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Phonak Bolero M70-M — speech in noise issues, looking for advice

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I’ve had a pair of Phonak Bolero M70-M hearing aids from the NHS for about six months. My hearing loss is mild, mainly in the higher frequencies, but I’ve always struggled with speech in noisy environments even before I had any measurable loss.

The aids have helped to some degree but I’m finding they amplify background noise almost as much as the speech I’m trying to hear, which is my main frustration.

I had a Speech in Noise program and a Restaurant setting in the myPhonak app which helped somewhat, though the Restaurant setting was very directional — to the point where if someone was sitting behind the person I was talking to, it would pick up that person strongly and become quite distracting. Then both programs disappeared from the app out of the blue, along with a Bluetooth re-pairing event, which I suspect was a firmware update resetting my settings.

My audiologist has been fairly dismissive of my concerns, which makes it harder to work through these issues systematically.

I’m wondering a few things:

Is there a program configuration that gives good noise reduction without the aggressive directionality?

Has anyone had similar experiences with firmware updates wiping custom programs?

Would upgrading to a newer top-tier model make a meaningful difference for speech in noise, or is this a fundamental limitation I should adjust my expectations around?

Any experience or advice welcome.

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Hi Wobst, Firstly I’m sorry to hear that your audiologist is not helpful - have you considered a change of audiologist? Re: your second paragraph, yes, I use Phonak Spheres and have exactly the same problem and also causes huge frustration. I have a Speech in Noise programme and a Restaurant setting but can’t say that I have seen any great improvement. Not had ‘firmware updates wiping custom programme’ but I do now that Bluetooth isn’t very reliable.

I wouldn’t like to say if an update would make a good difference for speech in noise, and despite many tweakings, am wondering if this is a ‘fundamental limitation’. I’m not qualified to give an opinion other than perhaps re-consider your audiologist? And if there is a configuration that gives good noise reduction without aggressive directionality, I for one would be very pleased to hear more.

@Wobst said:

firmware updates wiping custom programs?

I take it you mean patient created custom programs, and not custom programs created by your audiologist for you. I didn’t experience this when I applied Ultra to my spheres. But I am pretty certain that saving to the hearing aids from target wipes the patient created programs. I am pretty meticulous in getting significant program changes I want to keep established in my provider’s target session. I’m sorry you lost your programs. I wish this was better communicated to patients.

WH

Saving changes made in target to the hearing aids do not wipe the custom programs. I do it all the time.

It would be helpful to know if he is using vented domes or ear molds, because his hearing aids will only reduce noise going through the hearing aids. Any sound going thru the vents will will bypass the hearing aids & remain unchanged.

The directionality in the comfort in noise program can be adjusted by the audiologist in the Target software.

Thanks both. To clarify — yes these were patient-created programs in the app, not audiologist programs. I just managed to get my programs back. I tapped to forget my devices and deleted all the app data for the app. After that when I re-paired the aids the programs and ability to create new ones came back.

Good to know the directionality in Comfort in Noise can be adjusted in Target — I’ll specifically ask for that at my next appointment rather than giving up on the program.

And to answer the dome question: I am using open domes, so yes, I’m aware some noise is bypassing the aids entirely. Worth trying or a vented mould?

Yesterday I was at a kid’s birthday party with a bouncy castle. The noise of the blower motor was very much picked up by the aids. To a degree where it outweighed the positive effects of the aids.

I have multiple pairs of Marvel M70s, along with Paradise and Lumity. I self programme them (not the NHS pair).

I’ve been experimenting with the Speech in noise issue for 2 years now, and have it as a manually selectable programme. I also didn’t like the directionality issue, but I struggled to hear speech from people around me. Here are the program options for speech in noise:

20260216_141731

The target icons on those lines are the defaults.

I’ve found that:
Noiseblock, also reduces the clarity of the person you’re trying to hear, in front of you, so is no help whatsoever.

I generally minimise windblock on all programs too, as it also reduces high frequency sounds, which affects hearing speech.

Whistleblock also reduces high frequency volumes, so I set that as low as I can get away with. If I cup my hand over an ear, feedback will start. On removing the hand, the feedback should stop. If it doesn’t, it needs setting higher.

I now use beamforming only. With the above minimised, it isolates the person I want to hear, in front of me, by reducing the surrounding background noise by a few decibels. This works well for me now. I have 3 Phonak Roger microphones. I don’t use them any more.

You can emulate this in the app, but another factor is the programming of the soft sounds in the speech areas, especially the G50 gains.

On another note, if Audiology adjust a base programme (eg Speech in noise), any user created programme, that uses that base programme, will disappear in the app.

Peter

In reply to @dacuttler

@dacuttler said:

Saving changes made in target to the hearing aids do not wipe the custom programs.

Was sloppy in expressing what I think is going on. The patient created programs that get wiped out are the ones based on a base program which gets changed. This always affected me in the beginning. Usually I knew exactly how I’d created my programs so it was just a nuisance, but I could see getting excited about it if you didn’t know. So is my understanding still wrong?

WH

No. I was probably confused because about all I use the MyPhonak app for is to check the battery level or to use the mute button. I don’t find the app to be of much use.

@dacuttler said:

I don’t find the app to be of much use.

Me neither. I’ve found it useful to “try things” in noisy environments, but only so I can make permanent changes to the original programs when I get home.

It’s too bad, because I really like the Phonak hearing aids. It’s not like they are technology challenged. You would think they would be able to develop a really useful app. Even their remote controler has been dumbed down from previous versions.

I believe this is because Phonak works very hard to avoid any direct contact with the actual users like us, so they get everything second hand filtered by audiologists,who are not the folks actually using the hearing aids.

I have always believed you can learn a lot from your customers if you are willing to listen.

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