My Oticon Real experience

Below is the synopsis of the Oticon Speech Rescue frequency lowering. The second screenshot is the Genie 2 setup page for Speech Rescue.

As you can see, the lowest destination region (the red boxes) is between 1.6 - 2.4 KHz. So I’m not sure if it’s low enough for your hearing loss or not, maybe barely, but I think it’s still worth trying. There’s nothing to lose to try it, and you can always turn it back OFF if you don’t like it or find it helpful. You can have it added to a P2 program if you want, so you can switch between P1 and P2 for A/B comparison. But for SURE you want to set to that lowest destination configuration (the 2.4 leftmost one the the Genie 2 setup). In your case, because you already have pretty bad/profound loss in that destination region, you’ll probably want to set the Strength to maximum (fill black that whole bar). If you find it too much, you can always back off from the max, but I’d start from the max since your hearing loss is already pretty bad even in the destination region.

I’d also want to turn OFF the High Frequency Bands setting. If this setting is ON, you’ll get BOTH the original amplification in the high frequency region like you normally would get without Speech Rescue on, in addition to hearing the same sounds moved into the lowered destination region. Otherwise, with it OFF, Oticon won’t give you the original normal amplification in the highs. Because you most likely can’t hear the normal original amplification in the highs anyway with your kind of loss, leaving it OFF has the benefit of preventing possible feedback in the high frequency range that you may not be able to hear to even be aware of (although others around you will most likely hear it and look at you funny). But you can try it with the ON setting if you want (maybe in a third P3 program) to see if you can hear any difference or not. If not, then I’d set it to OFF.

If you were a new user trying out different brands, then Phonak’s Sound Recover 2 would probably be a better candidate for frequency lowering because its destination (lowered) region can be set to go as low as 700 Hz if I recall correctly. So if the Oticon Speech Rescue destination is not low enough in the more audible range where your loss is, to be impactful enough for you, perhaps the Phonak Sound Recover 2 may be more impactful than the Oticon Speech Rescue for you since your hearing loss is not as bad in the 700 Hz range compared to the Oticon 1.6-2.4 KHz destination range. However, Phonak’s frequency lowering is primarily based on frequency compression, while Oticon’s is based on transposition and composition. One is not necessarily better than the other, it all depends on the user’s preference. But either can be helpful, and it’s better to have it and be able to use it than not have anything at all.

@Artist said:

I am planning on getting an Apple watch but I thought I saw on Oticon Real description on Oticon’s website that there was not a check mark by the watch indicating compatibility. Can anyone weigh in on this?

@prodigyplace said:

Use the Oticon ON app until Apple Watch is added to the Companion app. That is Oticon’s recommendation.

I have got the beta Companion app which still has the Apple Watch app so I’m keeping this instead of downloading the release version from the App Store, well, until they remove the beta version that is…

The Audiologists at the hearing aid shop do not have the equipment to perform REM. They have done it as a prerequisite i assume to get a degree. They are not newbies.
This Hearing care center has been rated the best of business in the area in the past. They dispense aids to the populace in the mild hearing loss arena. No wonder…

I can start the process all over again by making an appointment, an easy drive 1 hour away at a Dr Cliff approved Audiologist.
Decisions Decisions.
I have Speech Rescue deployed now in a second program. I can just barely hear a difference so far. I’m profoundly deaf. Without HA’s I cannot even hear the HCP talking. No surprise. So why not a big bulging tubed BTE. No.
I have written in previous posts why I don’t want big bulging BTE ultra power aid.
I also had the audiologist make an adjustment because of what I perceived as slightly booming base or low frequency in humans and on TV.

So it goes.

@mstrmac said:

I can start the process all over again by making an appointment, an easy drive 1 hour away at a Dr Cliff approved Audiologist.

Dr Cliff has done an excellent job convincing many of us he is the Hearing Professional who’s Gold Standard of Care everyone should follow. Before you seek out a Dr Cliff Approved Audiologist, find out exactly what this designation means, and understand what this approval really means for ongoing future care / approval. OR Is it just another check off list for marketing just to say I’m Dr Cliff Approved. This is unlike actual graduate continuing education and licensing and experience.

How well do they perform with multiple conversations at the same time.

In such a situation (profound hearing loss), it is better to move towards BTE UP/SP HA’s rather testing with RIC with 105dB + molds. As in my case of HL, my right ear HA only hear a soft tinny sound when the volume move to +4 in the Companion Apps. Most of the sound is enhance via the left HA (power dome). Phone calls & streaming to IpHone with More 1 is OK for me. Only in noisy environment, I have problem hearing . I think it is no point in my case to request or trial 105dB + molds with More 1.

It is just whether to try Oticon Xceed or Phonak Naida. Probably would ask the Audi for a trial on Xceed first before considering Phonak Naida.

