Skip to content
HearingTracker
Log in

Is understanding 70%+ of speech with hearing aids a miracle, like is it just out of reach for all of us?

6 replies486 viewsLast reply

Link to this topic
Reply
Edited

I’ve had my hearing aids adjusted multiple times, done , and worked closely with my audiologist, but I still struggle a lot with speech, especially in conversations. I have a of %90

Sometimes I read posts from people who seem to understand most of what’s being said with hearing aids, and I honestly wonder: is consistently understanding 70%+ of speech something most hearing aid users can realistically achieve, or is that level of performance just out of reach for some people no matter how well their aids are fitted?

I’d love to hear other people’s experiences. Where would you say your speech understanding is with hearing aids, and did it improve over time?

6 people in this conversation3 min readJump to latest

You will never understand every word. I have been wearing aids for 21 years. My unaided word recognition is just about 50%. My aided word recognition is about 90% at times and more like 75% at other times. It depends on how noisy the environments. I wear the Phonak Spheres and have the best I have ever had of speech understand. I also have the Oticon INTENT1 aids and they are wonderful in all but the most noisy environments.

Edited

In my opinion, with your and well-programmed hearing aids, your Word Recognition Score () should surpass 70%. However, WRS is just one measure, and other factors must be taken into account to determine speech comprehension. Hearing is a complex process that involves both the ears and the brain, and the brain functions differently in each individual.

My WRS score, without any aids, was 96% at 75 when I received my audiogram. I mention this because your audiogram is quite similar to mine, except at 2K. In my case, the WRS does not represent my hearing in noisy situations, which is terrible. This is the reason why I was prescribed aids.

Word Recognition Score (WRS)
I had a test on Tuesday, tones through headphones then bone conduction and that took a good 20 minutes and wasn’t particularly drawn out. I can’t see word recognition scores being consistent with different voices even if they were both female, were they done at the same office? Doesn’t seem very reproducible to me but would also be dependant on your audiogram
Word Recognition Score
Recently, my ENT stated that the WRS was a far more important number than the audiogram results. Mine is 80 in the worst ear. Comments?

How long have you had hearing aids? I have been using them for 6-7 months. I knew there would be a learning curve on how to listen with them vs without, but I didn’t think it would take this long. I am still getting better as time goes by. Maybe I’m a slow learner.

Since 2013. Initially, I didn’t want to use them because I found them unhelpful in noise (which is where I need them), the sound was very unnatural and they were frugly.

Last year, I switched to a different model/brand, and I’ve been thoroughly enjoying them. Later, I discovered that the programming is what makes the significant difference.

You can also learn lip reading/speech reading to add up to 30% better word recognition. Another strategy is to use aural training. . There are apps for formal training, or you can use ebooks and audio books together to improve your sound and word recognition. The formal programs can give you up to 45% better understanding of you use them every day for 3 to 6 months. None of this is covered by insurance which is why audiologists don’t often recommend them.

The cochlear implant companies have good audio training programs on computer or apps that help with hearing aids too. Or try Hearoes app

It has often been said that hearing with an aid is a new way of hearing that has to be learned with conscious effort, it is definitely not automatic. In my case, I learned by watching and listening to TV with captions. Still do, although, I rely less and less on captions, and more and more on speech alone. I have a streamer for TV audio (Phonak TV Connector that streams to my Phonak hearing aid) and I can follow TV news and TV game shows like radio news and radio game shows from elsewhere in the house :slight_smile:

Everyone learns in his/her own way, though, and you need to find out what works for YOU. Fortunately, there are plenty of individual learning experiences posted on this forum to emulate :slight_smile:

Moreover, communication is much, much more than just speech. Even people with normal hearing gesture more and more if ambient noise gets louder and louder, for example. So use your hands, facial expressions and body language for outgoing communication. Vice versa, process visual cues for incoming communication.

There is a again a learning curve involved to become a natural in non-verbal communication, but it is definitely worth learning (even for normal hearing people, I would say) Depending on context, non-verbal communication can provide more info than speech, so use that to your advantage :slight_smile:

Related discussions