User’s instructionsThe Bravo Series

B2-CICCompletely-in-canal

and Mini Canal

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Contents

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Getting to know the instrument . . . . . . . . . . 4

Placing the battery in the battery drawer . . 6

Recommended battery type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Turning the hearing aid on and off . . . . . . . . 9

Beginning to use the hearing aid. . . . . . . . . 10

Inserting the hearing aid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Removing the hearing aid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Automatic adjustment of loudness . . . . . . . 14

Keeping the hearing aid clean . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Important!. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

When not in use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Caring for your hearing aid . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

There is only one way. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Troubleshooting guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Introduction

Your Widex Bravo hearing aid is a very intricate,high precision electronic unit. It has been care-fully designed to withstand years of wear, underthe varying conditions the typical user findsthemselves in each day. However, your hearingaid may be damaged if exposed to extreme condi-tions, severe blows, or general neglect.

To get full satisfaction from the quality and theperformance we have built into your new Widexhearing aid, please handle it with care, and readand follow the instructions carefully.

At the back of this manual you will find a trouble-shooting guide, which will help you in situationswhere your hearing aid does not perform accord-ing to your expectations.

We hope you will be pleased with your new Widexhearing aid!

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Getting to know theinstrument

On the drawing (p. 5) you will find the most im-portant features and functions of the hearing aid.

A. Microphone opening

B. Battery drawer

C. Sound outlet

D. Nail grip on the battery drawer

E. removal line(mini canal may not have this feature)

F. Front relief vent opening

G. Rear relief vent opening

The right hearing aid is identifiedby a red dot or a red shell.

The left hearing aid is identifiedby a blue dot or a blue shell.

The first two digits in the serial numberindicate the year of manufacture.

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The following accessories are included with yourhearing aid. Details about their use are providedon page 15.

• battery magnet

• vent cleaning tool

• brush

• soft cloth

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A.

B.

C.

D.

E.G.

F.

Placing the battery in thebattery drawer

Remove the battery sealinglabel and clean the batterycarefully with a soft, drycloth to remove any stickyresidue.

Insert the battery in thespecial round holder builtinto the battery drawer.The battery is placed cor-rectly when the flat sidewith the little hole in themiddle is facing towardsthe open face of the bat-tery drawer. Most batter-ies are marked with asmall plus (+). This plusshould face in the direc-

tion indicated by the small plus (+) printed on thelower part of the round battery holder.

Note: When opening the battery drawer, be care-ful not to force it beyond the upright position (seeillustration).

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If the battery drawer does not close easily, thebattery is incorrectly inserted.

Always place the battery in the actual batterydrawer and not in the open space inside the hear-ing aid.

When changing batteries, hold the hearing aidover a table or change batteries in a carpetedroom to make it easier to find a dropped battery.

Exhausted battery: If you hear four rapidbeep-tones while wearing your hearing aid, it isan indication that you should exchange the bat-tery as soon as possible, as the battery is nearlyexhausted. Once the battery is totally exhausted,the hearing aid will be completely silent.

Note: Never leave an exhausted battery in thehearing aid. Leakage from exhausted batteriesmay damage the hearing aid.

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Recommended battery type

Bravo B2-CIC and Mini Canal use the Zinc Airbattery type 10.

This environmentally friendly type of battery hasabout twice the lifetime of a mercury batterywhen treated correctly. The battery can be storedup to two years, as long as the sealing label is notremoved. Therefore, do not remove the label untiljust before inserting the battery in the hearingaid.

Once inserted, the battery will start functioningafter a few seconds. Operate your hearing aidwith the same battery until it is exhausted.

On occasion, a new battery may be exhausted be-cause it was not sealed properly. If your hearingaid does not work after you have replaced the bat-tery, try inserting a different new battery.

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Turning the hearing aid onand off

The battery drawer is used to switch your CIC orMini Canal hearing aid on and off.

The hearing aid is turned on when a battery is in-serted correctly and the battery drawer is com-pletely closed.

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When the hearing aid is turned on, it will usuallywhistle until it is placed correctly in the ear. Thiswhistling is quite normal, and is caused by anacoustic feedback loop between the hearing aid re-ceiver and the microphone. To turn off the hearingaid, you have to open the battery drawer.

Note: When opening the battery drawer, be care-ful not to force it beyond the upright position.

Please remember to switch the hearing aid offwhen it is not in use for a lengthy period, or to re-move the battery.

Beginning to usethe hearing aid

At the beginning it is important that you do notuse your hearing aid for longer than it is comfor-table. You need time to get used to having the in-strument placed deep in the ear canal. At first, afew hours a day may be enough, then you can in-crease daily use slowly. The goal is of course to usethe hearing aid all day.

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Inserting the hearing aid

Before inserting the hearing aid, you must place abattery in the battery drawer and close the bat-tery drawer.

