Tobi, how are the Acrivas performing for you in loud speech-in-noise situations? How do they compare in those situations with other HA’s you have tried? Thanks.
My mistake, you are correct. :o The Nano RITE does in fact have a telecoil which is accessible through manual or automatic settings.
While the Bernafon may share some things with Oticon, to say they are the same or even argue that the Bernafon is older tech is simply wrong. Bernafon uses channel free processing, they now have frequency lowering, among a few other things to set them appart from their sister company Oticon.
What a silly thing for your audi to say.
Sorry that I haven’t checked in sooner. It seems the site has been up and down a lot and i was giving myself time with the Acrivas. I go back to Costco for my first follow up.
So far I’m amazed and very happy. They are surprisingly comfortable and sounds seem natural, without that “amplified” quality yet clear.
I’ve tried to put myself in various listening situations. I’ve been to a play, a concert and many social group situations. All very noticeably improved.
As far as speech-in-noise goes, I don’t experience a muting of other sounds but, for example, I’m hearing a person that I’ve had a very hard time understanding from across a table, and for the first time not needing to ask “what” several times.
I’ve had the the four programs set as follows:
auto
voice in sound
music
telecoil
the only one I haven’t played with is Telecoil but will when I get the chance.
i have a new audio gram which I will post soon since my hearing has declined quite a bit. It has always helped me in reading these forums to see if the poster’s lose is similar to mine.
i know that I’ve reached “profound” in one hear.
All for now,
Tobi
My understanding is that Bernafon is the only company that doesn’t sell a different version of their aid to Costco.
Bernafon Acriva is the same as the one Costco sells. Read about the Acrivas on their website.
Oticon is owned by the same company and may use some of the same technology but Bernafon Acriva is not a dummied down version of the Oticon Alta Pro but rather their own, perhaps parallel, aid.
I have the Costco version of the Resound Alera 9, they call it the Future. It was available as a RIC style only, then as a ITC with remote microphone. I think the Forza is the same thing, but with more styles available.
Anyway, it has excellent speech in noise ability, the best I’ve tried. But, you don’t get there without some manual adjustments. The professional selected the Party program and then went to the screen where you make individual adjustments for a program. There are sliders for soft speech, speech, noise, loud noise, etc. (about 7 things to adjust). She turned noise and loud noise all the way down (I think 10 Db) and soft speech all the way up and speech up about halfway (5 Db?). That did it. When in a loud environment I change to the party program and the loud hum quiets a little (it is noticeable). Then I can hear about as well as anybody else at the table.
My guess is the Verso would do the same thing or better but you still might have to do the manual adjustment. Costco will probably get the Verso but at the store level they still don’t know when. But I understand they did training, so should be soon?
From what I’ve been told, the Alta Pro uses a similar feedback cancellation technology introduced with Bernafon’s Chronos series which is available in products down to their lower mid-range (5) level of technology. If anything Oticon is borrowing technology from Bernafon to improve it’s product line. Sonic’s Bliss (and possibly the flip) are on the same chip as the Alta Pro even though they were released much earlier. I’m assuming Acriva is on the same chip as alta pro, but haven’t had nay confirmation from a rep.
Costco sells the Acriva 9. They may also sell the 7 but I’ve been working with the audi there for doing a trial of the 9s.
Steve
Hello. My first post here. I have had a pair of Chronos 9 aids ( my first HA’s ever). I Just learned about the Acriva 9’s and went to Costco to test them out. The audiologist programmed them to match my Chronos settings and WOW!!! They are absolutely incredible. They are light years ahead of the chronos 9’s and the Oticon Alta pro’s that I tried several weeks before getting the Chronos models. The sound is very natural and my acoustic guitar sounds very good as well. I ordered the Acriva’s on the spot and should have them on Friday. I will post more after wearing them for a bit.
I am a first time hearing aid user and went to Costco based on what I read on these forums. The Au,D at Costco preformed a first fit on my Bernafon RITE Acriva 9,s. The fitting took about an hour. She used the audiogram from the visit to my ENT for the initial settings. She then did some tweaking based on my saying that the initial sounds were tinny. She then did some testing of my ear canal resonance and also put me in front of a speaker that emitted sounds similar to a sonogram. I was fitted with 10mm open domes. The programs I selected were:<o:p>
[FONT=Verdana]P1 – Auto Adaptive Multi-environment
P2 - Conversation in Noise
P3 - Premium Cinematic Experience
P4 - Premium Live Music Experience<o:p></o
I can change programs with a long push of the button on the right HA while a short push increases the volume. I use the button on the left side to decrease the volume and to mute the volume. She also activated the “auto telephone” and “learning” functions.
