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Time to call it a day?

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Regarding some of your issues, no doubt several of us have been there. I recently failed the speech in noise test - severe hearing loss.I have worn several brands, and still have to accept they are still crutches - not a replacement for normal hearing.. Regarding audiologists taking you for a ride - I have felt that more than once, and have found some to be clueless. A license dos not automatically make yuh an expert! I have a question for them that they refuse to answer: Yuh go in for a hearing test, get the results and buy the critters. I have repeatedly asked why the audiologist does not do a follow-up test with me wearing the new aids to see if the aids perform as expected. Before and after. Simple, but the audiologist programs them based on results from his/her tests, based on particular test equipment - not likely the same characteristics or hearing conditions of what you are going to be prescribed to wear home. Past experience has also been dismal, with the audiologist asking me “how do they sound” while still in the sound-proof room - not the real world. I have had to go home, check programming, adjust to what I felt best for my hearing, and on occasion even turn on the nose reduction feature before going to a high noise restaurant. Choose your audiologist wisely!. . .

Dear Judi_L,

I have had to send my Phonaks back for replacement due to a bluetooth fault and went back to my SIgnia’s. I found them way too bright and even after adjusting the balance to minimum high frequencies they were still very shrill compared to my Sphere’s. My audiologist is very helpful and because I spent my life in the audio industry, hence my hearing loss, he works with me to not just take the standard but my perception of the response. Unfortunately, the adjustments available are fairly limited so if you have a problem at a narrow band the standard adjustments may need a little “tinkering”. I can’t wait to get my Spheres back. I hope this helps.

Judi_L I have to agree with MidairView. Quite often audiologists leave the 2 kHz area alone as it is important for speech. But many times having that reduced will aleve the sharpness and you will still get the clarity needed. We are all different and so this is often the first place I adjust when this is the complaint. See your audiologist and tell them you want them reduce the 2 kHz area. It usually takes very little reduction. NOTE: I see this most often when REAL EAR is not done and this area is a canal resonance response. Look forward to hearing what happens

Edited

Have two sets of ’s, both Phonak Audeo/Lumity; one L30 and one L90. Have two sets of molds and two sets of domes. All interchangeable and I use both sets with domes and/or molds periodically. I don’t hear much difference between molds and domes, but vents are necessary for me as I experience popping of the ears.

Since my first experience with HA’s two or so years ago I decided that I needed to do my own programming; big techie here. The main issue for me initially was that my other half was not always being helpful and I hoped that HA’s would solve some of that; more on that in a moment.

DIY was quite an experience, but while helpful in getting to the bottom of the issue, it was not a total cure. Mind you that metallic sound you experience was particularly bothersome for me and it only added to the unintelligible words that seemed to becoming a way of life… :0(

After thinking that I would sell the L90’s, since they didn’t prove to be a magic cure, I reprogrammed them to factory defaults and they sat on my desk looking for a new home. Fast forward a couple of months and my L30’s needed to be serviced so I started using the L90’s with open, and then and the factory default programming. To my surprise, they seem better than any of the programs I obtained with the DIY setup. And my wife’s voice also now seems more natural, if that’s the correct word.

The moral of the story is that I can’t be sure if the default programming is the answer or if I have just coincidentally become accustomed to wearing HA’s. I’ll have the L30’s back in a couple of days and I will reprogram them to factory defaults; seems like the answer is that the transition from not hearing well to any kind of a change in volume is a shock to the solace one previously experienced and “that transitional period” is not well defined from one person to the next.

Nick

If you only have moderate hearing loss you should be fine with vented domes. Vented domes give the most natural sound because they also rely on ambient sound getting through to the user. Have you checked which fitting the audi has used? When one audi switched from the default Adaptive Phonak fitting to the fitting favoured by the NHS, the sound was absolutely terrible, including extreme metallic noise discomfort.

I have access to the Phonak Target fitting programme and can see the audi has literally plugged in the data from my and more or less left it as the initial fit. Every day sounds are natural and music is extremely good (I’m an audiophile snob).

I wear 5 year old P90s . I approached my audi earlier this year and asked whether Sphere would improve speech in noise. The audi recommended I wait a year or two!!!

In reply to @Fredrik

It’s interesting that you also felt that audiologists were taking you for a ride. I’m beginning to wonder how clueless some audiologists seem to be. And all of what you have suggested are reasons why it may be time to call it a day. And asking me if there is any improvement after various tweaking isn’t exactly the best way of assessing this, as you say ‘how do they sound while still in the sound-proof room not the real world’

In reply to @DavidBP

Dear David,

Like you my Phonaks are far too bright and shrill, and with the constant tweakings I am wondering if the audiologists really know what they are doing. I’m wearing Sphere Phonaks and hope that you get yours back soon. You sound as if you have got a good audiologist who is really taking the time to improve things.

In reply to @Dr_Palmer

Dr_Palmer, Thanks for this. audiologists have said that by trying to reduce the shrillness etc, I could be losing out on the clarity of speech. Real Ear was done but there is still no reasonable reduction in the shrillness. I have an appointment with audiologist next Thursday, and very tempted to give up on the Spheres. I have Phonak Audeo as a backup and if the on the Spheres isn’t helping, I can’t see the benefit of continuing with them. Will keep you posted.

