The commissioning and first 6 hours with my first ever hearing aids (Jabra Enhance Pro 20) from Costco

I THINK I figured out what is going on: the dome is ROTATING out of position, and then slowly backing out as I physically move about . I found I can quickly eliminate the buzzing by pushing the TOP side of the dome further back into the ear canal after it has rotated out of position, but after a while it wants to rotate out of position again if i am moving around versus sitting still.

So, there must be something about the shape of my left ear canal that is keeping the dome from staying in place, even though the same size dome in the right ear DOES stay in place.

I will discuss this with the HCG at the Friday appointment!

I agree with you.Neville. I would not want to give up the M&RIE feature. I really, really like these HAs so far, and if I can the left dome a little more secure, that would resolve the issue.

Jim G

@Neville said:

I just don’t know if you can get a M&RIE with a mold. You couldn’t when it came out, but maybe there has been a change.

Not sure where the idea that molds could not be worn with ReSound’s M&RIE receivers got started. It’s an urban legend or perhaps otherwise a regional availability issue from LONG AGO.

Below is a quote from my summary of an Audiology Online course by Laura Christensen from back in August 2020 when the ReSound One first came out with M&RIE receivers. Christensen, in the Q&A, specifically said custom molds would work with M&RIE receivers and if you look at ReSound fitting documentation for accommodation to hearing loss from around 2020, either power domes or custom molds are specifically called for to use M&RIE receivers for patients having moderately severe hearing loss to avoid feedback issues.

@jim_lewis said:

At the end, she came around to questions of feedback. Said that up to a 75 db loss can be fit at 2, 4, or 6K while still keeping feedback in bounds for most. She said that if feedback were an issue, one could move up to tulip or power domes if necessary but they had a new dome intermediate between tulip and open available to help. No problem with wearing custom molds, if one wanted (I imagine if one wanted very occluding molds, one might just be putting oneself in the position of ITE wearers with little venting). Someone asked her about wax in the microphones. She said a trial with 156 participants found very little problem. Only a few had problems with wax in the microphone and for almost all, wax in the receiver is still the only real issue.

The main impediment to wearing custom molds is the extra length of the M&RIE receiver vs. the depth and bore size of a user’s ear canal. If one has a very small diameter ear canal that only runs a relatively short distance before it takes a sharp turn, it can be hard to fit a M&RIE receiver into a sufficiently thick mold that can be inserted deep enough into the ear canal. My left ear canal is problematic, and I can’t quite insert the M&RIE receiver far enough that the M&RIE mic is in the ear canal itself, where it’s supposed to be as for an ITC device. My left and right ears seem balanced in sound perception, I still get decent sound localization (better if receivers could be further inserted?) and very good wind noise reduction in moderate breezes as advertised for M&RIE receivers on my Omnias.

Thank-you, JimLewis for that very informative posting! I THINK my HCP at Costco can probably solve the issue once he understands what is occurring. When I said the dome is "rotating, here is more specifically what I meant:

Assume the plane of the “rim” of the dome is supposed to be perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the ear canal. That way it can “seal” against the canal wall all the way around the rim. The TOP of my left dome is sliding outward for some reason, when I move my jaw or walk or reach for something (i.e. with any MOVEMENT of my head) opening up a “crack” between the dome rim and the ear canal wall. That’s enabling the feedback. Furthermore, once it STARTS to slide, it tends to move more every time I make another movement, making the gap larger and increasing the feedback.

The cause MIGHT be:

• the dome is slightly too small in diameter, or
• the shape of my left ear canal is slightly different than my right ear canal
• The inside surface of the left ear canal is too “slippery” due to wax or skin condition

Once I merely push the TOP of the left dome back into proper position, the feedback entirely disappears. It seems to always be the TOP of the dome that has moved out of position, never the bottom (at least so far).

What the HCP apparently needs to do is STABILIZE the left dome via size or shape or ?.

Jim G

Your advanced preparation for your hearing tests is impressive, as is the partnership you’ve created with an outstanding audiologist. Your experience also showcases how much it takes to provide good hearing care.

Have you extended your tests in noise to include competing voices?

If you travel or go to public venues, will you be able to use these current aids with the emerging Bluetooth LE Audio? Do they have a telecoil that could interface with a BT receiver or perhaps your phone or a remote mic will work as an intermediary?

