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Widex Dream 440

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I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again - the chirps will never totally disappear, but they can be diminished to tolerable levels. To start with, get a good closed custom mold. Also have them limit the max gain for soft sounds.

And yes, there are people I just plain can’t hear very well. I ask them to speak more clearly, and it usually results in them talking a little louder and removing the mashed potatoes from their mouths. I also tell people that if they aren’t looking at me, they may as well not be speaking to me at all, because I’m not going to get enough to go on.

My audi says that no one else complains of this problem with the Widex aid. I don’t believe that because I know someone else who has the 330s who complains of the same thing. The only thing she doesn’t do is tell her audi about it. What’s the point?!

So today I’ve worn the medium double dome in the right ear and the small double dome in my left ear. I’ve heard three chirps in my right hearing aid (one loud with a mouse click, two soft ones just sitting in front of the computer). I’d rather keep the domes than get a mold (uglier to wear).

So how often would be an acceptable amount of times be to hear that chirp? Once to twice an hour in both ears was too much for me to tolerate. I’m happy to have an audi who’s a friend so I’m not shy or angry when I complain (and I do a lot of that). If I’d been with Costco, by now I’d have been livid. My audi offered to go with the Unitron high end if the Widex don’t stop doing this. I wore the Unitron aids for two weeks with temporary domes, and I never heard even one chirp.

These Widex 440s are great in the car. I can hear people who sit in the back seat without looking at them. That is really new to me and a great feature which I do love.

How about listening to CD audio tapes of books in the car? I have a lot of difficulty finding narrators whose voice is pleasant to listen to and easy to understand. Do you have that difficulty as well? I usually borrow about 10 CDs from the library and find 1 or 2 suitable for my listening ability.

What about the cell phone? I didn’t like the program for the cell phone so I take out my hearing aid to use the cell phone. Is it really worthwhile to buy that extra Dex to plug into the cell phone? How many different appliances will I end up having to buy? I already have the volume control (which I use infrequently, but love having). It’s on my key chain.

I just want my HAs to be perfect…for all the money I spent on them!

That “chirp”, as best as I understand, is just feedback. It’s a chirp and not a whistle, because the anti-feedback circuitry kicks in. Feedback is caused by amplified sound being re-amplified. To cure it, lower the amplification, or seal the canal better. Since mine are , I have a full custom mold, and I have them close the vent. I chirp a few times a day, usually only when in a quiet room and the aid is going to max amplification to raise up the soft sounds. Used to chirp more when I had a vented mold and had max amp up higher.

I don’t listen to audio books, can’t help you there. As for perfection, it doesn’t exists. Trade-offs everywhere, just find the trade-offs you can live with.

I’ve been wearing the hearing aids as much as I can…still getting those chirps a few times a day. Don’t like them, but I don’t want to go back yet again to my audie so soon. Maybe if I wear them more, I’ll just get used to the chirps and not find them so annoying. They are better than they were with the tulip domes. I don’t want to turn down the amplification - at least not now or not yet. I’ll keep you posted.

You can always try a full custom mold.

Also, as far as turning down amplification, it’s not what you think, I believe. If I understand my audi correctly, on the Widex you can limit the gain that happens on very soft sounds separately from the overall gain. This is what I am talking about, and what I had adjusted. Think less gain when you’re sitting still and the only sound is the refrigerator - the aid won’t try to bring that up as high, reducing the chances of feedback considerably.

@SqueakyChu said:

I’ve been wearing the hearing aids as much as I can…still getting those chirps a few times a day. Don’t like them, but I don’t want to go back yet again to my audie so soon. Maybe if I wear them more, I’ll just get used to the chirps and not find them so annoying. They are better than they were with the tulip domes. I don’t want to turn down the amplification - at least not now or not yet. I’ll keep you posted.

— Updated —

You can always try a full custom mold.

@SqueakyChu said:

I’ve been wearing the hearing aids as much as I can…still getting those chirps a few times a day. Don’t like them, but I don’t want to go back yet again to my audie so soon. Maybe if I wear them more, I’ll just get used to the chirps and not find them so annoying. They are better than they were with the tulip domes. I don’t want to turn down the amplification - at least not now or not yet. I’ll keep you posted.

In reply to @SqueakyChu

@SqueakyChu said:

I’ve been wearing the hearing aids as much as I can…still getting those chirps a few times a day. Don’t like them, but I don’t want to go back yet again to my audie so soon. Maybe if I wear them more, I’ll just get used to the chirps and not find them so annoying. They are better than they were with the tulip domes. I don’t want to turn down the amplification - at least not now or not yet. I’ll keep you posted.

