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Time to call it a day?

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In reply to @MidairView

I have the same dilemma and for me it is the coffee :slightly_smiling_face:

I thought I would try your suggestion with cupping my hand around my ear with my wrist near my mouth. Took my aids out and turned them off. Interestingly the harsh/bright/tinny sound was nowhere near as bad as with the aids in. Will try again in the morning. So if the harsh/tinny sound isn’t to do with the aids, what might be next steps?

Here is a post I sent to PMJ - I hope the equalizer helps

Time to call it a day?
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…

In reply to @KeithL

Hey Keith, I am an Audiophile also. I lost high frequencies above 4k I think! Anyway, spent much time with Audi’s that really wanted to help me. Started with Oticon but moved quickly to Phonak Audeo Marvel then into to Paradise and now Infinio. No matter what adjustments we have made I can’t get the Infinio’s to sound good for listening to my Stereo! Not Streaming. The highs are shrill and the mids can’t seem to smooth out on Saxophone’s etc. While my older Paradise’s sound Great! I’ve come to the conclusion that the Chip is the issue! Not fixable yet! I have a full vacuum tube system including my CD player also. Incredible detail with smoothness. Was in Audio business for many years. Had incredible hearing. Hence known as Golden Ears. When my last Audi said the sound of my Paradise’s was due to age and the new Infinio’s were actually better! I chose to differ. Anyway, I truly believe most hearing aids are designed for speech and not Music :musical_notes:! I’m seriously thinking about getting some more Paradise’s for back up! Larry

What tips/domes are you using? The type and fit alter sound quaility dramatically.
Have you asked the audi to set the music program with zero sound processing, just the equalisation according to your ? That’s how I listen to my sound system. My P90 sound very natural with no shrill discamfort at all.

In reply to @Judi_L

I wish you the best. I just finished with a patient who was having the same problem. I’ve cut his mid frequencies (1.4-2 kHz) down significantly but we finally have it and his understanding is still good.

I’ve had several free UK NHS aids (Oticon) for about 15 years now and I’ve talked to many people with privately provided aids, some paying thousands, and their aids have had all the same problems as mine to varying degrees. I must have initially gone via the GP/specialist route and for about the first 12 yrs I was under the care of the NHS audiology department at our local hospital and I have to say, they were absolutely brilliant. About three years ago I was notified that my local NHS Trust (Worcestershire) would no longer be providing hearing care for “Age related, non-complex” hearing loss but I would continue to get this service from a list of private hearing care specialists (opticians) I was given which would still be NHS funded. I had a new hearing test at Specsavers and they advised that my hearing loss didn’t come under the above category (in other words it was more complex) and I would be referred back to the NHS. I was still using my updated Oticon aids at this point. After six months on a waiting list, I tried another hearing care provider who gave me some new aids straight away at no cost. These are Ambio but not as good as the Oticon aids which I still have.

All my aids have been with vented custom earmoulds and the problem with harsh noises has always been there but the audiolgist was able to tune most of this out. So, Judi, my conclusion is that it is mostly down to the skill of the audiologist whichever aids you choose and the NHS route is definitely worth persuing as the audiologists at the hospital seemed more skilled and also the equipment they had there was higher tech. than the opticians have.

Hi Alan, It’s not great that Worcestershire NHS trust decided not to provide hearing care for Age related non-complex hearing loss and presumably all in the interest of saving pennies. Interesting that Specsavers advised that you be referred back to the NHS. But it’s a shame that that the Ambio aids aren’t quite as good as your Oticon aids.

I think you are right in saying that it is all down to the audiologist. I am in Barnet, and NHS is pretty dire here and I would be very reluctant to go down that route. I would re-consider but the waiting times are terrible. I guess that different NHS providers vary, but it is unfortunate about Barnet. So at the moment I am going private for my hearing care. Regarding the tinny/metallic sound, I’ve had quite a few adjustments without much success and when I saw the audiologist yesterday, she indicated that each time the aids were adjusted, the brain has to re-adjust to the new tweakings. Which I suppose makes sense, but I have no idea and so it is back to the Auditory Processing therapy.

Edited

Roberto,

So pleased to read that you had successful tests with the new audiologist. I’ve made a note of all the tests you had and am going to run them by my audiologist next week. When I changed from Specsavers to Harley Hearing, I didn’t know as much as I do now - thank you forum! - and want to see exactly which tests I had when I first attended HH. I have had but had to ask for this. Looking forward to your next review.

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