My hearing aid is limited to KS7s. The app is fairly limited, but I was initially quite impressed and used it quite a bit. Now I never bother. I’m glad you like your Resound app. I’ve been impressed when I’ve looked at it, but wondered how long I’d continuing use it after the newness wore off. Could the feature you mention be accessed via the buttons on the hearing aid instead?
Getting exactly what you want is going to be tough. With normal low frequency hearing, you’ll likely need at least a partially vented fit. Such a fit makes controlling feedback more challenging. It also makes providing enough gain in the high frequencies pretty challenging. Some sort of frequency lowering program (the Phonak’s have a great one) can help, but likely make music not sound good.
1 Like
I just added my audio test results to my profile.
I bought the Phonak Brio 3 with custom molds and use the 675 battery. I have had them about 6 weeks and been back twice for adjustments. The Costco HIS was very good. I had a list of things that needed to be adjusted and he went thru them one at a time and so far my Brio 's have been great. I have been wearing hearing aids for 28 years and these are the first ones I have not had any back feed on.
First time I have bought from Costco and wondered how there their Audi or HIS would be and I couldn’t have asked for a better one. I guess I was lucky.
1 Like
That’s an easy fit for Lynx 3D with a medium receiver. Pick the model that suits your budget. Get the Phone-Clip+ if you need to use your phone a lot or want to stream lots of stuff from it. Closed domes will give you a better experience with the streaming if you can get used to the way they sound. Get the SMart 3d app and use it to tune the aids when you need to - especially if you need location specific tuning/favourites.
Not to diminish you experience, but that’s a real ‘bread and butter’ loss that any decent Audiologist, I’ll see two or three of those a day. It shouldn’t have given you anything like the problems you’ve encountered.
Takeaway points: Your new hearing aids will sound a bit ‘weird’ but that will quickly diminish if they are properly adjusted and you should be in control of the process, having an App to hand to help you ‘drive’ them will make them work better for you.
1 Like
I certainly defer to your experience, but my take is he’s a new user with what I think were unrealistic expectations for an initial fit. His aids work well for speech and TV. He’s a musician and no offense to OP, but they are often hard to please. I’d agree that he’ll likely be happier with Resounds, be they LInx 3Ds or Fortes.
You may well be right, by he sounds like the sort of person who needs the locus of control in his pocket rather than in the hands of someone else.
Aside from the actual way the aids sound, his needs don’t seem to have been met/matched at all.
As my old trainer used to say ‘Fit the person, not just the loss…’
2 Likes
Thanks for the input, it’s all helpful.
I’m revisiting my research on Bernafon Zerena 9, and also looking hard at the Resound Forte. I like that the Resound has more control from the app and offers the Multi Mic accessory which includes a mini-jack so I can connect to my PC. My only concern about Resound is that google search turns up unhappy campers due to some type of failure after a few weeks.
Are Resound any more/less durable/dependable than Bernafon? Does either product represent a “better quality” product? Or are we talking luck of the draw?
I haven’t heard of reliability issues on either one. My 2013 Resounds are going strong and are my backup pair. For the RIC style, where the speaker (receiver) is in the ear, those receivers sometimes go out or get weak. They are about $50 each at Costco, after warranty expires . That is an advantage of the RIC, RIE style. The speaker can be replaced cheaply, and is separate from the body of the aids.
1 Like
Thanks, Don. I know this much, I’m liking the features and accessories available. The Multi Mic looks like what I want for the PC conference calls and general Youtube instructional videos.
For the app to be truly useful, not just a novelty, it has to be fast and reliable, unlike say the ReSound Android app. There’s also the issue of reaching the app quickly. Pattern unlock on Android is fast, and so is Face ID on iPhone. You have to set up your home screen so the app icon is right at hand. And the phone itself has to be newish and fast.
With my iPhone X in my hand (so, not counting drawing from my pocket), I can unlock the phone, open the ReSound app, and set or clear Speech Clarity, in a few seconds. That’s fast enough to make it truly useful for me.
The buttons on the aids can change the volume or select a different program.
1 Like
I guess what I was wondering is if you tend to have default speech clarity settings you use and if so, it could be accessed via button by setting it up as a separate program. All the issues you mention regarding making the app friendly to use make sense.
Fit the person makes a lot of sense. I know so little about this situation, but I find it conceivable conversation went something like this. “What kind of phone do you use? Android. We should try the Phonak.”
1 Like
A few suggestions/ideas: You are a rock musician? Are you still performing regularly? Or attending live rock performances regularly? If so I would look at a different brand than Phonak.
Phonaks do not have the input headroom to handle live music. They are like playing electric guitar through a stereo speaker. (To be fair this may have changed in the past few years).
Check out Widex HAs. Or Oticon Opn. They are better for music. When you have a fitting session ask the audi to create a separate music program with all the speech comprehension features turned off or at least minimized. Feedback suppression is the worst for live music. You probably can’t turn it off entirely in your music program or you will experience feedback, but have it set at a minimum level.
I advise you to find an independent audiologist rather than continue to go to Costco. Yes it’s much more expensive but Costco will quickly get burned out by what they will perceive as your unreasonable demands and repeated requests for fitting appointments.
Save yourself a lot of frustration by biting the bullet and paying the big bucks for a state-of-the-art high-input-headroom HA from an independent audi. Call some local Audi practices and ask what brands they feature and if they have audis on staff who have lots of experience with Widex or Oticon. Ask if they have experience working with rock musicians. Pick your audi accordingly. Good luck.
The Resound Multi-Mic would stream sound to you. It would not provide two-way conversation. You would need to use the Phone Clip+ for that. I think you mentioned earlier that you would listen only on those calls, but just wanted to clarify.
I normally have about 10 visits to my Costco during the trial period, then a couple a year after that. They have never acted like it was too much.
I don’t think they would be less patient than an independent. The independent doesn’t want to tie up their time on a sale already made, either.
My Costco hearing aid shop is now open 7 days a week, with weekends more walk in than appt.
1 Like
I can save a custom program in the app with Speech Clarity set, but in the hearing aids it shows up in the program slot of the original program (All-Around in this case). So you couldn’t use program change via long-press button to switch between Speech Clarity on and off. The audiologist could probably add such a program by tweaking the gain settings, taking up one of the four program slots. They could probably do it on any brand HA.
1 Like
What happens to HA’s that are returned…factory refurbished or resold as new? I’m just wondering since I’m returning the Phonaks for Resound, is it possible that I could receive returned merchandise when I buy new??
Just curious if that’s a thing in this industry.
1 Like
No, write-off. Unless you were wearing a demo set.
1 Like
I don’t recall you being in the room when I had my first consultation with my audiologist, but that’s exactly what happened. I was as vocally anti-Apple as some recent posts here, so I don’t blame her for suggesting Phonak Audeo B Direct. But I would have saved time and trouble if she could have talked sense into me. Well, I got something out of the experience: A Phonak hearing aid case which fits in my pants pocket better than the ReSound case.