@philbob57 said:

Costco audi installed some Rexton domes that have sort of an oval cross section.

I did not know that domes came in oval as well as round shapes! Good to know.

Jim G

I had my appointment at Costco today at 5pm. I explained the left side dome issure to my HCP, and he changed the domes in both ears (to keep them matched) to “double domes”. It took maybe 10 minutes, and totally resolved the issue. No more buzzing. he warned me that the larger double domes would feel more enclosed and to let him know if that becomes an issue. But, so far so good after 4 hours of wearing them, and no repetition of the buzzing. In addition, inserting the HA receivers into the ear canals is now easier because both are “stable” in the ear canals. No discomfort so far, but of course I will continue to monitor.

Battery life got a good testing today. I woke early this morning and had the hAs inserted for the day by 5am. It’s now a bit past 9pm, so 16 hours of use so far, and both batteries are showing 40% remaining charge. I have done no streaming (I have no streaming devices at this time). I have made several phone calls, using the iPhone with bluetooth. The longest call was about 20 minutes and maybe 10 minutes more total on the other shorter calls, so around 30 minutes total. Earlier today, the left battery briefly showed 1 less dot in the 5-dot battery charge scale than the right battery, but they are both equal now at 40%. The feedback buzzing in the left HA before I got to Costco today might explain the extra left side battery usage, or maybe just the Bluebooth usage.

The bluetooth connectivity and reliability has been 100% ever since I got the HAs 3-1/2 days ago.

I am amazed at the number and quality of sounds that have reappeared into my daily life with these HAs. Most sounds now have treble frequency content that had disappeared over the years so slowly that I had not noticed their departure. This includes paper crunching, loud waterflow from faucets, dishes and glasses clanking when placed normally onto a kitchen ccounter, and new higher frequency content to our cat’s frequent demands to open the door to the garage so she can do her security rounds. I can now also clearly hear conversations between other shoppers at Costco and the other grocery store that are occurring several feet away. And I don’t have to ask my wife to repeat things.

Jim G

Jim you mentioned that you have an iPhone. The iPhone is a great streaming device. It can stream phone calls, music, podcasts and many other sources of audio directly from your iPhone to your hearing aids corrected to your loss. I was just just watching a football game and listening to commentary streamed to my aids while my wife was sitting across from me watching TV. Streaming is one of things I like about my hearing aids.

@PacaDoc said:

I will be getting HAs at Costco soon, so I have taken the liberty of printing your “to do” check list.
Thanks!

My pleasure! I posted it in the final revised form specifically to help other on the forum. I have benefited SO much from experienced and wise advice here, and it was the least I could do for others here.

Jim G

Thanks for the detailed report. I have been bi-lateral CI for since 2012 and had my first hearing aid around 50 years ago. There were no digital hearing aids then–the only user control was volume anda bit later a telecoil manual switch. I don’t think I ever had a manual switch that lasted more than 30 days… You held the aids up to the light and you could see through the cracks. Thank goodness they were so much better than what my Dad had. He went from a battary pack a little larger than a cigaret pack to ones that were in the bows of his glasses—could hear well enough to confabulate an answer. WOW how furtunate we are. I still have trouble with speeh outside of 6-8 feet. I started with N-5 now on N8. Telephone used to be the worst–now it is the very best. Blue tooth connection is amazing. How fortunate we are with the great advances with hearing aid/implant technology.

Nice review. I go in this Tuesday for fitting as I had my hearing test already and ordered the HA’s 10 days ago. Same HA’s as you. The in-store demo was not very helpful but I did make a couple phone calls and the call quality was OK. I also steramed some music which was about the quality I expected… not great but useable. I’ll share more once I get my HA’s and wear them Love a week or two

I have another Costco appointment next week and plan to replace my 4 year old Resound HAs with the Jabra Enhance Pro 20s. I’m going to ask for the M&RIE receivers, as I tested them a year ago and rather liked the improvement in spatial localization.

Mike in Vancouver, Washington

Please report back about the new aids.

I’ve had my Jabra Enhance Pro 20s for 6 weeks now, and really like them. No issues.

Jim G

Thank you for all of the details, especially the check list for the HA dispenser at Costco. It’s impressively complete.