I don’t think you’ll get used to the chirps because they’re unpredictable. The best solution is to get a custom earmold which will seal your ear canal better, but you can also turn off the adaptive feedback cancelling system. That will reduce the gain in the high frequencies by a small amount. The feedback system is set to SuperGain by default which allows more gain than what is normally possible without cancellation.

I think I’ll try to live with the chirps. I’m going back to my audie in December. I got tired of all those back-to-back visits. I don’t want to cancel out any high frequency sounds as I like to bird watch (and bird-listen). At this time, I don’t think I want a custom ear mold. I like how “invisible” my hearing aids are. The chirps are really random and unpredictable. If they don’t happen often, I think I’ll be okay…as long as I now know what causes them…and it’s not a defect in my hearing aids. I’ll try to think of them as my hearing aids trying to give me too much sound. :slight_smile: The chirps happen about 3 to 5 times a day. I’ll talk to my audie about this when I go back in December for a cleaning and adjustment. Other than that, I think I’m doing well because I hardly think about my hearing aids any more during the day. I don’t hear my kitchen clock any more…although I’m sure it’s still ticking…at least I hope so! :smiley:

Thanks for all of your help!

In reply to @rasmus_braun

SqueakyChu,

I just got a demo pair of Widex 220s to try for a week and was wandering how you like you 440s after another week. I go back next week and she is going to have the 330s and a Unitron pair for me to try and would like to know if you think the 440s are worth the money and if they are still making that chirping sound and if you if it is just feedback?
I have only had these are for a few hours and have noticed that I can’t even put my hand all the way up to my ear before they start squealing. I can not stand that and not sure why they are squealing so bad.
Do you have any other issues with yours? She said if I liked the 330s then we may look into the 440s. I only took these to try for a week to see how other people’s voices sound because I am trialing a pair of Siemens right now also and hate the way voices sound. They sound like they are quivering or vibrating or something crazy like that so definitely want to see if these make that better.
Thank you for any info you can provide

I can lay my hand right up against my ear and get no feedback. Widex aids should not do that, your audiologist should easily be able to fix that.

@momof2_dog said:

SqueakyChu,

I just got a demo pair of Widex 220s to try for a week and was wandering how you like you 440s after another week. I go back next week and she is going to have the 330s and a Unitron pair for me to try and would like to know if you think the 440s are worth the money and if they are still making that chirping sound and if you if it is just feedback?
I have only had these are for a few hours and have noticed that I can’t even put my hand all the way up to my ear before they start squealing. I can not stand that and not sure why they are squealing so bad.
Do you have any other issues with yours? She said if I liked the 330s then we may look into the 440s. I only took these to try for a week to see how other people’s voices sound because I am trialing a pair of Siemens right now also and hate the way voices sound. They sound like they are quivering or vibrating or something crazy like that so definitely want to see if these make that better.
Thank you for any info you can provide

— Updated —

I can lay my hand right up against my ear and get no feedback. Widex aids should not do that, your audiologist should easily be able to fix that.

@momof2_dog said:

SqueakyChu,

I just got a demo pair of Widex 220s to try for a week and was wandering how you like you 440s after another week. I go back next week and she is going to have the 330s and a Unitron pair for me to try and would like to know if you think the 440s are worth the money and if they are still making that chirping sound and if you if it is just feedback?
I have only had these are for a few hours and have noticed that I can’t even put my hand all the way up to my ear before they start squealing. I can not stand that and not sure why they are squealing so bad.
Do you have any other issues with yours? She said if I liked the 330s then we may look into the 440s. I only took these to try for a week to see how other people’s voices sound because I am trialing a pair of Siemens right now also and hate the way voices sound. They sound like they are quivering or vibrating or something crazy like that so definitely want to see if these make that better.
Thank you for any info you can provide

In reply to @momof2_dog

Hi momof2+dog

I like my 440’s except for the chirps (which are not the same kind of feedback that you’re experiencing). I’ve got the chirps down to about 3 or 4 times a day in either hearing aid, but don’t want to go back to the audie now because I’m not having any other problems with them. I go for my cleaning and adjustment in December and will have her work with them again then. I just emailed her an update today with my progress. My hearing aids will give me feedback if I try to touch them or put a phone to them, but the feedback will immediately then go away. I don’t usually put a phone on my ear or touch my ears so I don’t experience the feedback in the same way that you do.