The hearing aid might begin to whistle and mightcontinue to do so until it is placed correctly in theear canal. The whistling indicates that the hear-ing aid and battery are functioning. If the hearingaid does not whistle, please check that the batteryis correctly inserted, the battery drawer is cor-rectly closed and the battery is fresh.

Hold your hearing aidby the removal line withyour thumb and forefin-ger. The red hearing aidfits in your right ear andthe blue one fits in yourleft ear.

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Slowly guide the hearingaid into your ear canaluntil you feel resistance.Let go of the removalline and use your forefin-ger to gently push thehearing aid into your earuntil it rests comfortablyin your canal.

To ease the final adjust-ments it can be a help topull the outer ear up-wards and backwardswith the opposite handas shown in the drawing.

If the hearing aid still whistles after insertion, itis most probably not correctly placed in the canal.Pull out the hearing aid and try again.

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Removing the hearing aid

Gently pull the removalline with your thumband forefinger.

If it is difficult it mayhelp to try to move thehearing aid from side toside while pulling thecord. It may also help topull the outer ear up-wards and backwardswhile applying a little

pressure around the ear opening with the oppo-site forefinger. This can help to loosen the hearingaid. Then try to remove the hearing aid again.

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Automatic adjustment ofloudness

The Bravo B2-CIC and Mini Canal have no vol-ume control. This is because the computer insidethe hearing aid has been designed to adjust loud-ness automatically in accordance with your soundenvironment.

Several thousand times per second, Bravo mea-sures the surroundings and adjusts loudness ac-cordingly. You do not have to think about adjust-ing the sound volume.

Avoid prolonged use of a hearing aid at uncom-fortably high sound levels – it might damage yourhearing. If the volume in your hearing aid is tooloud or too weak, or you would like any further in-formation, consult the hearing healthcare profes-sional where you received your hearing aid.

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Keeping the hearing aid clean

Due to the placement deep in the ear canal, it isvery important to inspect and clean the hearingaid daily.

Every time you take the hearing aid out, we rec-ommend that you inspect the sound outlet and themicrophone opening in the battery drawer to en-sure that no dirt has gathered here.

With your hearing aid you will find the followingaccessories:

A. Battery magnetB. BrushC. Vent cleaning tool

and a soft cloth.

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A.

B.

C.

Never wash your CIC or Mini Canal hearing aid inwater. Instead, clean your aid daily with a soft clothto keep the outside clean from residue, wax etc.

Please follow these instructions when cleaningyour hearing aid:

If wax has gathered around the sound outletthis should be removed with the cleaning brush. Itis important for the performance of the hearingaid that the sound outlet is never blocked.

Your hearing aid may be equipped with a whiteCeruSTOP™ wax guard mounted in the soundoutlet. The wax guard prevents ear wax fromworking its way into the sound canal and blockingthe passage of sound into your ear. Keeping yourhearing aid free of wax also helps minimize ser-vice and repairs.

If your hearing aid is equipped with the Ceru-STOP™ wax guard, you should also have receiveda special wax guard user’s instructions. Pleaseread these instructions carefully.

Do not insert any sharp or sharp-pointedtools into the sound outlet. This could dam-age the loudspeaker in the hearing aid.

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If the relief vent open-ing is blocked by ear-wax, the sound of yourhearing aid will change.In this case please fol-low the directions be-low:

Insert the vent cleaning tool into the front reliefvent opening as shown in the illustration. Gentlypush the cleaning tool completely through theshell, pushing out any earwax. Make sure thevent is thoroughly clean. If the problem persists,you should see your hearing healthcare profes-sional for service.Important: Never insert the vent cleaning toolinto the rear relief vent opening.

Sometimes wax may gather around the micro-phone opening on the hearing aid front. It isvery important to remove this with the littlebrush. When the battery drawer is open, the mi-crophone opening in the cover can be cleaned fromboth sides.

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Important!

Please be sure to keep your hearing aid and its ac-cessories out of the reach of children, who mayplace them in their mouths.

Keep batteries out of children’s reach and discardused batteries carefully.

Do not change batteries in front of children or letthem see where you keep your supply.

Never put batteries in your mouth for any reasonand never let a child obtain a battery or place it intheir mouth.

In case of ingestion, contact your physician imme-diately and The National Button Battery In-gestion Hotline at: (202) 625-3333.

Widex hearing aids are made of a modern non-al-lergenic material. Still, in rare cases skin irrita-tion can occur. If you notice skin irritation in oraround your ear or ear canal, contact your hearinghealthcare professional.

The use of hearing aids can lead to the formationof earwax plugs in your ear canal, which can tem-porarily reduce your hearing ability. If you sus-pect that a plug has formed in your ear, contactyour ear doctor.

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When not in use

When your hearing aid is not in use, it should beplaced in the small case, which you can easilycarry in a pocket or purse.