<o:pFirst impressions. My voice sounds to me like I am speaking through a microphone. My wife’s voice sounds normal. Paper bags and running water are very noisy. The radio in the car sounded normal and the road noise was about the same as always. A smooth jazz CD (Diana Krall) on the way home sounded great. I am having a little trouble keeping the dome in my left ear seated. This may be the reason the sound in the left ear is not as loud as the right ear. The cable news shows were clear and at less volume then usual. The home movie on my surround sound speaker system sounded great. The voices were clear and the background sounds and music sounded very natural. The sound level on my amplifier which I used to set at 65 was at 53 instead. I am hearing what sounds like crackling when I move my head but I think it is my hair brushing across the microphones. I am sitting in about a ten mile per hour breeze at the moment and am experiencing no adverse wind over the microphone noise. All in all, a good first day using only P1 the auto program.
<o:p></o
<o:p></o</o</o[/FONT]
I play acoustic guitar as well, and will be getting a pair of Acrivas very soon. Did you need to have any custom settings to get the natural sound from your guitar. What setting do you use when you play?
Just picked up my new set of Bernafon Acriva 9 yesterday. Compared to my Oticon Epoq, they are fantastic!! Can hug my wife now without aids squealing! I really enjoy NOT having molds in my ears!
In all, the Audi spent about 4 hours with me – as compared to about one hours the expensive Audi spent with me when I purchased the Epoq. Very professional. The noisy Costco store seems an odd place to buy a nice set of aids, but with the background noise, it is actually a realistic place to get aids. So instead of spending $6200 for a top-of-line Oticon Alta Pro I spent $2500 for a top-of-line Bernafon. Only had them in my ear for one day but they are at least as good as the Alta Pro. And the time and attention of the fitting by the Audi was way superior to the local hearing place I have been using for 25 years or more.
I’ve only had these aids for one day, but as I understand it, the Tele circuit kicks in whenever there is a magnetic signal. that is, even when I am in the stand Multi Program and answer the phone (with tele coil), I get signal through the coil pickup.
I am quite impressed with these new Acriva 9 aids . . …
wildbill
I have been wearing my Bernafon Acriva 9 RITE open domes for a little over a week now. I am very impressed with the sound in the automatic program. This program works well in any situation. I can finally understand what people are saying when watching TV and music sounds great. The first set of batteries lasted eight (15 to 16 hour) days.
wildbill, I will pick up my Acriva 9s tomorrow. Does the telecoil come in the aids themselves or is it one of the 4 programs?
Glad to hear that you like them!
I have been trialing a pair of Bernafon Acriva 9’s fromCostco for about a month. I have beenhappy with the “Multi-Environment” and the “Conversation in Noise” programs. Music in the “Multi-Environment” programsounds very good. I was expecting it tosound even better in the “Live Music” program. When I switch to the “Live Music” program, itis as if I have turned the “Mute” on. Infact, I can tell very little difference between “Mute” and the “Live Music”even with the volume is at maximum. MyAu,D has tried several times to fix the problem and finally got me a new set ofaids. Unfortunately the new aids havethe same problem. Has anyone experienceda similar problem?
I have had the Acriva 7 Nano RITE recommended for me, this would be my first aid. The quoted price is $9620. Now that’s a lot of dough for the H aids. Is this a fixed price or can these be purchased for less ? ps, the discounts I’m offered from health fund etc, reduce this to $ 8658. I cannot gain any tax benefit as my income is below the taxation threshold.
Any suggestions would be welcome, Thanks, David.
USA price at Costco is $2600.
I am interested in the frequency lowering technology that is used in the Acrivas. I understand that that it does not compress the frequencies, but actually overlays the lost frequencies onto lower ones, so you can hear them , but that because it is overlaid that music still sounds natural. There has been a lot of discussion elsewhere about how frequency lowering as implemented by Phonak and others distorts the hearing of music. Those of you who are using the Acrivas, has the frequency lowering technology worked for you? I am planning on trying a pair this week, so am interested in your experience.