Those who have had an improvement in speech comprehension, what was the secret?

You seem to have all the “answers” in your question. Rather odd to ask what’s the secret sauce to get better speech comprehension, when you clearly know the answers.
And “sorry” but reading your post makes one wonder if your not an “Audi” or someone within HT trying to drum up conversation. Not a bad thing, but obviously Bubbly HA’s are not your first rodeo. If in fact they ever were.

@ssa said:

implanting your self with a CI

Most people have a surgeon do that. Are CIs available otherwise?

@cvkemp said:

Speech Therapy

Can you elaborate on speech therapy? I feel like I can hear very well. I just don’t seem to understand very well. I have Phillips 9030 HA from Costco. The fitting seems OK. REM was performed. Maybe therapy can help.

It may be my hearing loss, but I was referred to a high school speech therapist that worked with me for 2 years, I was in my late 60s at this time. For me it was mostly relearning to truly listen to how words are pronounced. It has helped but it also takes hearing aids that are fitted to the cutting edge, meaning not a lot of people with hearing loss can accept their aids being set so loud. You see for comfort reasons most hearing aids are set up at between 80 amd 90% of the true needs for the person to hear so the aids down seem too harsh sounding, because if they seem harsh then people throw them in a drawer and forget them. Over a six month period my aids were slowly raised to my full hearing loss level. But in doing so I can hear sounds that I would normally not hear, which means I hear words that I would normally now hear correctly.
It is harsh sounding at times and I have had to be patient and give my brain the time to learn how to accept the sounds. Over times it has learned to filter out what isn’t needed. But the downside is at times I will be around sounds I haven’t heard or don’t hear often and the sound will be like my head was inside of a huge bell that is ringing.
An air horn, an emergency siren, sometimes a sudden dog barking close by will do it to me. I have also had my aids reboot because of the sudden loud noise.
I don’t recommend it for anyone that is prepared for dealing with it. But for me it was doing this or facing an CI surgery. As someone that has never been hospitalized or had any surgeries or broken bones I run from even the thought of it.

Here is my take on getting better speech comprehension. Just an FYI that I am a busy executive in the IT industry, I have been wearing hearing aids for 23+ years and I think I am on my 7th or 8th set of hearing aids at this point.

MOST IMPORTANT POINT: It all starts with finding a really good audiologist. I can’t stress this enough. The best audiologists are almost like highly skilled police detectives. They ask tons of questions. They collect evidence (hearing test, word comprehension scores, etc) and they then continue to probe you with questions throughout the testing, product selection, fitting and adjustment periods. They also push you to log your experiences and take as much time as necessary to understand what is working and where you are struggling. They also really know their testing and fitting technology. They use industry best practices like REM testing. They intimately understand the strengths and weaknesses of each brand of hearing aid and they are good at recommending hearing aids that will work best for your unique hearing loss. They don’t push a single brand. They select the best product for you and then work with you to adjust the hearing aids until they get the best performance possible for your hearing loss.

I actually went through multiple audiologists until I found my current one. I was visiting my ENT Doctor for a checkup and he asked me how my hearing aids were doing. I told him I was completely frustrated with the whole process and he then recommended someone who he knew to be really good at fitting people who were very challenging/fussy patients. I have been with that audiologist ever since and he is fantastic.

SECOND MOST IMPORTANT POINT: The best speech comprehension and the latest breakthrough speech comprehension advances are only found in the newest and most expensive hearing aids. I know some people may beat me up on this but this is 100% true. You need to always start your trials with the hearing aid manufacturer’s top/latest models (i.e. 9 series, etc). These hearing aids have the most recent technology and the most recent algorithm to help with speech comprehension, specifically…speech in loud noise. I know this comes at a huge price that many cannot afford. I see this as a multi-year investment. Buying the latest hearing aid technology future proofs my hearing aids and allows me to keep them longer. Buying cheaper models really means you will be replacing them more often and IMHO, you will end up spending the same money over time. Bear in mind that you must start with a good audiologist. If you have a bad audiologist, it doesn’t matter how much you spend…you will get bad results.

