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Replacement hearing aid, music, earmolds etc

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Hi,

First time poster based in the UK :slight_smile: Sorry for the long post, but I have a lot of questions!

I currently use Signia pure charge & go (2AX) ( with open domes). It is a basic model but I’m looking to replace them with something better (the rechargeable battery in the left aid is not lasting for more than 6 hours).

I attached my from a few years ago (I don’t have the more recent one available but I was told the loss was similar).

When visiting the audiologist, I mentioned that my main concerns were:

  • hard to pick up what people say in noisy environments (e.g, pub, coffee shop) even with the signia aids
  • the open domes I have are not a perfect fit - I need to push them back into my ear a few times a day (the wire connecting to the RIC may be slightly short in one ear too)
  • sound quality of listening to music (through speakers, not streaming) is not very pleasing (but still better than nothing)

I particularly mentioned that I want to improve my enjoyment of music (I have a decent setup for vinyl) and mentioned that I’d read that Widex is often preferred by musicians.

The audiologist did spend 1hr30 with me so I’d like feedback on his recommendations:

  • He suggested custom earmolds would be best for me (he was quite determined about this)
  • He thought Widex “were not a good manufacturer”
  • The models suggested were “Phonak Virto Infinio R - I90 ()’ and ‘Starkey Omega -24R (ITE)’

I’ll be honest, the suggestion for earmolds was unexpected for my loss. What do you make of it when you see my audiogram?

I think there is always a trade-off. I completely accept that custom earmolds will allow me to get the full benefit of the HA for speech. If using open domes, we are paying a premium price for the aid but much of the sound we hear is whatever passes through the open domes rather then from the HA itself. I have now warmed up to the idea of using a custom fit earmold but I do slightly dislike that they are rather visible.

The second comment from the Audiologist regarding Widex seemed a little unprofessional and gave me some concern about bias.

As for the suggested HA models, they are top-line recent models. For ITE aids, the phonak virto infinio does look good visually - it is smaller than many other ITE models I’ve seen. I just checked the datasheet, and noticed the frequency range is only rated up to 7,000 hz. This seems quite unsuited to music enjoyment and I feel the audiologist didn’t really take my comments on music into account. What do you think?

If anyone has experience of that HA model then I am interested to read your views on it. I know that Phonak has a “my music” program so they can probably be set up to give a decent sound despite the limited frequency range?

Final comment: I also have Apple Airpod Pro 3 programmed to my loss and they are “OK” for listening to music via speakers (better than the Signia aids). I’m hoping I can find something that is similar or even better with an HA. I don’t like the occlusion effect when wearing the airpods but I suppose I could get used to it.

Thanks!!

audiogram

8 people in this conversation9 min readJump to latest

Welcome to the forum, yeah you have a bit to consider,but most you already know! A custom tip mould with be fine with a decent sized vent so no occlusion issues there, but this would be moot point because all the types are custom molds anyway! So if you don’t mind you could do better with models, as for Widex no being a good company, maybe your Audiologist ment to deal with and not products, nothing wrong with Widex and they do get good reviews for music with the “zero delay” features, personally I’d try Costco, save a few thousand quid alone, nothing wrong with a second opinion, remember they only sell premium not entry models.

I used to listen to music a lot, but I stopped when I got my 1st 15 years ago. Each new generation of aids has gotten better, but the Jabra EP10s I got 3 years ago still aren’t good enough, and I think timing is the issue (of course, I’m an old Linn/Naim user). I’m hoping the next gen will be do the trick.

I’ve been a Costco customer, but the Widex aids interest me. I’m starting my search for new aids now, and it’s a hassle to find a Widex seller, but I may overcome my laziness and the extra cost to try them out.

I think everybody has trouble hearing in noise. The newest aids claim to be revelatory, but HA marketing is unbelievable. If I can get better HIN without better music, I’ll get new aids.

My doesn’t look that much different from yours. My audiologist fixed me up with molds that fit deep in my ears; the molds are formed around the receiver. That gave me better sound than any other tip - open, power, tulip, or the molds that allow the receiver to be removed from the mold. Each mold has a projection that fit into the concha; they don’t slip much, but they do slip a little. (Sort of like: /uploads/original/e0b91893fcc09dd1563dfde87c6eb1e1b1e55538.jpeg)

Are you near a Costco? In the US, some Costcos sell a Starkey HA under a different brand name.

Thanks for the replies!

Re Widex: I agree it is hard to find a Widex seller. I’m in Scotland and the only Widex sellers seem to be a few small independents (some with very little online presence, so hard to judge if they are any good). I do worry that if we opt for a smaller independent that we’d be stuck if they ever go out of business or just having a week off. For now I may give up on Widex and look at the other brands.

