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Need to get new hearing aids and a new audiologist

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Edited

My current hearing aids Otion Opn S1 have been playing up for a few months. So time to get new hearing aids.

What to look for in an audiologist

I want to move away from my current audiologist which are a large nationwide company in the UK. The main reasons is because they are quite expensive (compared to independents) and I also feel that while my hearing aids work pretty well for me, some issues with the left hearing side have never really been satisfactorily resolved. In addition, I had to request an as well as custom ear moulds - which I have been told by this forum, should have been standard for my kind of hearing loss. One thing that also surprised me is that they don’t do word tests - which I remember from when I was very young. Maybe that is not relevant anymore, but I felt it would have helped address which frequencies I am not hearing properly in the left aid much better.

I am considering this audiologist, but other than their Google reviews (which are good), I have no idea how to choose an audiologist. I like the sound of them, but I chose them based on reviews, not any understanding of what to look for.

Potential new Hearing aid audiologist9

Should I stick with Oticon or consider other aids

What I like about Oticon is their wide open sound. I didn’t like other hearing aids where they blocked off “unwanted” sound as it created an unnatural environment and ironically sometimes stopped me from hearing whatever I was trying to hear.

The thing that I most like about Oticon is that I no longer have hearing fatigue - where in the past (using Resound) I was only too glad to pull out the aids at the end of the day as everything was too loud, too noisy and I just felt that there was too much sensory stimulation. Thankfully that problem is long gone with Oticon.

I will say, that I don’t often have to ask people to repeat themselves. So, Oticon does achieve my most important priority - clarity in speech. For that reason alone, I am prepared to stick with Oticon.

However, I have a few issues with my Oticon aids which may or may not be to do with the aids or the audiologist or both?

  1. I can’t always hear what someone is saying in another room if they shout to me. With Resound hearings, this was far less of an issue. Significantly so.

  2. Music sounds terrible on both General and Music settings with Oticon. Flat, lifeless, dull, uninteresting - you name it. Resound was considerably better for Music. With Oticons music just sounds so boring and flat.

  3. When I clap my hands next to my right ear, there is the normal reverberation, echo sound you get from those kind of sounds. When I clap my hands next to my left ear, the sound is totally dead. This is with hearing aids on. With the aids off - the sound is as it should be in both ears. The audiologist said it was to do with compression in the left hearing aid. I am convinced that this is probably the reason why music sounds so terrible.

  4. While it is considerably improved since original fitting (which was a back and back again nightmare - read my first topic for background if you want - but long read) - the right hearing aid is still louder than the left hearing aid - volume differential. I think the right hearing aid volume is correct, the problem is the left hearing aid. I use the word volume, but I think it’s more specific frequencies in the left hearing aid that are the issue, rather than simply moving volume 1 up for left.

  5. When I go to restaurants or am walking out on the streets with people, I find that I hear better when I turn left hearing aid volume up 1, but keep right hearing aid on default volume. As with above paragraph, I don’t think that volume (overall) is the issue, but frequencies. For at home or in the Office, default volume seems to work, but I suspect that the left aid is not optimal.

I don’t want to go back to Resound. They just felt too loud in noisy environments - (try schools with kids screaming or a busy high street) and their environment settings never worked well for me. I was delighted to take the hearings out at the end of the day. Couldn’t wait. So, I don’t think Resound are right for me. However, they were far better for music and hearing people in the next room. Can Oticon step up and address their shortcomings or is there another manufacturer that would work better for me?

Questions about Oticon Opn S1 versus Opn Intent 1

I don’t fully understand how or why I need compression in my left ear. I am just conscious of the difference in quality of sound between the two ears. Would Intent address these compression issues I am experiencing in the left hearing aid?

People have said that there is a huge difference between Opn and Intent, in fact they say there is a massive jump from Real/More to intent based on a new chipset I believe? Would this make much difference for my kind of hearing.

One more point. I have always felt that Oticon is very conservative with boosting lower frequencies as they focus on boosting the higher frequencies to gain clarity in speech. Which explains why I find clarity of speech so good, but feel like the aids are not loud enough (only in left ear) on high street, restaurants or people in another room compared to Resound hearing aids.

Is Oticon far more conservative with lower frequencies or is that the audiologist that is far more conservative?

This is partially why I want to try another audiologist as I fear the audiologist may be too conservative with boosting lower frequencies. I had a major battle in the very beginning to get the hearing aids to work properly for me and the left is still not 100% satisfactory.

5 people in this conversation11 min readJump to latest

Resound user who switched to Oticon Intents here. The Intents are great hearing aids but the way they are set up for music (especially the MyMusic program) did not sound good to me, and many people don’t like them for that. This is why you choice of audi is important - most have no clue how to set up for music.

I have been very disappointed with most of the audiologists I have used and also had experience of through friends and relatives. So when I recently got new aids I did a LOT of research to find a decent audi. Here’s my thoughts:

  • Discounted large chains like Boots, Specsavers etc. They have a limited choice of HAs and I anted to be able to try several brands.
  • Discounted small chains like the one you are looking at. I have had experience of two organisations like them and in both cases the audis changed on a regular basis, so you are never sure who you are going to get. I used one local chain (had three outlets) and the first audi I had with them was great, really knew their stuff but then they disappeared and I saw two different audis who were not good at all.
  • I decided to find an audiologist where I could work directly with a specific audi (so very small or one man bands). I looked at every one within a one-hour drive, looked at their experience and discounted all of those who had clearly decided to become an audi as a later life career change and only considered those who had relevant careers and experience.
  • I made a short list of three and phoned them up to discuss how we might proceed. At the time I was doing this I was interested in Widex (because of the music capabilities) and also Oticon were about to release the Intents. Two of the three knew nothing about Widex (I don’t fit them was the response) and I knew more about the Oticon Intents than either of them (they hadn’t had the training). The guy I finally went with not only knew everything about the Intents but he could also tell me the relative strengths and weaknesses of Phonak, Signia, Resound, Oticon and Widex and was prepared to let me trial any of them.