Pls comments and advice. Thanks

Yes, I agree that BTE should probably be better for @mstrmac , but he’s stated that he didn’t like BTE for its bulkiness, so I’m not going to dwell on that argument with him. I only suggested trying Speech Rescue because there’s nothing to lose to try it even if only to confirm that it wouldn’t be helpful for for his case.

But I think if you’re open to larger aids like BTE or the UP/SP types then you may have better success than the 105 dB RIC. I think if you’re open to the Phonak aids, their Sound Recover 2 frequency lowering may be more helpful for you than the Oticon Speech Rescue just because the Phonak Sound Recover 2 destination region can extend to a much lower frequency region than the Oticon Speech Rescue can.

I think recovering the highs where you have profound loss using frequency lowering may be key to helping you with understanding speech better in noisy environments. So if/when you try out the Phonak Naida, make sure to ask them to turn on their Sound Recover 2 in one of the programs so that you can do some kind of A/B comparison.

Sorry this will be long … forgive me! I was seeing an audiologist for over 15 years & had to keep going in for adjustments w/never a real good hearing experience. About 1.5 yrs ago, I purchased K10s from Costco with the reason being I could take them back for full refund up to six months if I didn’t care of them. Again it was back/forth for adjustments even with an audiologist they had there; even tried a different store w/audiologist, but no luck “hearing” well. Finally I checked on Dr. Cliff’s list for a “best practices” audiologist. I called & explained I bought these at Costco, but would she do adjustment on them. She said “yes” but would have to charge $300 to do that. I figured it would be worth it … and it was. One visit later and $300, she did testing, asked me for my aids, did her magic and returned them to me. I put them into my ears & I could actually “hear” immediately. We were all actually crying! Now I can even watch TV w/o my headphones but with my aids & no other accessory! Still issues in restaurants & large rooms, but on these issues, 95% better. Before I got to her office, I figured she would tell me I needed better aids & try to sell me a pair for a few thousand dollars. BUT, when I said to her “maybe I just need different hearing aids” she replied, no you don’t Yours are good they just needed the adjustment." She told me to go back to Costco for any repairs & cleanings since that would all be free there! No pressure, but the end result was fabulous! In my opinion, using this “best practices” audiologist was worth everything. Maybe it was a coincidence, but I would do it all over again. Three audiologists later and this forth one was a charm … and got her from Dr. Cliff’s list. While in my working days, Best Practices designation always meant something special and I believe it still does!

I just wanted to say about speech rescue that the higher pitch piano key’s from the D note up are definitely noticeable with speech rescue deployed. Since speech is softer I don’t hear the difference or probably just don’t notice.

Oticon Reps are visiting the shop next week. I asked the staff (who never heard of it, lol) to please ask if LE Audio Bluetooth 5.3 in the Real is employed or can be updated via firmware update.
And also if there will be a receiver update in the near future.

Good luck to that.

@mstrmac said:

I just wanted to say about speech rescue that the higher pitch piano key’s from the D note up are definitely noticeable with speech rescue deployed. Since speech is softer I don’t hear the difference or probably just don’t notice.

I’m glad to hear that you thought to test it out more scientifically using piano keys and did notice the difference. Those piano key sounds has a loud initial attack point that can really bring out the sound so it’s helpful to test it that way.

In real life, the most noticeable things that I notice from the high regions through Speech Rescue are the “s” and “sh” sounds from the English language speech. If it had been a different language without too much emphasis on fricative sounds, one probably might not have even noticed much difference anyway in terms of speech. Even with the English languages, the majority of those “s” and “sh” sounds are not only softer sounds, but also “follow-up” sounds at the end of the words (or sometimes middle of the words), and not head-on sounds, so indeed they’d be harder to notice if they’re already faint at the end to begin with.

The disadvantage is that in the lowest destination region of Speech Rescue (the 2.4 configuration), it’s hard to differentiate between “s” and “sh”, as I’ve heard some people complain about this when they tried out Speech Rescue. But for me, I’m grateful I can now even hear the “s” and “sh” with Speech Rescue, so I don’t care if they sound the same as long as I can even hear them now.

@danka: Thank you for your good naturedness, and for asking good questions whose answers you pursue relentlessly. I think these attributes are what make the Forum int and fun.

[I also suffer from chronic pain, 24/7 - but hearing loss is right up there in the class of bummers that suck away one’s quality of life. It helps me to joke about it, but that’s not everyone’s cup of tea. I enjoy sharing a few laughs with you!]

@SpudGunner said:

I also suffer from chronic pain, 24/7

I feel for you, Jim. My wife has had chronic migraines for years where a good day is a headache. Sometimes there are unexpected side effects such as swelling, vision issues, and brain fogging.

@prodigyplace: I get migraines, too. I’m sorry for your wife’s suffering.

Hers started after H1N1. Changes in barometric pressure seem to be a trigger. We try to grow our own vegetables and have our own eggs to try and reduce food processing and chemicals.