I want to open a topic. Listening experience vs hearing aid experience.
I hope I don’t come across as critical. That is not my purpose for opening this topic.
About me:
I want to state my situation. My hearing is great up until the higher frequencies so my trouble is speech recognition in noisy environments. I use open domes, therefore. Low frequencies leak out of my dome in a big way, so what I have to say may not apply to those with lower frequency hearing loss who use closed domes or molds.
My HAs: Oticon More 1s
Firmware Version 1.4.1
Telephony
It’s nice to be able to have the added functionality of using the HA rocker to answer and quit calls in theory. In practice, for me, it’s not so easy reaching back there to toggle a tiny rocker with wide fingers. It’s much easier for me to answer and end calls from my phone. Therefore I consider that function useless for me.
Having an iPhone, I can talk to the caller without having the phone up to my face so the caller can hear me. In practice, however, I had better be in a quiet environment with no background noise, because the background noise makes my being heard by my caller rather impossible. The hearing aid mics are set for hearing primarily and not telephony. There is zero noise suppression for the caller. I continually hear, “I can’t hear you. Is that a truck I hear passing you by?” or “Is someone else talking, because I can’t hear you?” (that would be the television). Do NOT try to clean dishes while you’re on the phone because your caller will hear more dish clinking than you. Conclusion: If you want to make a phone call with these, try become a hermit monk. You’ll be heard by others much more clearly.
Critical LIstenng
As my forum name indicates, I am a professional musician. Juilliard trained at that. To me, listening is far more critical than your average listener. These babies ain’t Bose. That said, I do have open domes so the low frequencies sprint right out of my ears. Listening to music for me on the More 1s is thoroughly unsatisfactory for me. For “listening” I will go to my Bose Quiet Comfort 35ii’s or my Apple AirPods Pro. Even when I cover my ears to trap the LF, the sound can’t match these other devices. I’ve found myself migrating away from the HAs when my sole purpose in the moment is music listening, therefore.
Hearing Aid Usage:
To me the Oticon More 1s are beyond compare for the usage I need. I simply can’t hear people well, who don’t open their mouths when they speak. Their consonants are muffled and that’s just where my HL is. The HAs help here. Mumbling Actors in Movies and TV: I can’t really remember a time when I didn’t have trouble hearing mumbling actors in movies and TV. When I use the “speech in noise” setting my comprehension improves greatly. The HAs are great for me in this situation. Crowded/Noisy Restaurants: Again, I can’t remember a time that I didn’t have trouble comprehending speech in this environment type. “Speech in noise” for me truly helps me a great deal. I find myself asking people to repeat themselves much less. With the More 1s I also find myself far more able to eavesdrop on conversations other people are having at their tables, which can be fun, albeit naughty.
Conclusion:
I think it’s best for people with hearing issues to major in the majors and minor in the minors. I would recommend shopping for HAs primarily considering how well they perform their main function, which is aiding hearing. I think the bells and whistles are nice but don’t perform well enough to consider one brand over another.
Thanks for reading.
Musician