LAST POINT: There are many brands of hearing aids and they all use different techniques to help you hear speech better. What works for some people’s hearing loss doesn’t necessarily work for a different person. That is why you will get so many different opinions here. Some swear by Oticon and their “open” approach to hearing. Others have gotten better results with Phonak (I’m wearing Phonak Lunmity right now), GN Resound, Signia, etc. You MUST find an audiologist who will let you try many different brands for a minimum of 30-60 days each and you MUST be patient as it takes the audiologist a while get the settings optimized and it will also take time for your brain to get used to a new hearing aid. You also need to find an audiologist who deeply understands the different brands that they are fitting and deeply understands the different strengths and weaknesses of each brand.

That’s my 2 cents. As I mentioned, I’m currently wearing Phonak’s new top model Lumity hearing aids and the speech comprehension I have experienced with these new hearing aids has been phenomenal.

Jordan

@JordanK said:

SECOND MOST IMPORTANT POINT: The best speech comprehension and the latest breakthrough speech comprehension advances are only found in the newest and most expensive hearing aids. I know some people may beat me up on this but this is 100% true.

I find fascinating what people “know.” I’m curious how you “know” this. I’m thinking it’s something along the lines of “this is what it seemed like for me and it must be true for everybody else.”

@MDB said:

I find fascinating what people “know.” I’m curious how you “know” this. I’m thinking it’s something along the lines of “this is what it seemed like for me and it must be true for everybody else.”

I didn’t say that. Everything I share is based on my own personal experience and may not be true for others people. That being said, the hearing aid manufacturer’s typically put their latest speech comprehension advances/updates into their top model hearing aids. That is why I recommend starting with the top model and then working your way down.

Jordan

This comes off a lot differently than your original statement.

@JordanK I like your reviews and information your post. I follow your posts. I just recently got my Lumity L90RL hearing aids and started with a new HIS. I got my hearing aids Match 7th. The adjustment was good. He did perform, some sort of REM, there wasn’t the Carrot audio that I was used to, just sounds on my ears. He gave me a paper copy of test. (I’ll try and post when I find it). The adjustment was good but speech was bad. I saw him about 10 days later snd he adjusted (something). . A week later saw him as conversation was still bad. He adjusted using Semi frequency compression (my words) and wow it has made a big difference. It’s only been a few days and my brain is adjusting but hopefully it will remain good. This is the first audiologist that has taken time to actually go into the hearing aid programs and make adjustments to improve my hearing with them. Most just use whatever the computer tells them to do based on my audiogram. I’ve worn hearing aids for 19 years, 7 different pairs, counting these, Lumity. I do agree with you, if you have a bad Audi, it doesn’t matter how good your aids are, if not adjusted properly to your unique hearing loss. @JordanK , thank you for your insight snd updates on Lumity hearing aids.

It is a !!!shoot.

It’s not fun finding a new audiologist and chosingnew hearing aids.

@JordanK said:

The best audiologists are almost like highly skilled police detectives. They ask tons of questions. They collect evidence (hearing test, word comprehension scores, etc) and they then continue to probe you with questions throughout the testing, product selection, fitting and adjustment periods. They also push you to log your experiences and take as much time as necessary to understand what is working and where you are struggling. They also really know their testing and fitting technology. They use industry best practices like REM testing. They intimately understand the strengths and weaknesses of each brand of hearing aid and they are good at recommending hearing aids that will work best for your unique hearing loss. They don’t push a single brand. They select the best product for you and then work with you to adjust the hearing aids until they get the best performance possible for your hearing loss.

Find me that MAN and I will MARRY him (well, he’d have to be okay with my already having a husband whom I adore!). That is what I would like to be if I could re-live my career path. Such an audi would be a rare gem. To me, that kind of audi would have a special passion for his or her profession - it would be a rare calling.

Everyone needs to remember how it works, speech comprehension is a brain thing, your HAs “help” to achieve this, but the end result is…how well we hear, you cannot force this to happen overnight (comprehension) there’s plenty of things on the interweb to help “train” your brain, google comprehension therapy.

