Is an audiologist necessary?

@ParkAL said:

Now I’m wishing that I had gotten a second opinion and/or learned about DIY programming earlier.

Yes, it quite scary that one-sided statements may have significant influence for our lives… Now there is even invented fitting algoritm (one of the module of NAL-NL3) for patients with normal audiograms.

A tonal audiogram does not reveal all hearing characteristics. Speech understanding measures, such as WRS in quiet or QuickSIN, provide additional insight into a patient’s problem.

Clinicians felt very differently about fitting hearing aids on people with normal hearing 10 years ago.

It is not uncommon for APD to be comorbid with ASD. It would be nice if you could see an audiologist who has experience with that population. It also seems like a compassionate clinician would be open to starting out with a virtual consult so that you could get to know them a bit from a comfortable location before heading into the clinic.

Be aware that all the tinnitus masking feature does is to add a special noise that covers up the tinnitus. To me, this made things noisier and worse.

There is real danger in self-programming hearing aids from scratch, particularly as a newbie. You can wind up permanently damaging your hearing. What should the MPO (Maximum Power Output) be for that particular hearing aid and receiver at every frequency? You have no guidance.

Yes, you need to visit an audiologist in some way.

@Herbhornist said:

Yes, you need to visit an audiologist in some way.

I think that always it’s good to get ENT and audi visits to exclude other potentially reversible conditions.

Reportedly that video is useful. Some general rules are universal for all HAs:

There is also in-situ option to measure audiogram and UCLs, at least in Phonak Target, not sure about Resound software…

Yes correct, all the manufacturers software offer’s it, this is something that can be done after entering ones audogram and using the software a bit to see what’s possible and things work, then In-situ can be done, surprisingly accurate at times as well.

Do Hearing Aids Help with Tinnitus? Real Users Sound Off3

I wonder if packing channels more densely into frequencies up to 1000–1500 Hz, to make a smaller frequency range for each compared to over 1500 Hz, would make adjustments easier.

My assumption is based on the fact that fewer Hz are needed to transition from a lower to higher octave in frequencies like:

1. 100 to 200 Hz (with 100/12 Hz per semitone) than
2. 1500 to 3000 Hz (with 1500/12 Hz per semitone).

Tu sum up, perhaps there would be better effect with channel and handle assigned to e.g. 4 semitones (~18 channels/handles from 100 to 6400 Hz range or ~21 channels/handles to 12800 Hz).

I theorize only, maybe someone more knowledgeable would add his/her three cents and corrects me.

We need Parametric EQ for heaing aids.

@tenkan said:

your lucky to find an audiologist that’s happy to help you when doing DIY

Yes, and that is weird- why preferring to have people come and visit you for a zillion (prepaid) sessions when you can just steer them into remission with a DIY kit? My audiologist just sat silent when I proposed her going DIY, and she would certainly not lend me a copy of Target. My suspicion is that DIY-vers are seen as a threat throughout the standard distribution chain, with manufacturers hating to shift their marketing model.

(OK, on a side note- I am using the sinister “remission” here ironically, because I think calling us “patients” is extremely heavy-handed. People who need a pair of glasses are never referred to as such…)