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VA Hearing Aid Process

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In reply to @Kendal0

Before seeing your audiologist again, you can try a temporary adjustment of your hearing aid with the app myPhonk.
The latest version of myPhonak has many useful features.

In reply to @danhuddleston

It depends on your clinic, your audiologist, and the director of your audiology clinic. I can view my settings in the clinic with my audiologist watching over me and even suggest changes, and I have made minor adjustments in the office but my audiologist has the final say and must approve of that change before they are saved to the aids permanently.

Edited

My Audiologist doesn’t mind at all. However, if you return for future adjustments you should tell about your changes because they will find out anyway. Why? Because the DateTimestamp in the hearing aids will not match the DateTimestamp on the VA’s computer. Even if you revert back to a copy of the VA’s original settings it will not match the DateTimestamp on the VA’s computer.

They will most likely revert back to their latest version of the settings from their computer. After all, who should they trust? Their own settings that were also professionally measured with ? Or your rookie settings?

If you need to make up excuses for changing their settings you can say the VA settings work fine except that you like to adjust the additional accessory settings on the TV Adapter or Cellphone.

That is why I don’t mine making the changes with my audiologist there to supervise and to finalize the changes then the changes become official.

Also since my retirement in 2014 I no longer own anything with Microsoft Windows or even capable of running it in virtual. Even as a retired IT Professional, when I retired I really retired and didn’t want to ever have to deal with Windows again.

In reply to @cvkemp

@cvkemp said:

. I don’t know the true regulations but I have heard of veterans be refusing repairs and adjustments when it was found out their aids were messed with out side of the VA clinics.

Good point, Chuck, but I’m not sure there are any regulations.
My original audi that programmed my OPN S & More’s agreed that I could “tweak” my aids.
Unfortunately she left the clinic here, and I continued to .
When Oticon released F/W version 1.1.0 which intro’d MYMusic, I jumped at the opportunity to upgrade.

A few months later, I called for an appointment for a routine adjustment, just to see what they could do to improve MYMusic.
I informed the tech on the phone, that I had upgraded, and would they be able to program them due to being 6 months behind Oticon and not having the current Genie 2 software. She said, that was a good question, bring them in and we’ll find out.

Well they could not connect to my updated aids, and the audi had the Chief of Audiology come into the booth.
I explained that I DIY’d, and she said OK. Let’s call Oticon, and see what can be done.
Now,the Oticon rep was very upset that a patient was doing DIY on their product, but the only recourse would be to send the aids back to have F/W rolled back.
Bottom line was, the Chief said Oticon is crazy, let’s get you set up with Community Care, so a qualified Oticon audi that has up to date Genie 2 softwae can assist you.

So the VA were very cooperative, and had zero issues with me doing DIY.

Hey @pvc you think it might be my fault Oticon put Genie 2 behind a paywall LOL!

The contract between Oticon and the VA only gives the VA the latest Gene2 at the start of the new contract that is something that has been a sore point with me and also my audiologist. The only updates provided within the contract period or bug fixes. And major firmware updates that change features only at the beginning of the contract. The other thing is that the VA isn’t allowed to change out the rechargeable batteries which also sucks. It isn’t fair that a Veteran has to lose the use of their aids when the batteries need replacing when it could be changed in the clinic. Even our small clinic has a trained technician.

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