How do you attach pull cord to hearing aid?

[Tana Cerco]

I have a few hearing aids which a fishing line ("pull cord") is
attached to the hearing aid. Pull cord is very convenient for
removing hearing aid from the ear canal. The problem is that pull
cord is very often detached from the hearing aid. That happened to me
a few times in the past. When I bring the broken hearing aid to my
audiologist, he sends it to the manufactureror to re-attach the
pullcord. The process takes about a week. During that time, I am
without the hearing aid. If the manufacturer sells glue for attaching
pullcord, that would save us at least a week of waiting. I am sure
that many of you might have similar experience. Does anybody know
what kind of glue would attach pullcord to hearing aid? tana

[Ken]

Why not ask the manufacturer? He can hardly refuse to reply, even if
he adds advice against DIY.
I have always had BTEs which do not have this problem. Some males are
sensitive about their hearing loss being made visible by BTEs -
females less so because their hair usually hides the hardware. But my
response to both is that the presence of serious hearing loss will
become evident to others within a few seconds of conversation anyway.
Nevertheless it is obviously up to individuals to make this choice and
if ITE aids work (as they do for low levels of hearing loss) and if
you want invisible hearing aids then go for it, fishing line and all!
Final thought: the type of repair you describe should be within the
scope of your audiologist/dispenser. Everyone with BTEs needs them to
be re-tubed every year or two. Most audiologists/dispensers offices
will do this while you wait.

[dsi1]

Post by Tana Cerco
I have a few hearing aids which a fishing line ("pull cord") is
attached to the hearing aid. Pull cord is very convenient for
removing hearing aid from the ear canal. The problem is that pull
cord is very often detached from the hearing aid. That happened to me
a few times in the past. When I bring the broken hearing aid to my
audiologist, he sends it to the manufactureror to re-attach the
pullcord. The process takes about a week. During that time, I am
without the hearing aid. If the manufacturer sells glue for attaching
pullcord, that would save us at least a week of waiting. I am sure
that many of you might have similar experience. Does anybody know
what kind of glue would attach pullcord to hearing aid? tana

You could use crazy glue which is what the manufacturers use. The
problem with simply gluing it on is that the string tends to break off
due to the flexing where it comes out of the faceplate.

When I install a pull string, I drill a hole through the faceplate and
shell. Then I attach the string to the shell. The reason I do this is to
place all the stress on the shell instead of the faceplate. The point
where the faceplate is joined to the shell can be weak sometimes so
gluing the string to the shell removes the possibility of pulling off
the faceplate. Not gluing the string to the faceplate and allowing the
string to slide in the hole also relieves some of the stress where the
string enters the plate and the string lasts longer.

In your case, you pretty much have no choice but to glue on a string to
the faceplate. I would use just a little glue at the tip of the string.
Good luck! :-)

[Randall]

Post by Tana Cerco
I have a few hearing aids which a fishing line ("pull cord") is
attached to the hearing aid.  Pull cord is very convenient for
removing hearing aid from the ear canal.  The problem is  that pull
cord is very often detached from the hearing aid.  That happened to me
a few times in the past. When I bring the broken hearing aid to my
audiologist, he sends it to the manufactureror to re-attach the
pullcord.   The process takes about a week.  During that time, I am
without the hearing aid.  If the manufacturer sells glue for attaching
pullcord, that would save us at least a week of waiting.   I am sure
that many of you might have similar experience.  Does anybody know
what kind of glue would attach pullcord to hearing aid?     tana

Hi Tana,

I operate an independent hearing aid repair lab. LILLIELECTRONICS.COM
Replacing the pull cord on an in the ear
hearing aid is not too difficult, but it helps to have some smaller
tools to work with.

I use

20lb test fishing line
a small bead
a straight razor blade
a #75 drill bit
Small tweezers

Step 1
with the razor cut off the old pull chord flush with the faceplate
Step 2
drill a hole through or as close to the old pull cord as possible.
You want the hole to go completely through the faceplate and into the
inside of the case. Be careful not to drill into any of the
components inside the case, or damage any wiring. I use a microscope
for this step.
Step 3
Thread the fishing line through the hole and pull back out through the
battery door with the tweezers.
Step 4
Melt the end of the line that is protruding from the battery door so
that it can not be pulled back out of the drilled hole.
Then pull the line back through the battery door until the melted end
is stopped on the inside of the faceplate.
Step 5
Dip a large needle in super glue and dab a small amount where the line
is coming out of the faceplate to keep the line from sliding into the
case.
Step 6
Cut to desired length and thread small bead onto end of the line.
Again using large needle fix the bead onto the end of the line with
super glue.


