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Phonak Target fitting software: "Usage experience"?

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There’s a session-level parameter, “Usage experience” with hearing aids in general, which is said to be effective only when a new fitting is created. The choices are:

First time user: 0-6 months of experience
Short term user: 6 months to 3 years of experience
Experienced user: 3-6 years of experience
Long term user: more than 6 years of experience

(The other parameter under the “Experience” heading is Signal Processing: Linear or Non-linear.)

What differences would the Usage experience setting make to the fitting?

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Edited

I take it that a louder fitting is one with more gain.

Therefore, as time marches on without a re-fitting, the gain becomes progressively too small for the ever more adapted brain?

I notice that the maximum period for the “Auto-acclimatization” feature (gradual increase in gain) is 2.2 years of 12-hour usage pseudo-days.

A new hearing aid user is not used to how much they have not been hearing and it can be overwhelming. By setting the aid to first time user, the program is set to your hearing loss and then when you disconnect, it is much lower in volume for a period of time, then after a month or so of allowing you to get used to it, it will automatically turn up a notch. After another set amount of time at that level, it will again turn up a notch,… until you reach the level that it should be for your hearing loss. The more experience you tell the software the patient has, the closer it goes to the target gain, right off the bat.

Edited

This ramping up is a function of “Usage experience” and independent of the “Auto acclimatization” versus manual gain level (percent of target) feature selectable in basic tuning?

@brec said:

This ramping up is a function of “Usage experience” and independent of the “Auto acclimatization” versus manual gain level (percent of target) feature selectable in basic tuning?

Your original question had to do with user experience which some will use as a starting point. What HearingHannah is describing is auto-acclimatization which has to be enabled if the dispenser believes in it (I do not use it on anyone) in order for automatic bumps in overall gain occur at set intervals over a period of time.

@SteveAUD said:

Your original question had to do with user experience which some will use as a starting point. What HearingHannah is describing is auto-acclimatization which has to be enabled if the dispenser believes in it (I do not use it on anyone) in order for automatic bumps in overall gain occur at set intervals over a period of time.

Huh, I love auto-acclimatization and use it quite often. Why don’t you like it?

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