Phonak Marvel - vibrating tremolo effect for high pitched (electronic) sounds

Try searching “Where do I post my audiogram”

Posting My Audiogram: I’ve been searching for this for hours over several days and I can’t find anything that works. I’ve found a half-dozen instructions, slightly different at times, possibly illustrating changes over the last year or two. They all seem to boil down to going to your HearingTracker (not Forum) profile, and you should see “Add My Audiogram” or a chart or something. My HearingTracker profile just has my avatar, my name, my bio blurb, and NOTHING else. Just some ads on the right. At the top, MyAccount is not a pull-down menu as pictured in some of the explanatory posts.

Is there something I’m missing? Am I not worthy because I’ve been signed up only a few days?

Finally found this. It worked for me.

This Link (member archive)

I had searched. Until the link buried in a forum post to here10 was shared, I couldn’t find anything. There appear to be no direct links from anyplace you’d set up your profile. I’ve now added mine.

@eric.cobb said:

Most of the big companies now have separate music algorithms that can be applied where the FB canceler is static rather than adaptive, and all the features that would try to self adjust or manipulate the signal are turned off.

The Rexton/Signia KS8 switches the Feedback control to slow from the default fast, for the music programs. It can also be turned off, but that may not be acceptable to those who are using a lot of gain.

I’ve ended my trial with the Marvels early. While the technician was able to give me a manual program for music, the trilling/tremolo effect in every day life - on louder higher pitched voices, on computer prompts, microwave beeps, etc - was, to me, unacceptable. In certain cases, it rendered speech unrecognizable.

Perhaps a different technician at Costco will have better luck dialing it in. I am glad I was able to document the issues with audio clips before turning them in. So, we will see what happens with KS-9s and/or the Philips HearingLink from Costco. My appointment there is for August 8th.

I thought the KS9 was a Phonak Marvel? Don’t you think it will be the same?

In the little I saw of the Phonak software, there are at least four parameters in the “sound recover” section, with settings that run from 0 to 20. Most of the parameters were set at 8. I wish I’d paid more attention the first time I saw it. It’s how we figured out how to run the WhistleStop down to 0 for the music program. Hopefully, the Costco technician will allow me to see and work with me to get something that minimizes these distortions.

Better acoustic coupling will often trump software wrangling.

Neville, This problem isn’t feedback. The problem is the aid recognizing higher pitched pure tones as feedback and then hopping into anti-feedback mode. Coupling will not make a difference. Have you listened to the audio samples I provided a few posts above? They illustrate the problem.

@tenkan said:

Actually I’m thinking you would need to record using a proper hearing aid analyser, with hearing aids fitted to your ears ( just like when your audiologist does REM) to get accurate results

That’s a fair point but I’m sure the sounds are fairly similar if my own sounds are anything to go by. I’m sure uburoibob’s point is to give an indication of what is happening with the aids, not to reproduce an accurate representation.

@tenkan said:

Hearing aids are made for human speech (vowel, consonants) and not music after all.

That’s not true, not these days with digital aids and Music programs available.

First, yes, I wasn’t trying to get an analytical recording. Just attempting to provide an aural example of what people are trying to describe (thanks, Legs!)

Second, I was told by my fitting technician that REM with the Marvels is accomplished by a mic in the Marvels and audio generated inside the aids by the programmer - so there is no provision for REM clinically to measure audio that’s picked up by the Marvels’ mics in any meaningful way (in particular, the pure tones that trigger the trem effect). That sort of analysis would be exceptionally helpful, but doesn’t appear to be a part of the current fitting process.

Third, I used a guitar to generate the audio samples because it’s an easy way for me to produce the type of tone that triggers the trem effect. Women’s voices do it. Appliance and computer beeps do it. Birdsongs do it.

So, it’s pervasive, not just in music. It’s distracting in everyday life.

@tenkan said:

Did you try replacing the receiver in case something is going on there, another way to reduce this affect is if you use standard receivers for your loss and then fit medium power receivers, maybe try again like this to see if you have the same effect.

We actually DID do that. I started with standard receivers, then went up to what the tech called “power receivers”. Same effect in both. All it took was experimenting with WHISTLESTOP, bringing it down from the stock setting at 8, the effect diminished until it was gone at 0.

And we did experiment with different domes - including ones that coupled to the walls of my ears pretty tightly, reprogramming the aids each time. This made no difference.

The one thing we didn’t do was try a different set of aids. That will happen when I try KS-9s at Costco, and bring this thread with me to illustrate what we are trying to overcome.

No. I admit ashamedly to skimming.

Shall return after coffee.