If you really want to get a good audi, that’s what you will need to do IMO. If you really want to get good music settings out of Oticon Intents, you will need a really good audi that is prepared to spend a lot of time with you. I learned how to do programming so that I could optimise the Intents for music.

Are you able to try Phonak latest and greatest Infinio Sphere?

Not sure there is OPN Intent!!!

If you aren’t far from the Welsh border, then there is a good audiologist I’ve been told :thinking:

@OldMusicGuy I am very pleased that you mentioned about working directly with a specific audi. This is actually the reason why I chose this particular company. They have 3 locations, you are quite correct, but they are not a chain. As far as I am aware, they have two audiologists. Brother and sister that look after all customers.

So, I am glad that I am on the right track by moving away from chains and organisations where the audi changes all the time. This company is just those two. The purpose of the 3 locations is to cover a wider area for customers. They only go to each location a couple of times a week.

I believe (but I will confirm) that one of the reviewers said that they were very good at sorting out the music problem on Oticon. If so, its good that I can possibly stick with Oticon as long as the audi can address the music issue.

I will review their history - as you suggested - to see how long they have been doing audiologist work.

Thank you. Your advice on finding an audiologist is very helpful. Hopefully my suggested audio will pan out - once I have done the research.

@Baltazard I can try Phonak, but I would like to hear from others on this forum what is suitable for my hearing loss as not all hearing aids are for all intended target market sectors.

No, there is no opn Intent. There is Oticon OPN (came out in about 2017) and there is the new Oticon Intent which I think came out last year.

I am in South London/Surrey border. Nowhere near Wales alas.

Edited
@Roberto said:

I can try Phonak, but I would like to hear from others on this forum what is suitable for my hearing loss as not all hearing aids are for all intended target market sectors

It depend if you are talking about companies solely on their EBITDA basis rather than gross profit, or their FTS100 fluctuations/projections!!!

Joke aside, I meant you test other manufacturer like Phonak, Signia, Starkey, Widex…
This will give you a better appreciation of sound and voices, you might never have had with Oticon OPN.
After all, it’s your hearing and everyone’s hearing is different, same as choosing a colour or a dish, everyone’s taste is different, so by trying various from different companies, this will help you appreciate which brand is for you.

Also, have you looked at Costco?

In reply to @Baltazard

@Baltazard said:

Also, have you looked at Costco?

No, I want to use as much as possible an independent audiologist. I agree very much with the other poster about chains and why they are not a good idea. A good audiologist is actually more important the hearing aid.

I can certainly try other aids (once I have found an audiologist), but I am aware that manufacturers do target specific audiences, so it would help to know that hearing aids a, b and c would be no good for me!

@Roberto said:

I agree very much with the other poster about chains and why they are not a good idea

Someone’s opinion? What makes you think you can’t get an excellent audiologist/ from Costco?

@Roberto said:

I can certainly try other aids (once I have found an audiologist),

Yeah well good luck with that, most clinics don’t like “you” choosing which you want, or let alone trialing “A,B,or C” hearing aids to see if you’d like one or the other.

@Roberto said:

but I am aware that manufacturers do target specific audiences, so it would help to know that hearing aids a, b and c would be no good for me!

Nothing special about your loss going by your audogram, just about any HAs will fit your loss easy enough, mind you shopping for HAs is just like getting any other new device, Phone, TV, etc choosing which one can sometimes just be down to brand loyalty, be prepared to empty your pockets :wink:

@tenkan said:

Someone’s opinion? What makes you think you can’t get an excellent audiologist/HIS from Costco?

You can - but it is luck of the draw in many cases and the next time you go there, they might not be there. Read the post by OldMusicGuy - we never claimed that you can’t get a good audi at Costco.

I have decided that I will go ahead with these people that I found and see how they work out. I can’t find out much about the two specialists, but they do have very good reviews and in particular there is one review by someone who bought Oticon Intent hearing aids elsewhere and their audi could not get the aids to work well for music - but this company was able to sort out the issue! As there are only two of them and it’s their business, it hopefully means that I won’t suffer from the same problem with big companies where there is a new audi every year!

I think if people were unsatisfied there would be some bad reviews and I am not seeing any. I am not Google’s biggest fan, but one thing I will say is that I do tend to trust Google reviews. The companies are unable to hide bad reviews and Google does apparently address fake reviews somehow.

I will go in a month or two - as I am busy with exams at the moment. Will update once I have been and seen what they have to say.

One thing I will also ask them about is something I have been seeing on the forum lately - vac+ or nal 2 algorithm which is not something I have ever come across before. Maybe this is something new since I got my last hearing aids? No idea what the difference is and what Oticon uses and what is best for me? I am sure the audiologist that I will be visiting should be able to advise.

Thanks for the feedback.

@Roberto said:

next time you go there, they might not be there.

This can be true no matter where you go. People get sick. They get pregnant and go on maternity (why I couldn’t see my regular audiologist in December), they go out of business, move for promotion. Life can be complicated.

One thing about Costco is the employees seem to be treated well and have a remarkably high retention rate. So it seems like a safe bet.

WH

Well with a very small company like the one that I am looking at, this is less likely as there are only 2 people - who basically own the company. I will give them a go and see how it pans out.

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