Is it worthwhile to upgrade to Oticon More level 1 instead of 2?

Hearing Aids
#1

Hi One level 2 would be completely covered by my Medicare insurance, but the Level 1 would be an additional $300 ($600 more for a pair)

One of the things that annoys me the most is if I’m talking to someone and there is someone else talking a few feet away. (I have moderate to severe loss)

I find it next to impossible to focus on the person I’m speaking to as my current Open Mini-rite 3 seem to jumble it all together.

I read that the MORE are suppose to be helpful in this?

Anyone checked out if the level 1 is a much better hearing aid for noise around speech than Level 2?

Much difference between oticon more 1, 2 and 3
Oticon More Sound Booster Vs Speech in Noise
#2

@innerharmony:

Here are my $0.02 worth:

  1. More2 vs More1 is a question that only you can decide by trial and by comparison of features (eg. Clear Dynamics) with your lifestyle and listening requirements;
  2. This question is already the subject of innumerable topics, which you can access by typing your question in the Search function (magnifying glass icon.

Good luck!

2 Likes
#3

thanks for getting back to me so quickly. I have a 3d party hearing aid plan & asked if it would be possible to compare them side by side but unfortunately I have to go through a lot of paperwork and weeks of time in the process and can only get one right (hearing aid) at a time.

(I don’t know even if it would be possible to be able to tell much of difference at all, since I will only have one of the MORE and one of my old hearing aids in the other ear. I plan to order left this year with my insurance benefit and then the other in January 22)

The audiologist hasn’t got hearing aids on hand to try before ordering. That’s why I hoped I could find the answer to my question with someone who might have been able to do so.

#5
#6

I can go ad-nauseum about the technical merits between the More 1 and the More 2, although you can probably do a search and read it up elsewhere in the forum, specifically the thread about the Oticon More Neural Noise Suppression discussion.

But I’ll just offer you a simpler perspective that doesn’t require any technical explanation. If I’m lucky enough like you are to be able to get complete coverage for the More 2 by Medicare, and would only have to fork out another $600 to upgrade to the More 1, then I would just blindly upgrade to the More 1 simply because I already don’t have to spend as much as $6K+ for the More 1 up front in the first place, so I’d be willing to spend $600 to get the best tier of the More I can get.

Whether I really need that extra edge from the More 1 or not? If I can try it out, then of course it’d be worth it to take the effort to do so to see if I can justify the saving of $600. But as you pointed out, it would get very complicated for you to make such an arrangement anyway. So lacking the ease of doing A/B comparison between the More 1 and 2 yourself, I would count my blessing that I only have to pay 10% of what the More 1 would normally cost and just go ahead and get the More 1.

Now if the $600 difference means a lot to you in your financial situation, and you can’t do a real life trial comparison between them for yourself, then by all means do an extensive search on this forum for explanation between the 2 tiers so at least you can arrive at an educated guess for your choice. Or simply just get the More 2 for 100% insurance coverage, knowing that it can only be better than your OPN 3, and not worry too much about how much the More 1 can be better than the More 2 if you can’t afford the extra $600 for the More 1 anyway.

2 Likes
#7

If I’m reading this correctly, you are being sold down the river without an oar.

How can anyone trial a single hearing aid, when you require 2?
I don’t even know how the More in your left ear would communicate with the OPN 3 in your right?
They are totally different processors, and paradigms.

You require binaural communication between them, and you aren’t gonna get it.

Who are you dealing with?
Seems like amateur hour, going on.

You need to inform your hearing aid plan provider that you can’t possibly evaluate new HA’s with only 1 device.

1 Like
#8

Thanks for pointing that out, @flashb1024. I totally missed this part that he’s trialing only 1 new aid in 1 ear and an old aid in the other ear. Definitely a no no, I agree.

2 Likes
#9

The plan I have gives me $2000 towards hearing aids a year.
, Epic hearing is the 3d party involved in this and I was told that the Level 2 More was $1800 for ONE aid.
I planned to do what I did in the past in getting 1 aid at the end of this year and have the audiologist order the matching aid in January 2022.

It takes 1-2 months by the time they get the paperwork back & forth place the order with oticon, and the aid actually arrives, w/ covid slow downs it might take more?

so my actual trial period might be just a few days (if that) in which I have both aids to try together.
I could try to find out if the clock starts when I pick them up or when the audiologist gets them?

I must not have put the right search in to find out more opinions of the MORE 1 HA. but from what Volusiano said getting the best will give me the best hearing aid experience. Much better than the 4 year old level 3 Opn Mini-rite I currently have.

I’m a senior on a low fixed income that is the only reason I’m hesitating instead of automatically going for it.

I will look into the link that was provided above trying them risk free, they do need to be programed for my loss though?
thanks everyone for your help.

#10

Ah, thanks for clarifying. Your plan sounds good if you get one aid at the end of the year and the other immediately after the new year, so that you can trial both aids at the same time.

If you’re a senior on a fixed low income, I think the More 2 should suffice mostly for your need. The 2 main difference between the More 1 and More 2 is that the More 1 has slightly more noise reduction, which may not be needed if you’re not in noisy environments very often anyway. The More 1 also has a little better spatial acoustic so you can tell the direction of where the sounds come from the best, but the More 2 will also allow this as well, although not as accurately as the More 1, but still accurate enough for the most part nevertheless.

#11

I’d still like to get the best (I have to look at my finances & see if I can swing it) if it really makes a difference in the times I am out with a group of people, as it can become overwhelming for me, when a lot of people are talking at once.

Have you found the level one help in those situations.

#12

I find the neural noise suppression, speech rescue, and greater range helpful in noisy environments

#13

thank you so much for letting me know what your experience is with MORE 1,

that is what I’m hoping for in this HA.

