Article
May 2004
The Aspirator Explained
What is it and how does it work?
Sometimes, things can seem fairly straightforward in
principal, but quite confusing in reality. I remember talking to my
employer one time about a problem we were having with an electronic
component. Now, during the conversation, I realized that he assumed I new
quite a bit more about how this component worked than I actually did, and
I felt quite unconfident as the discussion went ahead. I was reluctant to
admit I really didn’t know as much as he thought, especially since he
expected me to. Such seems to be the case for the aspirator in the hearing
industry. What is it? How does it work? I hear this question often, so it
must be time to talk about it.
First of all – is it OK if you don’t know?
I should have stopped my boss and said, ”Wait a minute! I really need an
explanation on this.” I am sure if I did, he would have had more respect
for me than if he knew I was bluffing my way through the conversation. But
then again, maybe not. I guess that’s what keeps us from asking when we
don’t know sometimes.
The Aspirator finally explained
I guess a good place to start would be the official definition:
\As"pi*ra`tor\, n.
An apparatus for passing air or gases through or over certain liquids or
solids, or for exhausting a closed vessel, by means of suction.
The way an aspirator is used in the hearing industry
is to clean ears by extracting cerumen and debris using a vacuum pump. The
pump is usually configured with a collection bottle connected to a tubing
with a suction tool at the end. The suction tool is brought to the ear,
and with the vacuum turned ON wax and debris are sucked through the tubing
and into the collection bottle where it can be discarded later.
It seems pretty simple, but there are a few things
you need to be aware of:
First and most importantly, you need to be familiar with the vacuum
regulator on the pump, which adjusts the amount of suction the unit will
produce. Now, this is going to depend largely on the vacuum capacity and
flow of the pump, but you need to be able to adjust the flow. To check the
adjustment, turn the pump ON and plug the end of the suction tool with
your finger. Note the vacuum gauge reading. With your free hand, adjust
the vacuum regulator to the desired reading. Obviously, you are going to
decrease the amount of vacuum flow the deeper you move into the ear canal.
How much vacuum and flow should you use? Again, this depends largely on
the pump system you are using, but if you are going to be using this deep
in the canal, you need some professional training. If you’re unsure about
how much suction to use, start with a very small flow and work up from
there.
Next, the suction tool can be a bit confusing if
you’ve never used one. There is a small hole in the suction tool handle
that needs to be plugged with a finger, which forces all of the flow
through the suction tool end. To stop the flow, simply lift your finger
from the hole. This allows you to keep the pump running while you control
the vacuum flow. (It would be quite inconvenient to turn the pump ON and
OFF each time you wanted to stop the flow).
Finally, you really need to be connected to a
collection bottle of some kind. Now, most suction systems come with an
in-line filter and in a pinch you could just trap the debris there, but
the filter will fill up rather quickly. The collection bottle can be
cleaned between patients and will be much less expensive in the long run
as you won’t need to replace filters.
Now, when you use a collection bottle you will notice
that it takes a moment to feel the vacuum at the end of the suction tool.
This is because you first need to remove the air from the collection
bottle and tubing before you can achieve flow through the suction tool.
Aren’t you supposed to put water in the collection
bottle?
Again, it depends on how you use your system. If you are using it to
only clean ears, then putting a little water in the collection bottle will
help to trap the debris under light vacuum, and make the bottle easier to
clean later. But, if you are using a powerful system, such as the
VAC-1, as soon as you adjust the regulator
to max vacuum to clean hearing aids you will suck water right through the
pump, and out of the exhaust port. That can be fun for a minute, but it
isn’t very good for the internal compressor.
What about cleaning hearing aids?
If you don’t mind it taking a few moments to achieve max vacuum, then
using a suction pump with aspirator is fine for cleaning hearing aids. You
will want to replace the suction tool with a hand wand or some apparatus
to connect needle tips, and adjust the pump for maximum vacuum. There is
really no need to have two separate systems for cleaning ears and hearing
aids unless your office is so busy you are standing in line to use one.
Is that it?
Well, pretty much. I know I was expecting more when I first heard of
this practice. We had just developed our VAC-1 Professional Suction System
and was approached by one of our distributors to configure it with an
Aspirator Option - VAC-1A. I hadn’t a clue
what that meant - it sounded kind of scary. But once we did a little
research we found it was rather easy, and actually very non-technical.
Now you don’t need
to feel unconfident about this subject anymore
About the Author
Chris Perkins is the owner of Lightning Enterprises, and facilitates
the Lightning Enterprises newsletter. He has worked in the hearing aid
industry since 1991 in hearing aid manufacturing and product development,
as well as equipment and process consulting. |
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