The only other issue of which I am now aware is tha,t in large rooms with more than one speaker, I cannot understand the person who is speaking unless I am directly in front of one of those speakers. Echoes keep me from understanding. I don’t know if this is something that can be resolved or not. I don’t mind sitting directly in front of a speaker, but that is not possible in all venues…like ones which are especially crowded.

The sound quality in the 440s is pretty good. At first, it seemed as if everyone had an electronic, tinny voice, but now I’m not aware of that at all. The “tininess” for me just gave me better clarity.

I did try the Unitron and had no chirps during the two weeks I tried them, but I was not in the “purchase mode” then so I didn’t take that trial so seriously.

What I like most about the 440’s is that they"work together" (speak to each other) which I don’t think the others in the series do. I can also hear people behind me and those with their mouths covered. I also like that music is now somewhat tolerable (clearly not perfect, but at least I can recognize music for what it is). I do much better in hearing people seated around a table in noisy environments. I also feel comfortable enough that I will understand people that I now once again initiate conversation instead of shying away from people. It’s amazing how poor hearing affects one’s life.

I’ve never noticed any quivering or vibrating quality to voices with my 440s. I did notice that my husband sounded unusually loud. I asked him about that, and he said that he was talking in a very loud voice. I asked him not to do that any more! His voice now sounds better. :smiley:

In reply to @JeffBowser

I just got a pair of Widex Dream 440s to try for a couple weeks. I had a pair of the 220s before these. I thought these would be much better but I haven’t found that to be so so far. They do have more programs but I haven’t found any of them useful so far. The master program is the only one I am using. I tried the comfort for noisy environments and it does cut down on the background noise but it also lowers voices so much that I can’t understand what people are saying. The Zen program sounds good and soothing but not really sure what use it is. The tv program is horrible.

Another problem I have with them is when I change programs anyone in the room with me hears it say the change like if I change to tv everyone hears it say tv not that I use the tv program. It sounds awful.

The master program is the only one that is any use to me as far as I can tell. I guess some of the issues I’m having can be fixed with adjustments but I can’t see how they are that much better than the 220s. They may be but I just don’t know what adjustments to tell her I need and would appreciate any advice anyone could give me on this especially the different programming options and how they work.

I will say the occlusion is about 85% better with the 440s than it was with the 220s but I am not sure if that is the or the fact that I had her to turn down the gain in the lower frequencies. I do still have some occlusion but I believe that can be fixed with dome changes and adjustments.

The one thing that I don’t believe I’m going to be able to stand and will probably be the reason I don’t get a Widex pair of HAs of any kind is the feedback. It is absolutely horrible. I told her how bad it was with the 220s and then when she got done programming the 440s I told her again that it was really bad with these also and she said that as soon as I put my hand or phone or anything else up to them that it would instantly stop. Well, it does stop most of the time but it’s the random squealing that I can’t stand and when I get done talking on the phone and remove the phone from my ear the hearing starts squealing then and continues for a few seconds. It’s crazy and I absolutely can not stand it and the worst part is anyone around me at the time hears it also and they also hear the random squealing. I can’t have that but the Audi acted like that was not an issue but it is and may be the deciding factor as to whether I end up with a pair of these. The Siemens that I was trialing never squealed. I could hold my hand right against them and couldn’t hardly make them squeal. My Starkey that I’ve worn for 6 years did squeal sometimes if I put a phone right up against them but no one could hear that but me and they never squealed randomly.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

The feedback and others hearing the aids announcement - you have an open dome fitting? Perhaps you would be better served with a full custom mold, sounds as if too much sound is leaking back out of your ear (for lack of better way to phrase it).

As for the programs, I agree. I had a music program set that pretty much didn’t work well. I’ve long since stuffed my remote in a drawer and use the main program all the time.

I am very frustrated with my 440’s. I sent an email to my audie tonight to get me back in before the end of the month.

Issues that remain:

  1. I get a loud squeal/chirp with every mouse click and also at random indoor and outdoors periodically. I do NOT want to hear this noise!!!
  2. I cannot understand a speaking person in front of a large room unless I sit immediately in front of that person with a speaker directed at me. In any room with more than one speaker, all I get are echoes which impede my ability to understand speech.
  3. I cannot understand one person speaking alone in a noisy environment. It seems as if all noise/speech is amplified to the same level. This is true for being indoors and outdoors.

I am horrified that I spent over $7000 for these hearing aids and am still so dissatisfied with them.

