Copy of How to Use EarJellies
The Basic How-To Steps to Ensure Comfort and the Perfect Seal
EarJellies are designed to seal your ear canals perfectly and with minimal pressure. To accomplish that task, their bulbs need to be rolled out into longer, narrower shapes and inserted into your ear canals. Once inside those canals, they will slowly return toward their bulb shapes until they begin pressing gently against the sides of the canals and create perfect seals. They will maintain those seals comfortably for as long as you keep them in your ears. Once you remove them, the EarJellies will gradually return toward their original shapes. Below are descriptions for how to prepare and insert EarJellies into your ear properly. We also have video tutorials, but feel free to give us a call for any further questions or assistance you may have during your experience.
How to Prepare EarJellies for Your Ear:
Like anything made of MemorySil®, EarJellies have a dual shape-memory and are designed with a long-term bulb-on-a-base shape-memory but can also learn new shapes temporarily. To prepare them for your ears, you need to teach their bulbs to be long and thin. You can do that by rolling the bulbs between your thumb and forefinger, gradually transforming them into cylinders that are approximately 1 inch (2.5 cm) long.
It may take 20 seconds or more to teach EarJellies this long, thin shape in order for them to remember it. If they are new or have been in dry air for a while, it may even seem like it will never happen. Be patient; if the EarJellies feel very firm when you start rolling the bulb out, that's their shape memory trying to keep them in the bulb-on-base shape. They will gradually adapt to the new cylinder-on-base shape and remember it for a while.
How to Insert EarJellies in Your Ear Canals:
Once the EarJellies bulbs have become long, thin cylinders, you need to slide those cylinders into your ear canals. Typically, your ear canal will be a little difficult to reach while your ear is in its normal shape. If you pull up on the top of your ear, however, it is likely that your ear canal will be exposed and it will become possible to slide them into place. It may take a few tries to learn this process as you'll need to figure out what angle to aim the cylinder so that it slides in easily. The right angle will probably be roughly horizontal, but you may have to try different angles to accomplish the perfect placement.
Once the rolled-out EarJellies enters your ear canal, slide it all the way in until the EarJellies' base is flat against the bowl that surrounds the entrance to your ear canal. Gently press that base against the bowl with your finger and hold the EarJellies in place until its rolled-out bulb has recovered its bulb shape enough to touch the sides of your ear canal and hold itself in place. Carefully let go of the EarJellies. Its bulb should remain in your ear canal, providing a perfect seal, while its base should stay in contact with the bowl around the ear canal's entrance. After that, you're good to go!
Possible Problems and How to Solve Them:
If the rolled-out cylinder squashes into a short, wide blob every time you try to insert the EarJellies, three things are possible:
- The EarJellies cylinder may be returning to its bulb-on-base shape before you manage to get it in your ear canal.
- You are missing your ear canal.
- You are using EarJellies that are too large for your ear canals.
For Problem 1: You should roll the EarJellies out and keep them in the cylinder-on-base shape for 10 or 20 seconds, so that they learn the new shape. Then quickly slide them into your ear canal. When new or in dry air, EarJellies remember new shapes for many seconds and should allow you plenty of time to slide them into your ear canals. With repeated use, exposure to earwax, and in humid air, their shape memory fades faster and you have less time to get them into your ear canals.
For Problem 2: You'll need to learn how to expose your ear canal and how to aim the rolled-out EarJellies so that it slides into that ear canal properly. Pulling on your ear with the opposite arm should allow direct access to your ear canal, but different people will need to pull their ears in somewhat different directions. Start by pulling upward on the top of your ear, using your opposite arm. If that doesn't give you direct access, then try pulling on different parts of your ear and in different directions.
Once you are correctly exposing your ear canal, you'll then need to learn how to aim the rolled-out EarJellies. You should be able to feel the tip of the rolled-out EarJellies as it touches your ear. If you feel it touching the bowl that surrounds the entrance to your ear canal, move it slightly and try it again. Eventually, you should feel it touching the entrance of your ear canal and then you can aim it further so that it actually enters the ear canal.
For Problem 3: You'll need to try the smaller size of EarJellies. The size of your ear canals is unpredictable so there is no easy way to know in advance which size EarJellies will fit your ear perfectly. A professional who deals with ears and hearing can certainly help. Otherwise, you do best to try an EarJellies variety pack, which includes Small, Medium, and Large, to determine which size fits and seals best. Medium is the most likely size, but there are many people who need either Small or Large. In rare cases, none of the standard sizes work. If there is sufficient demand for Extra Small or Extra Large, we can accommodate and work on making them for you.
To place an order, visit “Choosing the Right EarJellies” page, or for more information regarding this amazing product, give us a call at 434-406-2563 or email customerservice@memorysil.com today!