologist would give me a little bit of the stuff to play with. Playing with that soft, squishy stuff (think Play Doh) made it more bearable while I sat there silently.

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