Oticon, Phonak or ...... high frequency loss

Thanks Firenzel
Kinda what I expected
Anyone know which TV &bt Computer uses; Media music & mic or Media speech & mic.
Below is pic of the audiologist settings for both those. Phone call and mic almost the same settings. She used NAL-NL2

Media Speech and Media Music is whatever you’re listening too.

Listen to a PodCast on your phone and it’ll use the Speech, listen to music and it’ll use Music.

Same with TV Connector, mostly it’ll use Speech unless you’re listening to music on your TV.

Same with Computer unless on Teams / Zoom and it’ll use Phone Call.

Regarding fitting formula, we can’t say, it’s very much up to you and how your ears hear. I like NAL 1 but others like APD 2 so very individual.

Thanks Zebras. A bit of a learning curve here; and thanks to the members on this forum I’m starting to make sense of the target software choices/considerations.

@deisman said:

Basically I hate wearing aids . . .
During my basic “old man” activities I prefer quiet .

@deisman said:

so loud it was painful

Sorry if I’m being presumptuous, but the biggest barrier here sounds to be that you are a long-term intermittent user. Is that right? You don’t wear the hearing aids day-to-day are reserve them for special situations?

If this is the case, expect to have to pull the gain way down to a point that it is comfortable but not optimal for understanding. Expect to have to micro-manage the volume control in different situations as comfortable won’t be clear and clear won’t be comfortable.

Rehab for long-term intermittent users can be a struggle. Focus on getting a comfortable physical fit first because you need be able to wear them. All the time. Then find a gain level that is comfortable for you, focus on consistent wear, and bring the gain up a little bit every few months working towards full prescription gain. The long-term goal is that you can put them in in the morning and wear them all day at 100% target gain.

Maybe I’m way off-base and have over-interpretted some small comments you made in the wrong direction. But maybe someone failed to give you information on the importance of consistent wear back at the beginning and has done you a dramatic disservice.

@Neville said:

The earmold lab at phonak is weak.

How about independent lab as an alternative? My Oticon Real molds are from Microsonic.

Unfortunatly Microsonic is in the US and being in good old Canada we might not have access to their services (correct me if i’m wong) . If anyone knows a good Canadian alternative please way in.
Yes, thus far I am not very impressed with Phonak’s ear moulds especially when they had a plugged vent and (as my audiologist has recently informed me) their Slimtips require you to remove it from the aid in order to repace the wax protector. My audiologist has recommended I change to a cShell saying it will be just as good and maybe even better? She says Phonak is better at making these? As a side point my experience with the domes has basically been positive and they are more comfortable.

I love my titanium slim tips with my activevent receivers. I believe they were made in Vietnam.

WH

The cShells are often better, yes.

Molds from elsewhere are a possibility, it may just mean more $$$.

@Tealover
I have slim tips. They’re custom moulded. They are indeed clear and hollow and, as you say, the receivers push into them. They’re also vented, so occlusion is low. They are comfortanble.

My Audiologist said these gave him much more tolerance in high frequency gains, than domes. He said C.Shells would have been better still, but I just didn’t fancy them.

Peter

Where to buy this type of slim tips. I would like it for my 105dB receiver of Oticon More.

Hi Peter
The attached photo is a image of one of my Oticon custom molds and the difference from the Phonak mold appears to be the the depth of insertion. (now trying Phonak aids) The Phonak one requires the receiver to be removed from the mold in order to replace the waxguard whereas the Oticon one does not. (shame on you Phonak)
The right aid that I received from Phonak had to go back as the vent did not go all the way through (Blocked) and the left aid was difficult to remove from my ear. On one occassion, just the receiver came out and it was quite a chore retrieving the mould. On another occassion the ear lock broke off when I used it in an attempt to remove the aid. So I am not a big fan of Phonak’s mould making dept. I,m using domes now while waiting on cShells from Phonak. Will keep all posted on my experience with them once I have a while to try them out.
I’m glad Phonak’s slimTips worked well for you but not all ear canal’s are the same and Phonak’s slimTips did not work for me.

With my Phonak slimtips, the wax guard fits in the end of the the mould itself. The disc like dispenser doesn’t work though.

@PeterH

I’ve had 3 sets of Phonaks. Two had normal waxguards. Worked so well for me. I use them with locks to prevent loss.

Phonak Audeo Paradise P90R’s—absolutely terrible. The only reason to sell these is to increase profits. They just don’t work for me. Maybe it’s the locks I use…

And I’ve had 2 domes – way back–stay in my ears. With the old hearing aids.

New hearing aids–I had a false alarm and visited my doc once when I thought I had one in my right ear canal.

@Phonak
–new waxguards vs old waxguards–If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Hire some designers my age and see how absolutely terrible the wax guards are. Or–still have 'em when I need new hearing aids? They won’t be Phonak when I buy. It’s a deal breaker.

DaveL

So several months on and am now using Phonak custom CShells & loving them; especially the fit and larger vents. Glad I kept at my HP to keep moving forward on finding something that works for my smallish & bent ear canals. Just finished a remote session with her and adjusted a couple settings as per my request. Love the Phonaks Lumity and its android blue tooth. Not without its quirks but much better than my experience with Oticon. My favorite feature is the tap control. Also just discovered that the Restaurant setting works well to filter out road noise while in the car. This would not be so if it were not for the CShells. I now believe they are just as important as the aid itself and maybe more so. Why spend thousands on aids and just pennies on cheap domes?