Aged 47 w/Hearing Loss - Phonak Paradise User...Best Accessories?

Hearing Aids
#1

Hello! I am about four years into my hearing loss journey. In 2016, I started noticing hearing loss, especially in my right ear. By 2019, my hearing loss in right ear was pronounced. So, I went to a hearing clinic at my local university, and they were very surprised at my loss:

-My right ear was pretty much dead to human communication.
-My left ear also had challenges, but the clinic felt it could be overcome with a hearing aid.

The next step was to visit an ENT, as the clinic I was diagnosed at felt that I should have a more in-depth analysis. The ENT felt that tumors should be ruled out, so I had a CT scan…no tumors. The ENT was extremely curios as to why I had such severe hearing loss that could not be otherwise explained. So, my best guesses:

-Attended military school at age 13 and fired a 75MM artillery piece WITHOUT hearing protecting several times over two years.
-Sony Walkman in the late 1980’s/early 1990’s
-Video gaming with headphones in teens, 20’s and into my 30’s.
-Restoring old Vespa motorscooters in my 30’s and engine backfires in small garages.

Also, I returned to performing in a large community concert band in 2014, with the percussion right behind me! And to top it off for my right ear, severe ear infection in 2014, and I delayed medical attention for it (I will never forget the doctor telling me….I hope your ear is not damaged by this).

So, that is the damage report. Good news is that I have had a Phonak Paradise for almost two years now for my left ear, and it has improved my hearing tremendously!

This week, I am trying the Phonak Cross. I like it, but I am trying to decide it if is worth it. It does give me the balance back, but I am also concerned that it is a false positive. My brain is not hearing on my right side, I am just thinking it does.

What about other Phonak devices? PartnerMic is cheap, could it help me? Also, I would like to stop using sub-titles on my TV’s.

What about Roger On? Or Roger Table Mic?

#2

The Phonak TV Connector is an awesome piece of kit. (as I’m sure all other HA brands of tv connection devices are…but you have Phonak HA’s)

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#3

I just posted a very similar question to yours. I also have the same hearing situation as you.

Have you tried the cros? How are you getting on with it?

For the last 30 years I’ve only ever worn a hearing aid in my better ear with the other not being able to hear anything.

I was also considering whether to just get a Roger Mic or Clip on instead of the additional Cros hearing aid.

Looks forward to further replies.

#4

Depends what specific help you want. I second the use of the Phonak TV Connector for TV.
PartnerMic is great for one on one conversations if the person you’re talking to is willing to wear a microphone.
Roger On can also be used that way, as well as pointed at a speaker or used on a table in small group situations.
TableMic is more specific to group situations and really comes into it’s own when several are linked together.
You don’t post your audiogram, but it sounds like your “bad ear” might qualify for cochlear implant? If that’s a possibility, getting an evaluation would give you a lot of information.

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#5

I have tried it twice in the last year. The first time was before Phonak successfully developed it with their phone app. I had mixed results…I really depend on the phone app to change up, so not having the different settings for my environments was a problem. I have one setting for classroom teaching, one for concert band (yes, I still play an instrument), and another for TV. Using the cros cut all of these settings out because the Phonak developers were not finished with the phone app piece at that time.

Fast forward to the last two weeks, Phonak finally got their cros and phone app to work with each other, and I have been using it. It does “feel” like I have the balance to my right ear back, but you can’t think too much about it, or you realize it is just going to your left ear (if that makes sense).

One IMPORTANT caveat with using the cros…the data stream between the hearing aids EATS UP battery life. I have been used to wearing my single left hearing aid all day, and not needing it to be re-charged. With the cros, both left/right HA’s are going dead at 6pm! So this is something you have to deal with.

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#6

I am very worried the implant will destroy my ability to play and enjoy music. I am not a professional, but I play sax in several community bands, as well as fife in a 18th century fife & drum corps. I have been told that the implant will change how I respond to playing music…in a negative way.

#7

I don’t have a cochlear implant but have listened to many people who have. Some mention improved enjoyment of music. What is the source of your information? I’d still encourage getting an evaluation to gain a better understanding of what possibilities are. Most people’s initial reaction is fear, but the common reaction afterwards is “Why didn’t I do this sooner?”

#8

I use an equivalent (ReSound) external mic (like PartnerMic), and it’s also great for placing “up front” at a lecture (on a table or ledge near the speaker). You can then go way back in the audience and hear very well–better than sitting in the front row. It also works well for something like a “led” bird walk, if the leader-speaker is willing to wear it clipped to his/her jacket–most people are willing, in my experience.

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#9

So that twigs a question: can you otherwise hear that speaker (maybe not fully understand) ambiently/naturally? If so then is there a lag between the ambient and the amplified in the HA? Thus then kind of an echo effect or something?

#10

For Phonak Partnermic, transmission is via same tech as TVConnect so I would assume comparable latency. Even if there were lag, I think the difference in volume would drown out the un miked voice.

#11

If my wife is speaking, without hearing aid, I can’t understand her words (in left ear) unless she is very loud, and heavily enunciates. Right ear? Even with speaking loudly, I may not understand all the words…I think I am down to 20 percent of word recognition now for right ear.

#12

This is the problem with a reply immediately after a post that doesn’t indicate who it replied to. The question was twigged by the post from mystuart suggesting distance to the speaker. Not speed of sound lag, just lag between possibly hearing the talker naturally in comparison to hearing it amplified in the HA’s from the remote mic. If one can “hear” both. But yes sure maybe the amplified one would drown out the natural one.

#13

No, I don’t experience that at all. It is remarkably consistent, even for Bluetooth.

#14

Good to know. I was just curious if one could tell any arrival-time difference between natural hearing and mic amplification. Sounds like not. And no I don’t mean comprehension. Just hearing and seeing it being spoken.

#15

I have never been aware of a latency/lag (or echo) in hearing/understanding when using the external mic to amplify a speaker, as described above.

#16

+1 for Phonak Roger On. Yes, it’s an expensive device but it’s excellent. A new version is in the works and will be out this summer but possibly not a major revision.

At a busy work event recently we had breakout discussions with several tables in one room. A super noisy melange of sound/voices which I’d have been lost in, but the Roger On worked very well and I was able to tweak the mic direction in the smartphone app. I got mine through my employer (I’m in the U.K., maybe a similar scheme exists in the US).

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#17

Got the Phonak PartnerMic in today…used from eBay. It works well in basic testing! I may get at least one more. Definitely can use it with my wife or family when I am in a crowded place, although I want to see how well it does with competing sounds.

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#18

This often is not the case. But if it is, you can just turn the implant off whenever you are listening to music.

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#19

So I can add a couple things as a visual supplement to auditory reception of information.
Captions for zoom meetings or phone calls can be helpful.
I’m working with speech-to-text for meetings that are in person right now. I have experience with Live Transcribe, which I like (although it sometimes stops working in the middle of things–but when it works, it’s fantastic). And I’m just starting to experiment with SpeakSee, which I like so far but don’t have enough experience to know for sure yet. Good luck with your journey!

#20

You should see an otologist to confirm your diagnosis. You are young. It took me five years, starting in my mid 40s before receiving the correct diagnosis which finally stabilized my hearing loss, or at least slowed it down greatly.

Also, most ENTs are going to order an MRI of the brain with internal auditory canals to rule out a tumor. Maybe you misspoke when you said CT scan.