I have been self-programming my HAs for the past 5 years. After hundreds of hours and many frustrating programs along the way, I think I nailed it! This is me listening to a podcast in a quiet room today:
The sound of the podcast is so clear and crisp, and I comprehend everything with either ear at 1/4 of full volume. For so long, my default was 3/4+ of full volume.
This is my main program against the target gain suggested by Genie/NAL-NL2.
My music program based on P1 sounds great too. I haven’t tried this new program in a more challeging situation yet, but I am pretty happy with what I have so far.
DIY works, folks! Don’t give up Of course, if I had had the chance to go to a top-notch professional, she or he would have nailed it in just a couple of sessions… but it would have not been so much fun lol.
Edit: Initially I was mostly doing trial and error, but I got to a point where I have a “method” to rely on. I was only able to get there because I have in hands a reliable and thorough audiometry (doubled checked by in-situ audiometry), custom molds, and a good sense of sound intensity. I also know and understand my hearing very well, acknowledging that my left ear is very different from my right one.