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Phonak Marvel 'prescribed compression' vs. linear, what's the difference?

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The hearing aid vendor says prescribed compression is the default, making it linear requires changing a lot of things.
I will ask him again about this but am interested in any information people herein can provide.
Do Livio hearing aids have similar??
What are pros/cons??
All I know is linear is more like old analog aids and prescribed has to do with one’s , but I don’t want sounds cut off or clipped, I want them ‘normal’ loud. :slight_smile:

8 people in this conversation2 min readJump to latest

I don’t know about the Marvels but on my previous model Phonaks you can also set them to semi-linear. I know I give up some dynamic range, but most speech is clearer for me set to semi-linear. The compression ratios are in the 1.7 to 2.0 range.

Soft sounds, medium sounds, and loud sounds each have their own gain settings, so loudness is no longer a benefit of linear. You can have soft sounds turned up without blowing out loud sounds.

You just need to select the linear option and re-verify.

@tom12010 said:

I want them ‘normal’ loud.

Depending on your hearing loss, a linear fit may be less likely to make things “normal” loud, you may have to choose between too loud and inaudible. Compression allows for more loudness control, but introduces more distortion. It’s always a bit of a balance.

I thought phonak has multiple fitting formula like iOv5 or NAL formula I am sure Audiologist pick a linear formula and turn off compression in the settings in the phonak programmer app.

The most recent phonak fitting software I have seen has 8 fitting formula options and 3 compression settings (prescribed, semi-linear & linear)

@mojorising1971 said:

Can audiologist fine tune in phonak program like an equalizer?

Yes.
And here are at least 19 more characters so the site software will let me say “Yes.”

In reply to @Don

Hey Don, I am in a similar situation as you. Linear has loud bass/clarity but less soft sounds. Prescribed has more soft sounds but I have to give up bass/clarity and I struggle. I feel that semi-linear would be perfect for me. I know you have semi-linear compression setting but are on the default Phonak fitting formula? Would appreciate if you can let me know.

Edited

That is brilliant. I didn’t know that. This means I can try semi-linear with default fitting, DSLv5, NL2, etc. This will make a massive difference for me. Are you on semi-linear too? Which fitting formula have you found works best for you?

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