Individually shaped earmolds are already commercially available, but do not take into account the varying tissue hardness in the ear canal. In a joint project on multi-material printing, the Laser Zentrum Hannover e.V. works on hearing aids with customized hardness zones.

Besides its individual geometry, the ear canal has hard and soft tissue regions. To improve the wearing comfort of mold fittings for hearing aids, so-called earmolds, the hardness of the material must be locally adjustable.

This article was published in the online magazine phi – Produktionstechnik Hannover. Please click here to read the full article at the phi website.