New Lab Enables Efficient 3D Printing for Hearing-Aid Earmolds

The Callier Center for Communication Disorders at The University of Texas at Dallas recently celebrated the opening of its clinical innovation lab on the Richardson campus and the center's groundbreaking use of 3D-printing technology for creating custom earmolds for pediatric hearing aids.

The Callier Center's use of 3D printing for on-site earmold creation greatly reduces the time required for fitting a patient's device. The earmold channels sound from the hearing aid to the eardrum. It must be custom-made to fit each person's ear canal, and fast-growing young children generally need multiple sets of earmolds in their first five years.

Dr. Andrea Gohmert, director of audiology clinical operations at Callier and clinical associate professor of speech, language, and hearing in the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, said that Callier has printed more than 1,200 earmolds in-house for more than 800 patients since the effort began in August 2022. Clinicians have refined the production process to take less than six hours; the traditional process of ordering earmolds takes two to three weeks. Timely and consistent access to sound is important for young children who are deaf or hard of hearing. The increased efficiency means that infants and children can more rapidly receive necessary treatment.

"As this innovation became a standard of care at the Callier Center, we identified that the 3D-printing lab needed a location and research space of its own," Gohmert said. "We recognize this could also be the location for further Callier clinical innovation for the future."

The lab was made possible by generous donations from the community. At the May 29 ribbon-cutting, Angela Shoup BS'89, MS'92, PhD'94, the Ludwig A. Michael MD Callier Center Executive Director, acknowledged the donor support.

"Callier is committed to raising the standard of patient care through designing innovative solutions to improve health care efficacy and efficiency," Shoup said. "With the help of generous donors, the newly opened Callier Clinical Innovation Lab is changing how earmolds for hearing devices are produced, providing training workshops for audiologists and clinics, collaborating with other departments at UT Dallas, and so much more. This is one example of the type of clinical innovation made possible through community support of the clinical innovation lab."

Callier is pioneering the manufacture of earmolds on-site using 3D printing among audiology clinics in the U.S. Callier leaders have shared these advances with audiologists and clinics around the country so that patients nationwide can benefit from this process in their own clinics.

The center recently hosted a first-of-its-kind 3D-printing workshop. Over 20 attendees from six states were trained in logistics, otoscopy options, impression scanning, design and post-print finishing procedures of the earmold equipment in the innovation lab. The workshop was designed so that upon completion, participants were equipped to advocate for and implement in-house earmold labs at their own facilities.