CostCo in the UK requires that we hold certain kinds of job (civil servant, solicitor, etc). I am not working in a field that is on “the list” so technically can’t apply for membership. There is a costco not so far away though.

I am now starting to consider Specsavers, Boots, etc (UK high street). They sell premium aids more cheaply than the smaller independents (e.g. I was quoted 4500 pounds for recent phonaks at an independent that seem to be 3000 at Specsavers). I am open to doing programming on them if it’s possible.

For music: I can enjoy music with good earphones + graphic equalizer. However, I really want to get closer to that experience when listening through a decent set of speakers speakers + .

Edited
@gav said:

CostCo in the UK requires that we hold certain kinds of job (civil servant, solicitor, etc). I am not working in a field that is on “the list” so technically can’t apply for membership. There is a costco not so far away though

I’ve never heard of someone being unable to get a Costco membership because of their job, and that’s definitely not the case in the US. Can anyone from the UK confirm?

Edited

Costco used to have a similar policy in the US too. It’s not clear how strict they are in the UK. As Costco is convenient for OP could be worth a try as the worst case is they won’t allow a membership. If that happens you can become a Costco member in a country without such a restriction and use your membership in the UK. You also may be able to join as a business member. https://www.reddit.com/r/AskUK/comments/1mqc75r/why_does_costco_limit_its_membership_to_certain/2

I too wasn’t aware of this, it’s actually one of most ridiculous things I’ve heard for a long time, obviously it’s not “enforced” stick with Costco or independent if you want to do , Costco on price alone.

have only heard good things about the phonak. surprised that you’re only being offered with your hearing. you might get some occlusion with them unless they’re a good deep fit.

no hearing aid can amplify very much above 7 kHz due to the physical properties of the recievers.

maybe it’s different where you are, there’s several independents in london selling widex. my friend got some widex from a place in Leamington Spa but he lives in Coventry.

Virto I-R Technical Data sheet says M/SP receiver has a frequency range up to 7kHz, P up to 6.7kHz, UP up to 5.2kHz. The graphs taper off somewhere toward 10kHz but that is beyond the upper end of the rated frequency range.

Just because you can adjust it in Target does not mean the receiver can handle that frequency range.

I shared the link that has the specs that show up to 10K, not just the Target diagram

Why would Target let me adjust the gains for those frequencies if the receiver can’t handle them? That just doesn’t make any sense to me.

Attached is the spec sheet I shared previously.
Am I reading the spec sheet incorrectly?

ph-datasheet-virto-i-r-210x297-en (1).pdf (842.6 KB)

Thanks for the interesting discussion.

I’m in Scotland - there are a few Widex places dotted around but not so close to me (also they are small independents from what I can see so more $$ needed).

Looking at the datasheets doesn’t really tell us if the hearing aid is “good” but for music I expected we’d need as wide a frequency response + decent gain as possible. It does indeed seem that the gain tails off quickly but varies with model (the audeo infinio may be better for music listening).

Incidentally, I noticed that Signia 7IX claims a 12khz bandwidth in their music modes. It is tempting for me to give them a try (the reviews of the seem positive but not quite at the same level as the latest phonaks).

I’m in the UK and started last year with Phonak from Boots. They were fine as but lousy for music - I’m an (amateur) organist. Following advice here and I changed to Widex. I find them MUCH better for music. Not perfect but a definite improvement. I got them from Auzen - much cheaper and much better service than Boots.

My hearing is worse than yours, but the Phonak Spheric system has been a game changer for me. This forum has seen virtually uniform praise for the system. The downside is that it doesn’t come cheap. But I can personally recommend their performance in an environment with loud background noise- the biggest challenge for all of us.

Music is a tough one. I simply cannot process via my ears complex music anymore (my taste is classical, particularly orchestral music). It has been hugely frustrating and depressing, and I have decided to close the book on music rather than endure the frustration. However, others persevere and believe that the mind adapts eventually to a different sound world. Maybe I just don’t have the patience!

Regarding earmolds, I’d go for a ‘soft’ mold for as long as you can. I now have a custom made hard mold.

Losing your hearing is expensive to resolve in the UK. The NHS did little for me, and in the end a private audiologist took time to understand the issues and work with me on solutions. It’s not the cheapest solution, but it seemed a worthwhile investment for the resulting quality of life.

Good luck finding the best solution. Only you can decide what works best for you, but it is wise to bounce ideas around on a forum like this. In the end I think there are trade offs that we make; for me the focus has to be on speech comprehension.

I recently came across ‘Grand Rounds by ReSound: Better Hearing Aid Outcomes for Musicians’ on audiologyonline.com2’s website. It’s from Resound, but I expect the recommended settings can be translated to other manufacturers’ products. You’ll have to sign up for a free account to actually see the presentation, and a little learning is a dangerous thing, but it’s worth a look, IMO.

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