EasyGuard Domes™ – A Game-changer in Hearing Care

An overview of EasyGuard domes, a new innovation in the world of hearing aid acoustic coupling, designed with a sealed, sound-transmitting membrane to eliminate ear wax clogging hearing aid wax filters.

AudiologyOnline: Game changer? That’s quite a bold statement. What do you mean?

Erika Porter, AuD: Think about hearing aid patients of all ages. If I were to ask you what is the most common reason that devices stop working, bringing them into the clinic for you to check, what would you say? 

AudiologyOnline: Earwax, for sure.

Erika Porter, AuD: Exactly! EasyGuard domes are designed with a sealed, sound-transmitting membrane to eliminate ear wax getting into and clogging the wax filters (Figure 1). This is an entirely new innovation in the world of hearing aid acoustic coupling. 

Figure 1. EasyGuard cross section.

AudiologyOnline: Wait a second! How can something be sealed and sound-transmitting?

Erika Porter, AuD: The dome material is strong, yet flexible, so we can make “fins” on the end thin enough to transmit sound. And we’ve tested it to confirm acoustic performance. We analyzed the output with a 2CC coupler comparing EasyGuard to the previous SDS 4.0 vented dome. You can see from Figure 2 that EasyGuard performs within the typical range of the existing SDS domes, showing it maintains acoustical performance. 

Figure 2. Acoustic performance of SDS 4.0 vented dome at EasyGuard vented dome.

AudiologyOnline: Okay, that’s in a pristine lab environment. What about out in the real world when wax gets on them?

Erika Porter, AuD: I’m so glad you asked. I want to share my experience when we put it to the test during training, then I’ll share some insights from our clinical trials.

When we were being trained on this, we did an activity where we took a hearing aid with a standard dome and dipped it into mustard (our simulation for ear wax) to see how many times it took for the aid to stop working—for me it was once. Then we repeated the exercise with EasyGuard—and mine was still working after 10+ dips. We were then instructed to get the aids working again. With the first aid I had to remove the old dome, change the filter, and replace the dome. That was a non-issue with EasyGuard! I can’t wait for patients to see how easy this is!

AudiologyOnline: I’ll never think of mustard the same, again. You mentioned clinical trials?

Erika Porter, AuD: Yes, we completed a 4-month trial with 11 providers who supported 267 patients to verify if EasyGuard significantly reduced the detrimental effect of wax on hearing performance. 100% of the providers agreed that providing their patients with EasyGuard:

• Reduced the possibility of the receivers being clogged with wax
• Made it easier for their patients to care for their hearing aids – specifically from a wax perspective
• Reduced the need for repairs or servicing due to wax
• Improved their patient’s overall satisfaction.

We then completed a 4-month home trial with patients who provided subjective feedback on comfort, satisfaction, likelihood of recommendation, and preference for dome type after wearing the EasyGuard dome. Eighty-nine percent of participants indicated they preferred the EasyGuard dome over their own/traditional dome or had no preference.¹ And 90% of the participants indicated comfort levels matching or exceeding their traditional dome.¹ 

AudiologyOnline: That’s impressive, but these are probably patients who take exemplary care of their aids. 

Erika Porter, AuD: Well, they all received the standard cleaning instructions—simply wipe it with a soft cloth, don’t use a brush or anything harsh, no need to remove the dome—but being typical patients, some followed instructions better than others. One of my favorite things about this trial is that we have pictures of their domes during the monthly visits. Figure 3 shows a picture of the outside of a dome from the final 4-month visit—and the completely clean Cerustop that was under it. And the patient was hearing fine!

Figure 3. Image of dome after 4-month home trial and receiver with the dome removed.

AudiologyOnline: Okay, now you’re getting me excited! To bring it all together, how do you see EasyGuard making a difference to patients and providers?

Erika Porter, AuD: To me, this is the most exciting part! The “why” of our innovation. Designed to reduce service appointments by up to 38%, we expect the use of EasyGuard to free up valuable clinic time for providers. 

And when it comes to patients, we know 3 out of 10 patients struggle with wax guard and dome changes.2 These are the patients I’m most excited for, because with EasyGuard they don’t have to worry about changing wax filters. They simply wipe off their domes and they are good to go. Think about the regained sense of independence this could give to our patients! 

EasyGuard is available with Infinio Ultra orders and through the Phonak Store. It truly provides easier maintenance, for everyone. Phonak does the work so you don’t have to! 

References
¹ Sanchez, C. et Adler M. (2025). EasyGuard domes were preferred over traditional domes after a 4-month home trial with this new patented technology. Phonak Field Study News. Retrieved from https://www.phonak.com/evidence
² Bennett, R. J. et al. (2020). Investigating the prevalence and impact of device-related problems associated with hearing aid use. Int. J. Audiol., 59(8), 615–623.