Am I OK wearing open fit power dome hearing aids?

No idea as audiologist in UK does not do word recognition scores. Mainly because I cannot hear high pitch/frequency noises and at my work I have to be able to hear them in emergencies… Truthfully, they do not help me to hear speech any better nor anything else. I still have to lipread and face someone. It amplifies their voices but that is about it. As for CI, my audiologist said it was not ideal as my low frequencies are in the good range. I cannot read my audiogram in depth like most of you guys can so I honestly do not have a clue if my audiologist is correct or not.

I’m not an audiologist, but my understanding is that good low frequencies do not make you ineligible for a cochlear implant. If you have the ability to get an opinion from a second audiologist, I’d highly recommend it.

It is not something that is done here in the UK @MDB, WRS… In 30 odd years, I have never had a Word Recognition Score via the NHS, or indeed the private A.uD’s, some may do it now? But, it’s still fairly rare… The NHS, may do a WRS in their CI evaluation? I am inclined to think @craftycrocheter, given the short synopsis of your hearing history, you might be allergic to silicone moulds, I say this because for years I had horrendous problems with silicon BTE moulds, no occlusion to speak of, but constant wet ears, itch, raging ear infections… Eventually, the NHS gave me hypoallergenic moulds, these had a nano coating, and basically solved the issue. I now buy most of my aids privately from Boots Hearing Care… As far as the most comfortable moulds, these are on my Phonak Marvel 90 RIC’s, they are acrylic with 105db receivers, I don’t even feel them there, they are ultra comfortable, bought privately, they are actually made via 3 D printer… Cheers Kev

Edit. Qualifying for CI in the UK is fairly stringent, I have personally been assessed twice, on the second attempt, I was knocked back, because I was an excellent lip reader! It costs around £25K for a single implant, and that is the main problem for the NHS, lack of funding… Funny enough, on my last visit to NHS Audiology, they offered to send me to Kilmarnock CI center for a full assessment… I declined the offer, I have various underlying health conditions, and I am now retired, and the thought of going through the recovery, and relearning sounds, just didn’t float my boat… I have 3 good sets of aids, various Roger devices, I sign, and I am am a good lip reader, all in all, I communicate fairly effectively, given my limitations. I would say though, given the OP Audiogram, it would be extremely difficult for them to qualify for CI, it is difficult to pass the first muster, and the local NHS Audiology Department, must access you first, and if they don’t recommend you, then you have no chance whatsoever… Cheers Kev.

I can’t imagine how they evaluate for cochlear implants without a word recognition score. @Um_bongo
can you comment on use of WRS in UK? Seems really odd that it would be North American centric.

Well @MDB, as stated, I did the local Audiology department CI assessment twice, I didn’t qualify! Mainly because I was an excellent lip reader (so I was informed) They might have, been doing a WRS, but at no time did they inform me, they where doing this, and I was never given any WRS results… There was 3 Audiologists there, electrodes placed on my head, one A.uD sat 3 feet away from me, facing me, I was made to wear my hearing aids, throughout the whole process… It was a farce, I had the feeling, even if I heard nothing, they would have still not sent me for the full assessment, they knew I met the criteria, but I believe they set me up to fail… Cheers Kev.

Yeah @prodigyplace, I believe, and this is my opinion only, they where going through the motions… 3 feet away in good light, in a sound proof room, in a perfect listening environment, allowing me to lip read, no earphones where used in the process, electrodes hooked up to some machine, I assume these where to check my brainwaves, so I couldn’t fake a response?Then sentences followed by my repeating whatever was being said… IMO, this was a stitch up, and the only outcome was going to be no referral for a full assessment at Kilmarnock CI centre, I believe their only fear was if they referred me, it would come out of their budget, and I believe they where only following orders from their boss, whom was a complete imbecile of a man, TBH the biggest professional ignoramus it has ever been my misfortune to meet, whom was the ENT head surgeon, and therefore head of both ENT & Audiology… This guy talked to you as if you weren’t there, never once held eye contact, and faced away from you whilst speaking to me… It wasn’t just me, I spoke to other professionals whom worked with him, and let’s just say, their opinions of him, where much the same as mine… I suppose he might have been a good surgeon, but as a person, his attitude, and mannerisms left a lot to be desired… In truth, at the time I was upset, but not now, I try not to dwell in the past, and usually things have a tendency even out, and with the advent of newer, and more advanced hearing aid technology, I hear better now than I did 15 years ago, especially with Roger ALD’s, so no regrets… Cheers Kev

Some of my older tests used words read by the tester. At Costco and at my latest tests they used a recorded voice, likely for standardization. I have also read that a recorded voice is now usually used.

That’s interesting you weren’t accepted for a CI, as your audiogram would qualify you here. Here in Australia in our evaluation process all the WRS, SRT, and white noise testing is pre recorded and comes through speakers. All this so you don’t /can’t lip read.
@craftycrocheter you would certainly benefit from a cochlear implant, it could be worth your while checking with your AuD.

@kevels55 said:

you learn to adapt

I am happy you adapted instead of getting discouraged.

Thank you @prodigyplace… As the saying goes, “Necessity is the mother of invention”, and sometimes you have to to reinvent yourself, in order to adapt to things you have no control over… And move on. Cheers Kev

@MDB said:

@Um_bongo
can you comment on use of WRS in UK? Seems really odd that it would be North American centric.

WRS is available here. It’s used by some audiologists, especially where there’s a notable difference between expected aided results and the client experience.

WRS’s lack of repeatability makes it a relatively weak test in anything but A:B comparison in one session. Reproducible sound field dynamics, vocal/recording variation, even the orientation and angle of the client’s head have a bearing.

At the end of the day the audiogram is the basis for the fitting prescription: WRS doesn’t change the baseline for this. Though I have (fairly infrequently) attempted to modify the moderate to high frequency output (g50/g65) to increase the apparent sharpness of lower intensity sounds to deal with poorer auditory resolution issues.

I guess it all depends on where you position yourself on the Dillon ‘everything max loudness’ or the other camp ‘normal loudness growth’ debate.

What kind of criteria is there for a recommending a cochlear implant then? It’s my understanding that here WRS play a big factor.