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Sennheiser Conversation Clear + OTC = Would have been KS11s?

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With my KS9s I don’t have to choose. And even better universal solutions are nearing introduction, from my readings. I don’t expect other hearing aid companies to ignore the much larger market of Android users or wait for all of them to switch to iPhones.

Sure. Ha ha. I find your Android preference intriguing. Well. My wife ditched her iPhone for Android after the former lost all her contacts. She used to queue up at the Apple store at 3am but after that happened, she was furious and there was no going back.

I have a severe to profound loss. I would choose a device that did not have bluetooth if it provided better hearing. I am personally baffled by the obsession with and connectivity. But that’s me and I’ll shut up.

You are totally correct. You can bide your time. I hope too that Sonova gets back into bed with Costco.

Then we are in agreement. If I were in your shoes, I would do as you did.

In reply to @WhiteHat

@WhiteHat said:

No clear understanding of the fitting process. Most of the apps I’ve seen for OTCs had very crude fitting schemes. Nothing like what is available for prescription devices. (Say, 16 or 20 channels of customizable configuration of amplification and compression. Not even able to enter your audiogram numbers. Etc.). I feel like many of these are like trying to cut your toenails with an axe. May not have the best outcome.

On the one hand, you are making perfect sense. But on the other hand, I was a teenager when cars were first being introduced with automatic transmissions, and your objection sounds remarkably similar to what people who were accustomed to gear shifting were scratching their heads and saying. And I remember when it was essential to know how to set F-stops and bring subjects into focus when using a camera.

The only thing new abort “Artificial Intelligence” is the new name - products always seem to go through such a transition at some point, don’t they?

Interestingly, two different earbud-style “hearables” I tried (Jabra Enhance Plus and Nuheara IQBuds2 Max) had a hearing test during setup. Because they’re intended as earbuds with hearing enhancement rather than hearing aids that can stream music, both have ANC capabilities and tips that are intended to be fully occluding to block out as much noise as possible. And everyone who might buy them already knows how to put earbuds in their ears, so the hearing test results were probably not wildly off.

Compare that to the Sennheisers that use standard receivers with , and are aimed at people who’ve never used hearing aids before. Even positioned perfectly, the closed domes don’t block out background noise like the earbud tips + ANC that the hearables use. They’re not intended to. And someone who’s never used hearing aids before, setting this up themselves without professional assistance, probably won’t get them positioned right the first few dozen times. I don’t think a hearing test during setup would be very reliable.

It would be interesting to know how other / aids have addressed this.

@CombatWombat said:

I don’t think a DIY hearing test during setup would be very reliable.

It would be interesting to know how other BTE/RIC OTC aids have addressed this

Yeah, so what’s needed is an in-situ set up within the software, these are really lacking in the software set up at the moment, if they can get this right and/plus the option to add ones full will go a long way to generate higher accuracy, but hey.. maybe the manufacturer’s (the mainstream ones) don’t actually want this to happen anyway, this will be left up to the new kids on the block, I hear it’s a lot of them trying to get into the market now.

I can’t think of any reason why the hearing test can’t be incorporated into the setup software. In an in situ hearing test, isn’t the input to the patient automated? And if the patient’s response is made by pressing a handheld device, can’t the patient click a button on the screen in response?
What’s really lacking is a visual inspection of the ear canal. How could they simulate that?

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