Skip to content
HearingTracker
Log in

Is loud good or bad with new aids?

This topic is closed.

17 replies2.1k viewsLast reply

Link to this topic
Edited

I am a long-time hearing aid user. My hearing has gotten worse over the last few years and my aids were shot. I just got new Philips 9040 from Costco with custom ear molds. They are programmed according to my . They help me understand speech better. However, extraneous noises are very loud. As is music in the music program. It makes me wonder if they should be programmed for less volume. Will “too loud” cause more hearing loss? Or, since they are programmed to compensate for my loss, is this just how loud things should sound after living with increased loss/poorly working aids for a while? Thoughts?

8 people in this conversation6 min readJump to latest

Yes, it can seem too loud, especially if they set the hearing aid to 100% of your target settings. They may have to gradually increase the amplification over a few months to get you to 100%.

Take notes over the week or so. Then make an appointment to have them adjust the hearing aids. Make sure you bring your notes.

If it’s too uncomfortable, try lowering the volume in the phone app until your next hearing aid adjustment appointment.

Under normal circumstances there shouldn’t be any additional damage if set correctly for your hearing loss. However, if you go to rock concerts, or are around other very loud noise settings, then you could farther damage your hearing

I have been using Oticon aids for 14 years and wear custom ear molds, it took me almost 18 months of almost monthly adjustments to reach the point I could tolerate my full prescribed settings. But the closer I got the better I could understand speech. But along the way there were feedback issues and fixes as well as ear mold fixes and changes. It is a process that I couldn’t have afforded if it wasn’t for my benefits.

In reply to @user990

Thank you! I have been/continue to take notes. I sometimes wear my aids as set and other times turn them down a notch. I know it’s a process. I just wanted to make sure that the volume wasn’t going to create more problems than it helps. I don’t go to concerts. Even with a music program, music doesn’t sound “right”-the way I remember it.

You can have a music program or even one for streaming and another for when you are not streaming, if they haven’t already installed one.

There are adjustments that can be made to the music program.

Your ability to describe your issues and your fitter’s ability to understand can make all the difference, especially when we use terms such as boomy, tinny, muddy, bright, shrill, dull, hollow and distorted.

You can also download some music to your phone and play it back through your hearing aids at your next appointment. That should help the fitter get the adjustments for streaming dialed in.

Anyhow, don’t give up easily. Unfortunately, Costco is a busy place and may not give you the attention you need unless you push. Even try another Costco, if you think it might help. Not all fitters have an equal ability.

You can also go to YouTube and select Hearing Club. The Costco fitter has some Philips videos that may be of interest,

I got 9040’s a week ago and, so far, am not happy with them. Sounds are very distorted and I understand speech less than with my old KS10’s. I’m schedulted for an adjustment session later today at the Prescott Costco. I hope this makes them better.

A Hearing Tracker video: The NEW Costco Jabra Enhance Pro 20 Hearing Aids: Costco Hearing Aids Feature Review! at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rs8HZPV7xbA9 recommends the Jabra Enhance Pro 20 over the 9040’s. I may try to switch.

Good luck! I’m in MX and Jabra is not available at Costco. So far, I’m pretty happy with mine. I rarely wore my hearing aids once I retired-only to go out. Since I am in trial, I’m wearing them a big chunk of the day for me-to ensure that they are adjusted optimally for me if I keep them. Or to know if I want to turn them back in and try another. I wish you well!

In reply to @user990

I’m in MX-don’t know how much longer it might take to get 9050s here. I’m on 60 day trial so I doubt they will be here by then. Thank you for the info on the Philips videos on YouTube. I will check those out. And some of my notes on music were “heavy bass/low tones”, “tinny piano”, “horns dull” so I guess I’m on the right track! :slight_smile:

In reply to @FRED_O

I would check out the posts on the Jabra hearing aids. They seem to have their issues too.

Also the new 9050 model should have all the new features that are currently in the Jabra brand.

Personally, for me the 9040 hearing aid is working out just fine. However, I can hear and understand most adults without using my hearing aids. Since I use open domes, Bluetooth is never going to offer good sound due to bass leakage.

The new Rexton hearing aid is also an option. Rexton has said that they plan to update their hearing aid program to add all the goodies that the Jabra comes with. The Hearing Club did a review on YouTube for the new Rexton hearing aid, in case you missed it.

I been using Oticon for several years at 85% of my nominal prescription. I found 100% way too loud when I initially tried it. But I am going to ask for it to be turned up to 90%, and try that for a bit.

So, my advice is, ask for it to be turned down, and then try gradually working up to 100%.

I had to go to 100% to be able to understand conversationss. It took about 18 months to get there once I made my decision to do it. I got tired of not understand what was said.

It depends on what kind of loud you’re getting. When I trialed the 9040s, I found background noise to be way too loud for my preference. Even the crunching of steps on the cinders of the rail trail that I like to walk with my wife was so loud that I couldn’t understand what she was saying. I eventually returned them because the background noise was out of balance and interfered with speech comprehension.

I’m currently trialing the Oticon Intents. I was surprised at how loud they were when I first started wearing them. In contrast to the Philips 9040s, however, the background noise has never interfered with my ability to understand speech. My hearing has adjusted to the volume of the Oticons, whereas it never did with the Philips. It seems to me that it’s all about the balance.

Of the choices available at Costco, I much preferred the Rextons to the Philips.

Thank you! I looked at the general one last night and tagged this one and another regarding programming them to watch.

My work involves sound recording - trained at the BBC. In any studio, extra-loud sounds are routinely caught by a ‘limiter’ while too much overall contrast can be controlled, if desired, by an adjustable’compressor’. These facilities exist in hearing aids but in my experience don’t often get addressed during the individual fit.
Agreed, the maximum volume is a real health issue. I am currently awaiting a reply from a self-fit over-the-counter maker asking three things: what is the maximum possible sound pressure level given to the ear, can this be controlled by a limiter that follows the user’s volume control and how quickly, in milliseconds, does the limiter respond.
When these things are not right, by fit or by design, we endure amplified cutlery crashes, sneezes. Been there - 30 years - until at last an inspired audiologist
picked a well featured obsolete Phonak, put aside the unhelpful tone tests and got me talking, singing, shouting while she adjusted. It did not take long. She even gave me back the two bottom octaves traditionally ignored. Improved both speech and music. Wonderful - and comfortable!

@ellisonvoice said:

until at last an inspired audiologist

and once again, that is what makes the difference. Not the aids, any of the new ones are OK. It’s the fitting. If you can’t you need a great, skilled, knowledgeable audiologist.

Edited

And I have an awesome audiologist. He is a doctor and professor of audiology.

Related discussions