Patent ID: 7913696

Claim:
A self-fitting device for location in an ear canal, comprising: a body having a body ear end, an opposite body user end, and a shaft extending from the ear end to the user end; a resilient bladder joined with the body ear end and a chamber defined inside the resilient bladder where the chamber is in communication with the shaft; an elongate plunger located in the shaft, the elongate plunger having a plunger user end extending out of the shaft and away from the body ear end and an opposite plunger ear end in communication with the chamber; the resilient bladder is deformable between an at-rest position and an in-ear position, such that the resilient bladder has a first cross-sectional area in the at-rest position and a second cross-sectional area in the in-ear position, wherein the first cross-sectional area is greater than the second cross-sectional area; and, the elongate plunger actuates between the at-rest position and an insertion position to assist the resilient bladder to be deformed into the in-ear position and wherein the plunger actuates in the insertion position without extending a front end portion of the bladder forward of a position of the front end portion when the bladder is in the at-rest position.