If this is a bit much I would be happy to help you with this or any
other problems you have with your hearing aids.
Find me at LILLIELECTRONICS.COM

Sincerley,

Randy

[Ken]

Post by Tana Cerco
I have a few hearing aids which a fishing line ("pull cord") is
attached to the hearing aid.  Pull cord is very convenient for
removing hearing aid from the ear canal.  The problem is  that pull
cord is very often detached from the hearing aid.  That happened to me
a few times in the past. When I bring the broken hearing aid to my
audiologist, he sends it to the manufactureror to re-attach the
pullcord.   The process takes about a week.  During that time, I am
without the hearing aid.  If the manufacturer sells glue for attaching
pullcord, that would save us at least a week of waiting.   I am sure
that many of you might have similar experience.  Does anybody know
what kind of glue would attach pullcord to hearing aid?    

When I read your post I was puzzled at a manufacturer attaching a pull
cord with glue rather than a positive connection to the casing. The
two others who responded described how they created such a connection
for clients by drilling. This, to me, confirms that your problem is
bad design - shockingly bad.
Could you help other members of the group by indicating the brand of
these hearing aids?

[dsi1]

Post by Ken
When I read your post I was puzzled at a manufacturer attaching a pull
cord with glue rather than a positive connection to the casing. The
two others who responded described how they created such a connection
for clients by drilling. This, to me, confirms that your problem is
bad design - shockingly bad.
Could you help other members of the group by indicating the brand of
these hearing aids?

What's your definition of a "positive connection to the casing?" My
method is pretty robust - I've never had one fail on that end and I've
done thousands.

[Ken]

Post by dsi1

Post by Ken
When I read your post I was puzzled at a manufacturer attaching a pull
cord with glue rather than a positive connection to the casing. The
two others who responded described how they created such a connection
for clients by drilling. This, to me, confirms that your problem is
bad design - shockingly bad.
Could you help other members of the group by indicating the brand of
these hearing aids?

What's your definition of a "positive connection to the casing?" My
method is pretty robust - I've never had one fail on that end and I've
done thousands.

Your solution provides a positive link in that the strain is taken
fully by the hardware rather than by a thin coating of glue. Another
example of a positive link would be a ring molded into the casing.
When I read the original post it seemed to me that a permanent fix
would require drilling to provide a secure anchor for the knotted
pull. But I doubled this would be feasible. I was pleased to learn
that two dispensers had, in fact, developed fixes using this approach.
But obviously it would be better if the manufacturers had provided an
anchor rather than subjecting users to inconvenience and leaving it to
dispensers to correct bad design.
So, on behalf of the group, I am asking for the names of these
manufacturers so that people can be wary (and, hopefully, cause the
makers to improve their design). I expect to find that the aids in
question are not from the well-know makers, rather cheap, even
unbranded aids. But I may be in for a surprise.

[m***@gmail.com]

Post by Ken

Post by dsi1

Post by Ken
When I read your post I was puzzled at a manufacturer attaching a pull
cord with glue rather than a positive connection to the casing. The
two others who responded described how they created such a connection
for clients by drilling. This, to me, confirms that your problem is
bad design - shockingly bad.
Could you help other members of the group by indicating the brand of
these hearing aids?

What's your definition of a "positive connection to the casing?" My
method is pretty robust - I've never had one fail on that end and I've
done thousands.

Your solution provides a positive link in that the strain is taken
fully by the hardware rather than by a thin coating of glue. Another
example of a positive link would be a ring molded into the casing.
When I read the original post it seemed to me that a permanent fix
would require drilling to provide a secure anchor for the knotted
pull. But I doubled this would be feasible. I was pleased to learn
that two dispensers had, in fact, developed fixes using this approach.
But obviously it would be better if the manufacturers had provided an
anchor rather than subjecting users to inconvenience and leaving it to
dispensers to correct bad design.
So, on behalf of the group, I am asking for the names of these
manufacturers so that people can be wary (and, hopefully, cause the
makers to improve their design). I expect to find that the aids in
question are not from the well-know makers, rather cheap, even
unbranded aids. But I may be in for a surprise.

ALL CIC hearing aids with pull-tabs use this method! My $3500.00 Phonak V90's have pull-tabs attached exactly the way described by Randall.