HearAdvisor - Compare Hearing Aid Performance

@AbramBaileyAuD said:

To me making all the hearing aids have the same dome would be similar to putting the hearing aid in test mode with the algos disabled… you’re just getting further from what a real person would experience.

No. Doing this would be equal footing and an equal setting. Not doing it is poor statistics.

@Reginald said:

I disagree, it’s impossible to get a common point of reference with algos [between manufacturers], when it comes to “real life” experience, but you can with domes or moulds.

This is correct it is basic physics. Randomized domes gives randomized results. This is a fact.

I find it hard to believe that an ignorant grandma or grandpa, with mild to moderate hearing loss, is going to walk out of the store with power domes by default. Open domes are fine in various situations. But it skews test results when one manufacturer suggests power domes to get better test results or initial fit comparison results with other manufacturers. It’s a gimmick.

They should all use open domes or they should all use closed domes. Use something consistent that makes this a true lab setup test result.

In lieu of retesting your results with consistent dome size. I would recommend (for whatever it’s worth) specifying dome type alongside each test result comparison, in each detailed report and the reasoning explained in the FAQ. This disclaimer would put you on accurate scientific footing and not lead a bunch of ignorant customers astray. It is too much of a discrepancy all arguments to the contrary aside.

Interesting comment about beamforming. I have that feature on my hearing aids. Using the Phonak hearing aids before these I couldn’t hear behind. That wasn’t safe at work.

I have had horrible trouble hearing in noisy environments, and that includes work. What should I look for?

Hi Abram and Steve

I appreciate that this thread is not about any specific aid and I also appreciate that you might be reluctant to comment on the findings of a professional colleague, but here goes anyway.

Dr Cliff reviewed the Sony cre-e10 several months ago and despite a fairly positive intro and conclusion, reported significant under amplification in the higher frequencies. A screenshot from his review is attached. He described this graph as “as good as we could get it”. This is with a person with mild to moderate high frequency hearing loss.

I understand that measuring techniques will differ and that ears are not all the same etc but Cliff’s finding appear to differ significantly from Steve’s.

Are you willing to make any comment?

The only reason I ask is that I have been using the Sonys for 4 months now and have been generally fairly happy with them but I wonder if I could be doing better.

Dr Cliff was also decidedly unimpressed with the directionality adjustment in the app but that’s another story.

The Sony CRE-E10’s are excellent. Be happy with them. Could you do better? Not a lot. But if you want a little more, then go for it.

Good to hear that Signia hasn’t forgotten the Active range. Brilliant design, although only for mild to moderate losses.

In case you’re interested. We just published something in a peer-reviewed academic journal:

Frontiers | A novel consumer-centric metric for evaluating hearing device...

Background and AimThe emergence of direct-to-consumer hearing devices has introduced confusion in making appropriate choices, highlighting the need for users...

@AbramBaileyAuD said:

And one more thing… in most cases the manufacturer actually recommends some type of occluding dome, which we went with for our initial fit test setups:

Abram, is there any way for us to get this information on the Hear Advisor website for all hearing aids tested? I looked but I didn’t find it. My apologies if it’s there and I missed it.