Please do not expose your hearing aid to excessiveheat, such as leaving it on a window sill, near a ra-diator or near a car window.

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Caring for your hearing aid

With proper care, your hearing aid will give youyears of reliable service. Here are some things youcan do to prolong the life of your hearing aid:

• Treat your hearing aid as the valuable ob-ject that it is: with care.

• Keep it in its case in a cool, dry locationwhere it cannot be reached by children orpets.

• Never expose it to extreme temperatures orhigh humidity.

• Do not wear your hearing aid duringshort-wave diathermy, x-ray, or similar ra-diation treatments.

• Some types of radiation from, for example,NMR and CT scanners, can damage yourhearing aid. Always remove your hearingaid for these, or similar types of scannings.

• Other types of radiation from, for example,room surveillance equipment, burglar alarms,radio equipment, and cellular telephones,are weaker and will not damage your hear-ing aid, but they can cause noise or distor-tion in your hearing aid.

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• Do not wear your aid in the shower or swim-ming, or when using a hair dryer, hair spray,or other sprays.

• Switch your hearing aid off when it is not inuse. Should you not use it for a day or more,take out the battery to avoid battery leak-age.

• Always insert the battery as described on p.6. If you feel the battery needs to be forcedinto the drawer, check to see if it is upsidedown.

• Widex hearing aids are not certified for usein mines or other areas with explosive gases.

Never try to open or repairthe hearing aid yourself

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There is only one way

Your hearing aid does not restore normal hearing,but it will help you to hear and understand whatother people are saying and to enjoy many othersounds. So don’t give up. The learning process willtake time, but millions of experienced users cantestify that the results are worth the effort.

There are no short cuts by which you can obtainimmediate and full benefit from your hearing aid.Only consistent and determined practice will giveyou the maximum results from your hearing aid.

It takes time getting used to “hearing” again andto having “something” in your ear. Your ear mayeven become a little sore at first, but that will pass.

The sooner you become accustomed to wearingthe hearing aid every day and all day long, thesooner you will succeed. Take the time and effort.Hearing more out of life is worth it!

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Troubleshooting guide

The following pages include some quick advice tofollow if you experience problems. Before contact-ing your hearing healthcare professional, pleasefollow the advice below.

The hearing aid is deadThe instrument is not turned on.Insert a battery in the battery drawer andclose the drawer.

The battery is dead, or the voltage is too low.Insert a new battery. Make sure the battery isplaced correctly. (See p. 6-7)

The battery contacts are dirty.Clean the battery contacts with a cotton swab,being careful not to bend or deform the con-tacts.

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The sound outlet is blocked.Wax is often the cause of a blocked sound out-let. Clean the tip of the hearing aid with theenclosed brush and soft cloth. (See p. 15-16).Do not insert any pointed objects into thesound outlet, as this could damage the hearingaid. If you cannot clean the sound outlet com-pletely, we recommend that you contact yourhearing healthcare professional to have the in-strument cleaned and serviced. If your hearingaid is equipped with the CeruSTOP™ waxguard, exchange the wax guard.

The microphone opening is blocked.Wax may also block the microphone opening.Clean the front of the hearing aid with the en-closed soft cloth and see page 17 for cleaninginstructions. Do not insert pointed objects intothe microphone opening when the batterydrawer is closed, as this could damage the mi-crophone.

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The hearing aid is not powerful enoughThe sound outlet is blocked by wax.Clean the sound outlet as described on p. 15-16.

Your ear canal may be blocked by wax.Contact your physician to have your ear canalcleaned.

Your hearing may have changed.Contact your hearing healthcare professionalto have your hearing and hearing aid fit re-evaluated.

Your hearing aid may be damaged.Contact your hearing healthcare professional.

The hearing aid performs intermittentlyThe battery contacts are dirty.Clean the battery contacts in the open spaceunder the battery drawer (see p. 23).

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The hearing aid whistlesThe hearing aid is not correctly placed in theear canal.Take the hearing aid out and reinsert it. It isimportant that the hearing aid fits snugly inthe ear canal without pressing uncomfortablyanywhere.

Your ear canal is blocked by wax.Contact your physician to have your ear canalcleaned.

The hearing aid shell fit may be too loose.Contact your hearing healthcare professionalto have the physical fit of the hearing aid eval-uated.

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The hearing aid is uncomfortable to wearThe outer ear or ear canal is sore.For first-time users it is important not to wearthe hearing aid for too long at the beginning.The skin in the ear canal is very thin and mayswell a little because of the pressure from thehearing aid. Take 2-3 weeks to get used to thehearing aid. If the soreness continues, pleasecontact your hearing healthcare professionalfor further advice.

The hearing aid shell has a poor physical fitand this can be the reason for irritation in theear canal.Contact your hearing healthcare professionalto have the physical fit of the hearing aid eval-uated.

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