My audiograms. Left is 2015, right is 2018. Looking for professional opinions on whether or not this looks normal.
No professional, but that is one heck of a drop in 3 years in sub 1khz frequencies. That isn’t normal. My audiogram has been relatively consistent for 40+ years.
What I’m having trouble understanding is, if this audiogram is wrong, and my new aids are programmed to these levels, then shouldn’t I be experiencing a significant bass boost?
It’s quite the opposite. I’ve heard people say that Phonak aids sound “tinny.” I wouldn’t quite use that description, but maybe “brighter.” Certainly not a lot of bass.
I am suggesting investigating your loss further.
Open domes wouldn’t do much for bass.
Hmm… My first audiogram (2011) went from about 10dB@250 to about 60dB@8000, a straight line. My current audiogram(s) can be seen in my profile, but basically the high end stayed the same and the low end dropped to about 40dB, no notches. In other words, similar to what BlueCrab has seen. My ENT (same one for both exams) didn’t say anything about the additional low frequency loss. Any suggestions for sources discussing rate of loss?
I found what looks to be a pretty good website here for doing an online audiogram. The results I got from that more closely match my original from 2015. My audi seemed very confident in his results when questioned, but I may push him a little further on this. But the big thing is, my aids sound perfect right now. So it’s not like I’m blaming the audiogram for any resultant performance issues. It’s more just a matter of curiosity. I’ve also toyed with the idea of getting tested at Costco, but I’ll probably wait till after the holidays to do anything.
So even if it is indeed wrong, it wouldn’t matter too much because of the open domes. Is that what you’re saying?
Kept you in open domes though, eh?
So you’re saying that audiogram calls for closed domes?
Yes. Though far be it for me to question the man on the ground.
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Well, this whole thread is me questioning the man on the ground. Due to insurance and this being the end of the year, I’m pretty much committed to this guy. I do like him a lot, but I feel like sometimes I need to nudge him in the right direction. He expressed confidence in the readings, and said it seemed like a normal time related change, but I also sensed that eventually he will redo the test for me.
As I said in the Marvel thread, I’m thinking of requesting closed domes anyways to improve music streaming.
So here’s the latest. I had switched from open domes to vented domes, and watched him make the switch on the computer. Several days later I started feeling like the aids were too loud. A few days of fiddling with the volume controls and I got a routine down. Power on the aids, go in the app, split the volume, right aid down 1, left aid down 3.
At my appointment a couple days ago, I discussed all of this with him. He looked at my logs and it showed exactly that. So, he turned the right down 1 and the left down 3, and saved the program. Then he put me in the booth and gave me the word list test. He said I was missing some fricatives, went back to the computer and made some more adjustments, then continued the test. He said I tested at 100% word comprehension.
The next few days were a relief. Everything feels quite normal, and I am understanding people better than I was with my old aids.
So I guess, with all of the adjustments he made, the audiogram is kind of inconsequential anymore. It was just a starting point. All that really matters is that they work.
Agree / disagree?
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Sounds like maybe your test that gave you your latest audigram was not quite correct
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A provider in responding karen1’s lament about audiograms mentioned that the audiogram is just one of seven tests that should be performed in evaluating hearing. Presumably if the user complains about the results when fitted with HA’s the provider needs to go back other those other test results (and maybe some of the tests) as your provider eventually did to see what can be further tweaked to optimize results.
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I agree that it’s the end result that counts.
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Nah, the marvels underfit the highs.