Bubbly, I haven’t read all 58 posts but I hope you take this guys advice from 2021. He’s an audiologist in Utah. I wish I had his advice when I finally gave in to my wife to get hearing aids in 2015. I had a miserable 4 year experience with 3 different audiologist. Don’t get in a hurry and try multiple brands and models until you’re satisfied. In 2021, my online visit with Enoch resulted in his advice to try a Behind the Ear aid with the dome in the ear canal. At the time I had a Starkey CIC. I now have a Resound Omnia 7. Very pleased with it.

Here’s the questions you need to ask per Enoch.

When you don’t know what you’re looking for in an outstanding hearing provider, you will never find one. Let me help…
First, you are probably not looking into hearing aids because you don’t hear beeps very well, right? What you really need is improved SPEECH understanding. Make sure that your Provider actually tests with speech. And that they do before and after speech testing.
Important note: Do not ask if they do speech testing, rather ask them what testing they will do and why. If they don’t volunteer that they do before and after speech testing, then walk away!!! A Provider isn’t excellent if you have to teach them how to help you!
You want someone who is very knowledgeable about hearing and hearing aids in general. Additionally, you want someone who knows EVERYTHING about the hearing aids they are most comfortable with. I mean, they should know every nook and cranny of those hearing aids; both the hardware and the software.
I would ask the Provider “what hearing aids would you recommend and why?” I honestly don’t care which brand they prefer, most Providers have a preference of brand, what I care about is the “why”. Why do they like those aids. What makes them a better fit for you than any other aid? If they can’t answer that, then walk away!
You want someone that understands that changing one of your 5 senses isn’t as easy as snapping your fingers. It takes time and follow through. Essentially, your Provider is going to help you re-wire your brain to work better with your ears. You need to make sure this person knows how to do that.
I would ask “Tell me what is involved with getting my hearing as good as possible.” If they don’t mention that it will take some time and you should have several follow up sessions, then walk away!

I’m always willing to share my journey but I’ll answer your questions!

So I currently wear the KS9’s from Costco. Before that, I wore Phonak Audeo B’s, before that I wore Phonak Cassia Micro P’s. Before that, I wore analog Phonak hearing aids.

My hearing loss was a rather easy loss to fit, despite it being a reverse slope hearing loss. What helped in most of my situations was being able to have a FM system while I was in school. Even though I sat in the front of the classroom, I still struggled with conversations and lessons sometimes. When we had group assignments, having the FM system and passing it around allowed me to hear my group, and there were even situations where we’d surprise everyone with my FM system because they’d whisper into the mic and I’d hear everything they said.

The adjustments my audiologists made over the years to help me with speech comprehension were mostly to do with acclimating to the new levels every time they adjusted my prescription. So I would go down two steps, and then acclimate by the next appointment to my actual prescription. It sort of felt like I was getting intoxicated by the influx of the sound every time I went. They adjusted the higher end of the frequencies a bit based on their fitting formulas. I think I was on DSL V5 in school before I started getting fitted with NAL-NL2. I don’t know the difference between those fitting formulas and that’s something someone else with more experience can answer.

Nowadays, I find that relying on a FM system while in groups is important to me. It’s why I recently purchased a Phonak Roger Select iN for my KS9’s, along with the Phonak PartnerMic, and Phonak TV Connector when I’m at home watching TV with the family.

Unfortunately I can’t speak about your hearing loss, but what I find is that you need to be very descriptive when it comes to determining what speech comprehension you’re having difficulty with. For example - With my loss, it is harder to make out deeper, bassy male voices, but I can somewhat hear and understand a female voice, or hear a higher pitched ringtone while loud music is playing. I struggle with certain words like reel, feel, deal, ding, bring, sing, and some others.

I remember reading in this forum that the higher end of the audiogram is intended to be for clarity. So if you’re unable to hear speech or have good speech comprehension, it would in my opinion be a good idea to think about seeing if you can trial out a FM system, or a microphone that can connect to your hearing aids.