In reply to @KeithL

I agree, so can’t understand why all the tweaking/changing of domes between closed and vented hasn’t helped. I’m wondering if perhaps there is a fault on the Spheres. I am in London, and I don’t think the NHS is going to be very helpful especially with ‘extreme metallic noise discomfort’

That’s interesting about the Phonak Target fitting programme and good that everyday sounds are natural and that music is also good. For me there is no improvement in Sphere speech in noise and for this, I wonder why the audiologist recommended waiting a year or two? Did they say why? Although I can imagine that all the hype when Sphere’s came out about speech in noise, was misplaced. I am starting to lose trust in my audiologist and think it is probably time to get a second opinion etc.

I think I would agree with what you just said in regards to the new Chip! I have just purchased the lower Infinio and do not think it sounds as smooth as my older Paradise’s 50. Much smoother on the high frequencies. I just use domes but wonder about custom molds if that would do anything better. The Paradise is much more tailored for listening to music out of real speakers! Not streaming. I think the new AI Chip does not care about Music,but much more

speech.

In reply to @MidairView

Wish I could self program but I don’t understand how sound works enough to attempt it. I was very interested when you said streaming lets you know what your are capable of. I have great sound while streaming but pretty terrible when not. Very tinny and harsh and I have poor word recognition. I am told I will get used to it.

In reply to @Judi_L

There are two fitting programs in the Target software; The Phonak Adaptive program and another called favoured by the NHS. Make sure your audi is using the Phonak one.

In reply to @PMJ

I’m at about month 6 in my hearing aid journey and at this point, I’m having difficulty deciding what has higher priority first thing in the morning. A cup of hot coffee or putting my hearing aid’s on. All this to say that I’m adjusting to them. They don’t turn the clock back to when I was in my 20’s but they definitely help.

I’m convinced that the tinny/harsh sound, in my case, is not the fault of the hearing aids. Another thing to try is cupping your hand around your ear with your wrist near you mouth with no hearing aids. You may have seen announcers doing this as a substitute for headphones. If your voice sounds harsh/tinny with the hearing aids turned off, you know it’s not the hearing aids that were causing it.

I’ve had hearing aids for some years now, having damaged my hearing from being in the audio industry and being exposed to live concerts. The Phonak Infineo Spheres have been a game changer for me. I had early Phonaks, then SIgnia, which proved an improvement and lasted for years until my audiologist told me about the new models. I tried all the brands, (my audiologist in Marlow, Bucks, is excellent and is not aligned to any particular brand). He spent time ensuring that the ’s were set up correctly for me; not just running his programmes but also fine tuning to my requirements. The right HA kept losing bluetooth so he has sent it for replacement. I tried reverting to the SIgnias but they were so shrill that speech was almost painful. The self adjustment was inadequate so I am using the left Phonak and the right SIgnia until the new Phonak arrives. (Due in the next day or so). For me, I find the Phonaks are the best without doubt. As soon as anything else new is launched my audiologist lets me try them and even though it costs to replace I am prepared to pay what’s needed to retain as much clarity as possible. Thank goodness my audiologist is really competitive!!

In reply to @MidairView

Thank you. There in seems to be the problem. Fitter says tinny equates to understanding speech because much if speech relies on high sounds that I am missing and I don’t know sound enough to argue. I do know the are good streaming and my voice is not tinny with my hand cupped over my ear. I can also understand speech if it is loud enough and the solution is not turning up the volume on my aids. That only makes them tinny. So if I understand you correctly, there can be understanding of speech without getting used to tinny sound. Now I need to figure out how to convince my fitter of this. I believe these are good HAs but can’t seem to get them adjusted to work for me.

What happens to sound when you put your fingers in your ears over top of your hearing aids. That is, create a more plugging effect then whatever domes you have in on their own. Does the tinniness get worse or do the hearing aids sounds richer.

In reply to @Goldenears19

Thank you Godenears19. Interesting that the lower Infinio doesnt sound as smooth as your older Paradise’s 50. And also that the Paradise is so much better for listening to music out of real speakers.I agree, I don’t think that the new chip doesn’t care about about music just speech. It’s really strange that music is so important to so many people, that this is just swept aside.

In reply to @PMJ

Since streaming sounds OK, don’t overlook the possibility that the microphones need cleaning. There are videos on YouTube on how to do this. Use a soft brush and light touch.

Your app should have a “3 Band” equalizer representing low frequencies on the left and high frequencies on the right. To familiarize yourself as to what the different bands are, I would push one of them up, and the other two down. Listen to what it sounds like and then move on to listening to one of the others with the other two down. Then, reverse the process and push 2 up and 1 down until you have listened to all the combinations and understand how it affects the sound.

Going back to all three in the center, there may be a subtle adjustment that will help by either boosting one range or attenuation another or a combination of both.

The tinny sound you hear may be a good thing in the long run. But if it’s too much too soon, try pulling down the “high end” using the equalizer otherwise known as the “Comfort” setting.

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