Skip to content
HearingTracker
Log in

Phonak Default Volume Setting

This topic is closed.

11 replies8.2k viewsLast reply

Link to this topic

Hi
I am trying to adjust the default volume setting when I switch ON my aids. I am having to decrease the volume by one step every time I switch ON but it reverts to its default when switched OFF.
I am using Target for adjustments but at this stage only transferring data files from one pair of to another.
So is there any fellow Phonak Target users able to tell me where in Target I start ?

[Details of hardware/software in my signature]

5 people in this conversation6 min readJump to latest
Edited

I am not a self-programmer but - Do you have the training feature on your aids? You can train them to reduce automatically by turning them down each time you are in that environment.

I cannot help you with programming. You could try doing the lessons on the Phonak pro website. Always save your default settings so you can go back to that if something does not work out. If you really only need that one change then you could just get the professional to do it.

Gain & , yes. Under the “Fine Tuning” tab, select “Gain & MPO.”

In the control matrix, click on “All.” Be sure the two aids are linked (through the little chain icon in the lower middle of the screen).

Now use the up and down buttons in the middle of the screen to increase or decrease the default overall gain (i.e. the volume). All the gain boxes should change when you do.

As Zebra says, each push of the volume control button is, in theory, a 2dB difference.

What confused me was that I sent the audiologist my *tfdata file, export from Phonak Target, plus an explanation of the issue. The returned data file increased the Gains across the range. Couldn’t help thinking it may have been problem of distance, 9000 mls apart and living in opposing hemispheres…what do ya reckon.Anyway I’ve asked for an explanation of his approach and in the meantime I’ll tweak away with those numbers.

In reply to @corona

@corona said:

Gain & MPO, yes. Under the “Fine Tuning” tab, select “Gain & MPO.”

In the control matrix, click on “All.” Be sure the two aids are linked (through the little chain icon in the lower middle of the screen).

Now use the up and down buttons in the middle of the screen to increase or decrease the default overall gain (i.e. the volume). All the gain boxes should change when you do.

As Zebra says, each push of the volume control button is, in theory, a 2dB difference.

Could you explain what is exactly? I know the term stands for maximum power output, but how is it related to the gain?

@jbender4 said:

Could you explain what is MPO exactly? I know the term stands for maximum power output, but how is it related to the gain?

Yes, it’s the maximum power output of the aid for any given frequency band (or overall). And since I’m no kind of professional whatsoever, I’m not going to say anything about its significance, how it should be set, or whether or not you should mess with it at all.

“The optimal maximum power output () should be based on two goals: preventing loudness discomfort and avoiding distorted sound quality at high input levels.” That’s from the second publication listed below.

And you’ll note that if you follow my directions above to change the default overall volume level, the MPO setting doesn’t change.

In the more-than-you-wanted-to-know-maybe department, there is this:

http://www.hearingreview.com/2008/06/mpo-a-forgotten-parameter-in-hearing-aid-fitting/53

and this:

http://blog.starkeypro.com/are-you-prescribing-an-appropriate-mpo/17

An interesting observation of my audiologist settings is the Client Details>Experience setting was not First Time User & Gain Level was above 80% target gain.

Phonak Target has a set of amplification algorithms specifically for this Experience level and Gain Level setting targets below the 80%.

This option was designed for people with asymmetric hearing loss. The end result is that the amplification is adjusted so as to allow slightly more gain for the better ear; less gain for the poorer ear.

I’ve reset those parameters (Experience/ Gain Level) in P/Target and I do believe it has made a difference in the default “volume” when switching on the aids. I also noted under “Gain & ” there was a drop of gain value by 3.

I have yet to test if changing any one of these parameters alone would have made this difference or it requires both inputs to execute a drop of Gains…another post maybe.

Reference: Audiology Online>Phonak Target 5 Course #2856715

Audiology CEUs | All Courses | AudiologyOnline

Online continuing education courses by on AudiologyOnline.com. , , IHS, CAA, CASLPA, BAA and other offerings available.

Sounds like fun!

…and, I’m not sure what the relevance to your situation – default overall gain too low – the asymmetric acclimatization in Target is. The way I understand it is that when the initial fitting is done, if Target is told that the patient is a first-time user, and the acclimatization starts at 80% of final gain, and Target identifies enough asymmetry, the acclimatization will start off in this ingenious way, with the worse ear getting less gain. But I assume that when the acclimatization reaches 100%, both aids are then running at the target gain.

So if you’re not a first-time user, and this isn’t done at the initial fitting, the gains will be at the target gain. Or I guess, if you interrupt the acclimatization process somewhere in the middle, then you’ll be somewhere in the middle of that process, too.

Are you a first-time user, and is this your initial fitting? It sounds like the answer to both questions is no. If so, then I don’t think any of this would apply. I’m not quite sure what you meant above when you said you’d reset the experience/gain level parameter(s). Does this mean you started a new fitting, and set that panel to the new-user option?

Also, looking at your , it doesn’t look (to my untrained, unprofessional, and arguably utterly clueless eye!!) like you have consistent ear-to-ear asymmetry. I’d wonder if Target would even do this thing. The example they use shows a pretty constant, across-the-board difference of 10dB.

But if you’ve been wearing the aids for a while, then presumably the acclimatization process – asymmetrical or not – is over. So this does seem like an awfully round-about way to address a simple adjustment for default overall gain (and thus zero position on the volume control).

My approach to acclimatization has been to not use it. My thinking has gone like this: I’m very aware of what’s going on, I’m willing to keep coming back to the fitting and trying to make it work better, and I realize that in that process things might not seem exactly right sometimes. That is, I’m not in the position of a new, non-technical user who really wants the transition to aids, or a new fitting, to be as unnoticeable as possible. This all seems kind of overcomplicated to me.

In reply to @RepeatPlease

@RepeatPlease said:

What confused me was that I sent the audiologist my *tfdata file, export from Phonak Target, plus an explanation of the issue. The returned data file increased the Gains across the range. Couldn’t help thinking it may have been problem of distance, 9000 mls apart and living in opposing hemispheres…what do ya reckon.Anyway I’ve asked for an explanation of his approach and in the meantime I’ll tweak away with those numbers.

So you’re saying they actually made it worse, then(?) Because instead of decreasing the default gain overall, they increased it. Well, maybe they just got it wrong, or misunderstood you.

And do you really have a setup like this, that you send your Target data to the audiologist, who then loads it into Target at their clinic, messes with it, sends it back to you, and you load it into your aids with Target on your computer? That’s amazing! I’ll bet that doesn’t happen very often.

But if you’re willing to change arcane parameters like the initial acclimatization settings on your own, why wouldn’t you be willing to make minor changes to the more obvious ones, like default volume?

And yeah maybe it’s the Coriolis effect or something, what with one of you standing on their head, basically.

@corona said:

But if you’re willing to change arcane parameters like the initial acclimatization settings on your own, why wouldn’t you be willing to make minor changes to the more obvious ones, like default volume?

And yeah maybe it’s the Coriolis effect or something, what with one of you standing on their head, basically.

As a first timer user of aids (2wks) and h/aids programming it’s definitely been a challenge as you’d all be aware. The steps I’ve taken in making changes to parameters within the program are at this stage as a total novice and I make no presumptions of ever passing that level of ‘expertise’. Yes, to have a professional onside willing enough to sell me the communications hardware , dabble with exported data files and to do remote adjustment has been a definite plus in this transaction, apart from the AU$4500 saving.It’s forumites like yourself and others that lessens the steepness of this learning curve, and for that I am deeply appreciative.

Related discussions