I just got my first set of hearing aids at 64, I bought Siemen’s Motion 500 ITE model with the Tek remote. They were programed yesterday at HearX and all the Bluetooth features work great cell phone and TV.
My problem is when I eat the chewing sounds in my aids are so loud I can’t understand conversation. Is there a solution to this problem?
I have the same problem as you, but only in my right ear. I asked my BC-HIS about it and he said that it’s a common problem with new HA wearers. When I asked what could be done about it he said some people just ignore it, while others take their HA’s out when eating.
Me? I just try to ignore it and eat on.
Shi-Ku Chishiki ShiKu.Chishiki@Gmail.com
Increasing the compresion ratio, may help. But some users of cutom products(all in the ear) I suspect will always have that problem. When I wore cic’s I could not stand to eat crunchy stuff. Beltone “open fit” digitals solved that problem. An unexpected benefit was my Spanish, pronounciation also got much better (I am English speaking) because my own voice did not distract me anymore. (in laws are Spanish speaking)
In 35 yrs of dispensing the one major complaint with custom products, has been the patient hearing themself (talking, or eating)
This Occlusion Effect is very common and may indeed by a primary cause why hearing aids are rejected.
It has NOTHING to do with hearing aids being ‘new’ etc.
It is simply an effect caused by the ear canal being blocked by a lump of plastic.
The air gap between the hearing aid or earmould and the eardrum can trap low frequency sounds being transmitted through the skull from the jaw or from your own vocal cords.
This trapped sound can reach VERY high levels which can drown out the outside world when you eat or when you talk and is very disconcerting.
So if you have good hearing loss at 250H or 500Hz then you can’t really wear any sort of aid which totally blocks the ear canal.
This is why Open Fittings are now so popular: theses aids let the low frequency sounds roam free like a wildebeest, and only boost the mid and high frequencies.
If you can’t avoid a lump of plastic in your ear:
Your hearing aid supplier should know ALL about occulsion so you shouldn’t be sent away with your aids behaving like that.
Google “occlusion effect”, “open fittings”, “hearing aid vents” , “Open Fittings”
I’ve been living with these loud sounds while I eat for the past 5 years
with my hearing aids, just gotten used to it.
I have worn hearing aids for 10 years. I just
never thought to ask the audiologist about this, but now I will.
I’m so glad to read that I can do something for this especially since
I’m getting some new hearing aids later this week.
Please let us know if this adjustment works out for you! I’ve suffered from occlusion so sever the CICs are in the drawer. I’m taking another shot at hearing aids soon (BTEs) and pray that I can overcome the occlusion enought to wear them.
I had the mold’s made for the plastic part in my ear today. I explained to
the audi about the loud sounds when eating. He is going to have a vent put
in the ear plastic part. So we will see if that helps.
My Phonak Naida’s might arrive as early as tomorrow or if not next week.
I will report back when I get them.
I experienced that but over the past 10 months I have had 3 or 4 sets of new molds made and adjustments with each new set.
I never specifically complained about the chewing noise but reading this thread made me realize that it no longer is an issue. I wonder what happened?
I will say that each new set of molds were 1) longer - fit deeper into the canal and 2) fit tighter and better (more comfortably). All were vented but the vents now are smaller than they were in the first sets of molds.
I am not sure I can make any sense out of this but maybe others can.
Peter:confused:
It appears to me that the majority of the aids on the market target specifically a loss that slopes to the hi freq, which would stand to reason as it is a predominantly common pattern of loss.
Are there any aids on the market that are designed towards a reverse slope?
Can a person with a reverse slope get satisfactory hearing results if the audi is conservative when boosting the low frequencies?
A dumb question… but what would be missed if the low frequencies gain were to be backed off until the occlusion is gone completely?
Occlusion is caused by LOUD low frequency sounds, so you can initially try reducing the gain of the LOUDs only.
If you kill the low frequencies entirely you risk losing some vowel sounds … but some people don’t mind this whilst others REALLY need/like low frequencies.
It appears to me that the majority of the aids on the market target specifically a loss that slopes to the hi freq, which would stand to reason as it is a predominantly common pattern of loss.
Are there any aids on the market that are designed towards a reverse slope?
Can a person with a reverse slope get satisfactory hearing results if the audi is conservative when boosting the low frequencies?
Good question … could be worth a topic of its own …