My Hearing Aids 2.0 Journey

I’ve always wondered (and I haven’t been able to find a good answer): Why do we see that big dip at 4K in the feedback curve? What’s special about that frequency?

@OcramSagev said:

Why do we see that big dip at 4K in the feedback curve? What’s special about that frequency?

I get than if I programme with domes, also to some extent, slimtips. Good question

So I’ve been using my new Oticon Intent 1 hearing aids for 10 days (picked them up on October 15). Here are my initial notes (things I plan to discuss with my audiologist at the followup).

• Hearing aids are too hot. I use them at -1 or -2 to avoid lots of clicking and clacking and hissing. Is this expected? I didn’t have this problem with my More 1s. My keyboard is very clacky now. Have to turn them down every morning.
• The tulip domes were annoying. They didn’t seem to stay in place (maybe wire is too short?), and they itch. I switched to the OpenBass.domes from my old aids, and they are much more comfortable, and I fidget with them less. Why tulip? What amd I missing? Is OpenBass okay?
• Is the wire the right length? It seems shorter than my previous aids which makes it seem to pull the receiver out of the ear. It never feels fully seated.
• Much more feedback than More 1s. Is that because they’re louder? This happened even with the tulip domes.
• Streaming is much louder than with previous aids. I have to turn my phone down. Is there a way to lower that volume?
• Wind noise seems to magically vansih.

1.- New HAs often sound loud at the beginning. Try using them at the recommended volume (0). Your brain will adapt to the sound over time.
2.- Oticon doesn’t manufacture tulips, so the fitter likely fitted you with a different brand. I’ve tried both, and I prefer the OpenBass. . You can try Miracell for the itch. If you’re interested in switching to OpenBass, please inform your audiologist. They’ll need to re-conduct the feedback test and may make other adjustments.
3.- No way to know if the wire is too long/short without seeing it.
4.- If you have feedback, it could be the reason why the fitter chose tulips instead of openBass domes. If you’re receiving feedback, you might need to switch to Oticon Bass domes (or use a larger dome). Please consult with your audiologist.
5.- You should be able to control the streaming volume from your phone and/or app.

@OcramSagev said:

3.- No way to know if the wire is too long/short without seeing it.

Here are some comparison photos of the old More 2 and the new Intent 1. It looks like the wire on the new aids is about 0.2 inches shorter, top to bottom. I remember when I got the More 2s that my old audiologist used a measuring tool to select the wire length. I don’t recall my new audiologist doing this.

In addition.to the wire being shorter, it also seems like the angle at which the wire enters the receiver is sharper, maybe 45° on the the Intent 1s vs maybe 5° on the older More 2s. This difference makes it harder to insert the receivers, I think.

Definitely will discuss this, too.

@OcramSagev said:

4.- If you have feedback, it could be the reason why the fitter chose tulips instead of openBass domes. If you’re receiving feedback, you might need to switch to Oticon Bass domes (or use a larger dome). Please consult with your audiologist.

The domes definitely make a difference. There is less feedback with the tulip domes than with the OpenBass domes, which makes sense because the OpenBass domes let more sound out to be picked up by the microphones. If I switch to the OpenBass domes, I’ll certainly have the feedback calibration run for those domes.

@OcramSagev said:

5.- You should be able to control the streaming volume from your phone and/or app.

Yes. There are multiple volume controls. I guess my point here is that for the same perceived volume at my ear, I need to turn down the volume control on my phone much more than with my previous aids, and this limits the adjustability. I have only a narrow range at the bottom of the volume control where I can comfortably listen to music with my new aids, and the discrete steps mean that one step may be too quiet, while the next step may be too loud.

With my old aids, I had to turn the volume control up to get the same volume at my ears, which meant I was using more of the volume control range, and there more more discrete steps before it became too loud. Since there were more steps, it was easier to find a volume level that was just right, and I didn’t expiernce the Goldilocks Effect with the volume control.

@OcramSagev said:

I’ve always wondered (and I haven’t been able to find a good answer): Why do we see that big dip at 4K in the feedback curve? What’s special about that frequency?

Perhaps ear canal resonance, which could make additional amplification of near 4 kHz sound. Just theorizing…

@bpeckham said:

Is the wire the right length? It seems shorter than my previous aids which makes it seem to pull the receiver out of the ear. It never feels fully seated.

Have you tried to push receivers deeper?

@bpeckham said:

In addition.to the wire being shorter, it also seems like the angle at which the wire enters the receiver is sharper, maybe 45° on the the Intent 1s vs maybe 5° on the older More 2s. This difference makes it harder to insert the receivers, I think.

This new angle provises more discrete wire course, closer to the skin. Shorter wire makes directionality more effective if there is no skin sores or painful discomfort.

Quick update.

Had an appointment November 12th. The HIS reduced the gain from -3 to -6 to address my complaint about the aids being “too hot”. This turned out to be a bad idea, as my tinnitus returned and the hearing aids now felt unbalanced. Also, I was missing some words.

So I set up another visit on November 14th. At this one the HIS adjusted the gain from -6 to -4 and adjusted the balance. I really appreciate the HIS listening to my concerns and adjusting. Things seem pretty well adjusted…for now. I’m still below my target.

Other status: My HIS is still running Genie 2 2025.1, so he did not update the hearing aids from 1.2.1 to 1.3.0. Note, I was able to update my copy of Genie 2 to 2025.2, but I haven’t yet decided if I want to self-update to 1.3.0.

My HIS installed longer wires, which was one of my complaints. This seems to have resolved that complaint.

My HIS also switched me from tulip domes to OpenBass domes. This addressed one of my complaints, but I’m still not sure if it’s a good change. So far it seems okay, but did the HIS just do this to placate me?

Minor notes: Another complaint I had as that streaming was too loud. The HIS turned this down, and it seems good now.

I’ll try this configuration for awhile to see how it goes.

Well, the busy holiday season is behind us, but during that time one event in particular stands out in my mind. I went to dinner in a crowded restaurant with a raucous party of 14 (confession: it was my family).

This is really the first time I put my still relatively new Oticon Intent 1 aids to the test in such an environment, and I was pleasantly surprised. Maybe these aids are fitted better, or maybe they perform better, but I found myself being able to isolate the conversation I was participating in and ignore other, equally loud conversations around me.

With my previous Oticon More 2 aids, I’d struggled in situations like this in the past.

Anyway, I just wanted to share my good experience. YMMV.