I don’t even want to deal with the cell phone (I take out my hearing aids to use the cellphone) or music. I really want to at least understand speech!

I have another (much older) friend with Widex 330s and she’s not happy with her either. She has the same issues that I do.

:frowning:

In reply to @momof2_dog

[[ The master program is the only one I am using.]]

I use the master and the mute (which I had my audie add)! :slight_smile:

[[The tv program is horrible.]]

I haven’t tried that as I find TV frustrating to understand. I mostly avoid watching TV.

[[Another problem I have with them is when I change programs anyone in the room with me hears it say the change like if I change to tv everyone hears it say tv not that I use the tv program. It sounds awful.]]

My audie change the “announcement” to just a soft beep. That works just fine.

[[I just don’t know what adjustments to tell her I need and would appreciate any advice anyone could give me on this especially the different programming options and how they work]].

Tell her exactly what you’ve told us. Keep a log of the “issues” and take that log with you on your next appointment.

[[The Siemens that I was trialing never squealed.]]

The Unitron I trialed didn’t squeal either. The Oticons I wore previously never squealed either.

Three month update upon return from audi today…

  1. To address chirps, I had my audi delete the this morning. So far today, I’ve still experienced two small chirps - one with a mouse click, the other at random. :frowning:

  2. Background noises no longer bother me. I’ve become adjusted to them so they are now basically “white noise”.

  3. I only rarely have to ask people to repeat something.

  4. I asked my audi to give me a program with reduced background speech and yet leave the master as an “eavesdropping” program. :smiley: She did this.

  5. I asked my audi to delete my “mute” program because I can use my program for that. She deleted it.

  6. I asked my audi to delete my cell phone program because I’d rather turn on my cell’s speaker phone to hear and also would rather send and receive text messages anyway. She deleted it.

  7. I deal with soft voices by using a separate volume control. I really like having the ability to increase and decrease the volume when I want.

  8. I can hear speech pretty clearly and no longer seem to notice a “tinny” quality to it. All I really concentrate on is clarity, really.

  9. I’m not dealing with the music program now because I want to be completely satisfied with the speech program before I deal with anything else. I do find that, if I want to listen to music in the car, it sounds better in the master program because the music program picks up too much road noise.

  10. I still use closed captioning when watching television because of how quickly and unintelligibly some TV dialogue is. Fortunately, I rarely watch television.

  11. I love that I can hear all people sitting around a small table and hear people behind me when I’m driving my car. The speech is clear from everyone as long as there are no other very loud noises.

I’m now 90% satisfied with my Widex Dream 440s. I still would love to hear from others using the same hearing aid to see if I’m dealing with my “issues” as best as I can. Thank you.

In reply to @JeffBowser

[quote=JeffBowser;113497]I can lay my hand right up against my ear and get no feedback. Widex aids should not do that, your audiologist should easily be able to fix that.

I get feedback whenever I put my hands on either ear, but I never put my hands near my ears after my hearing aids are inserted so this is not a problem for me.

I’m not clear on which 440 you have - do you have the and an open dome?

@SqueakyChu said:

[quote=JeffBowser;113497]I can lay my hand right up against my ear and get no feedback. Widex aids should not do that, your audiologist should easily be able to fix that.

I get feedback whenever I put my hands on either ear, but I never put my hands near my ears after my hearing aids are inserted so this is not a problem for me.

— Updated —

I’m not clear on which 440 you have - do you have the BTE and an open dome?

@SqueakyChu said:

[quote=JeffBowser;113497]I can lay my hand right up against my ear and get no feedback. Widex aids should not do that, your audiologist should easily be able to fix that.

I get feedback whenever I put my hands on either ear, but I never put my hands near my ears after my hearing aids are inserted so this is not a problem for me.

Gotcha, thanks. I see they released a micro dream - removes the wireless and bluetooth nonsense and makes the as small as the old ones used to be. Now I’m really tempted to drop some more cash on one. Might wait for one more generation, though. As much as I like the Dream440, it still has some kinks I hope can be worked out. The chirps for instance…

@SqueakyChu said:

BTE and double domes

— Updated —

Gotcha, thanks. I see they released a micro dream - removes the wireless and bluetooth nonsense and makes the CIC as small as the old ones used to be. Now I’m really tempted to drop some more cash on one. Might wait for one more generation, though. As much as I like the Dream440, it still has some kinks I hope can be worked out. The chirps for instance…

@SqueakyChu said:

BTE and double domes

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