Spheric Mode - Restaurant Review

@Hoofie_Puppet said:

I guess this isn’t a quirk very nice…now you can actually access MyPhonak during calls to change the ambient background noise during actual calls!

This is fantastic! I would love to have this feature in my aids!

Thanks, am learning so much from this forum.

I really appreciate the grace people on this forum give my wild predictive text typos. Sometimes I’m trying to respond on my mobile during my lunch and it comes out pretty garbled. Glad the gist got through pre-edit.

I would think type of loss and dome/mold could also have a big impact on Sphere’s effectiveness. I would think a relatively flat moderate to moderately severe loss with a pretty closed fitting would be ideal. I would also guess that a loss with good low frequencies and an open fit is going to challenge any technology.

It does not dampen the HA’s sound … just sound coming from the environment.
This is just my experience … I have several soft silicone and also several acrylic.
I am a DIY’er and always do a In-situ when changing coupling. I seem to like the acrylic with just a pressure vent or no vent the best.
I think someone with worse low frequency loss, would do better with silicone in a noise environment.
Just my thoughts … from my limited experience.

I wait for the titanium cShell with a pressure vent for its robustness, but mainly because titanium allows for thinner cShell walls, which allows the P receiver to be placed deeper in the ear canal, thus theoretically giving more ‘free’ gain, clarity, and quality compared to shallower ones.

How close will that put the receiver to your eardrum, will that get it to the 4mm. target ?
I think that is the ideal placement ???

Oh absolutely. Give me a patient with a 55dB flat loss and giant ear canals any day.

It’s hard to measure without taking the risk of perforating the eardrum. However, the P receiver is much larger than the M, and with domes, they have limited possibilities to fit their position along the ear canal, especially in the narrower part closer to the eardrum.

See that pic:

Source:

Help me understand cshell vs mold vs domes, please

It’s almost the Phonak encyclopedia about acoustic coupling…

@Bimodal_user said:

As always, there is rocker switch button, for volume adjustments and program changing.

You can swith easily to manual Spheric program. However, I found that after lowering the threshold of activation, Spheric mode in AutoSense works good.

Thanks for confirming that the switch to spheric mode can be automatic. My audi had forgotten how to do it on Saturday so have written again to ask her to look it up and do it. Presume trial and error as to how much?

Please look at my Audiogram. Very similar to yours.

I got domes about a month ago.

Mine are Phonak slim tip. It was so easy! They are silicone. I have good waxguards. I’m clumsy. I have trouble changing them

They sound better. They feel so much better. I was stubborn as …. I should have changed long ago.
Dave

Have experienced that, being told to,speak up-feeling as though you are shouting

Jordan,
Your question raises an interesting point and I’m hoping an audiologist will jump in with a clear explanation. Putting aside the people that should really have molds and don’t get the benefit of the spheres that they should because of that. How does an audiologist make sure that the the Spheric program is working as it should be? I understand that real ear testing will make sure that your aids are delivering sound at your prescriptive level. My question is how do they measure the absence of sound that anyone getting a Sphere is hoping to experience? I recall being wowed by the Spheric mold when I was first fitted in the office. I then have had to deal with some malfunctions. While I’m sure the Spheres are helping me much more than the Marvel’s they replaced I still struggle with wondering how to know when I feel like they are not delivering if it is my own fluctuating hearing or if my aids are not working correctly.

After switching to molds I wished I had them from the start. Aside from the sound improvement I was constantly pushing the domes back in and the aids were much more easily knocked out. I have not had to search for an aid since getting molds. As far as getting the right mold I think that starts with having an experienced audiologist you can trust to help guide you. I know every time I change aids or have a large adjustment it takes me a few weeks to “forget” the sound of my own voice and settle into the new normal. Your hyperacusis may present unique challenges. Good luck!