I’ve been finding it so frustrating especially the last 2 yrs with the masks & Plexiglas screens to try to understand what people are saying. It makes it worse when there is a great deal of noise going on as well.

#14

You should post your audiogram on your avatar so we can tell what kind of hearing loss you have. That would help a lot in providing the proper suggestions that would work for your type of hearing loss.

It’s really hard to say if the More 1 will help you understand speech better than the More 2 when you’re out with a group of people or not, because the More 2 is no slouch. It’s a very solid hearing aid all by itself, even if it may not be as robust as the More 1.

If you look at the screenshot below for the More DNN settings, in the Environment Configuration section, you’ll see 5 situations depicted, from Very Simple to Simple to Moderate to Complex to Very Complex. I would say that the More 2 should be able to help you manage up to the Complex situation competently. The More 1 may have an edge over the More 2 in the Very Complex situation, but not necessarily so, depending on what max value is set for Neural Noise Suppression. You can see the difference between Complex and Very Complex depicted as more people, multiple speeches going on around you, along with music and mechanical (fan) noises going on in the background for a Very Complex Situation.

In terms of noise reduction for the Difficult Environment, although the Neural Noise Suppression on the More 1 can go up to 10 dB maximum while the More 2 can only go up to 6 dB maximum, it’s generally suggested to use the default of 6 dB max Neural Noise Suppression even for the More 1, so if the More 2 is also set at 6 dB max Neural Noise Suppression as the default as well, then there’s really not much difference there in the amount of noise suppression between the two.

If money is very tight for me personally, then I probably wouldn’t have any qualm sticking with the More 2 to save the $600. But if I can afford it, I think it’s worth spending the $600 to upgrade to the More 1 just so I know that I have the best regardless of whether I need the best or not.

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#15

@innerharmony: You may not understand why I keep insisting "Please use the Search function, however,

  1. Your questions have received many excellent replies already, that you can find and access really quickly, without waiting for answers, here;
  2. These answers are not one- or two- liners. They are fairly complex, and have taken a good deal of time for members to craft and post - already;
  3. You haven’t provided an audiogram, or much other information to go on, frankly.

Just on principle, I don’t want to get drawn into all the repetitive work of retyping material that is already there for the asking in the Search function, unless, of course the OP is visually impaired, or the like.

It’s not personal: it’s just a matter of principle for me. There’s no value to sitting on a gold mine if you’re not prepared to do a little digging.

5 Likes
#16

Are you buying online? The Oticon Mores need support from an Audiologist who understands the Oticon brand, and especially fitting the new More platform. The Audiologist should have demos for you to try and wear for a certain number of days to evaluate - Both left and right hearing aids at the same time, so you can make a proper determination if the More is right for you. The sound is different from the OPN, according to the Oticon rep. You could still only purchase one aid in 2021 and the another in 2022, as your budget and insurance coverage allows. A reputable Oticon Audiologist should consider your financial hardship and work this out with you, at least for demo’s. That’s what I find to be an issue - the lack of provider support in your purchase.
(I tried to wear a More and an OPN at the same time, and it was not good.)
As far as the difference in the More 1 and 2, only you and your Audiologist can decide which one is the best choice for you. That’s part of the Audiologist job, if your coverage includes visits, evals, and fittings and updated hearing test.

#17

@innerharmony: I can’t remember whether this specific point has been touched on in previous discussions, so, I’ll say this - (Chuck @cvkemp has been saying it for years): each of our hearing perception is so unique, and comprehending speech in noise is such a pervasive (and elusive) problem, that I don’t believe that there’s any way to answer your question without your being able to actually try a properly-fitted pair of each technology level for several weeks.

I sympathize with your financial straits: I’m having to do roughly the same thing with the calendar years to get my dentures repaired. Fortunately, I have a very understanding dentist who’s bending over backwards to offer me a workable solution.

I’m sure - if your audiologist was empathetic - a trial arrangement could be worked out with Oticon. Have you attempted to negotiate something like that on your own behalf?

1 Like
#18

Hi Mago no not buying online, I’m going through my medicare Blue shield plans provider who is Epic (not a good company from my past experience)
I hope I can get my audiologist to try to find a solution so I can try both.
He’s the best of 3 that I’ve tried in the past in getting the hearing aids properly set up.
The others didn’t have the equipment or expertise to make the HA sound natural instead of tinny.

3d to last one that I saw complained that he wouldn’t get paid much for his time/effort by my plan and said “you’ll get used to the (tinny) sound”

I’ll copy & paste some of the info the people have been kind enough to give me to show him or at least talk to the really good one when I see him next week.

Thanks for letting me know that you can’t mix & match Opn & More.

#19

I’ll ask him when I see him in person but don’t think he’ll be able to do it as there is a lot of paperwork involved.

#20

@innerharmony: I don’t pretend to understand the ins and outs of the administrative details involved in loaning you a pair of HAs to try. I may be wrong when I say that I think you’re being fed a line… however, I think that @flashb1024 nailed it for you, several posts ago.

Providing demos for an equipment trial is an everyday aspect of running an audiology practice. It shouldn’t be a big deal, but I’ll defer to @gorgeguy, @Um_bongo, and @Neville on this point.

#21

What I can think of is that maybe this HCP doesn’t “loan” out demo HAs, but instead sells the HAs, with a clause that allows you to return them within a few weeks or a month. Costco does the same thing, you must buy the HAs in order to walk out the store with them, but you get 180 days to try them out. They may let you wear them and walk around the store, but that’s really not a real trial. The HCP whom I bought the OPN 1 from did the same thing. I had to make the purchase in order to walk out with them, and the bill of sale allows in writing a 2-week return period that can be revised to longer if I need more time after 2 weeks.

I don’t know why they do that instead of just loaning you various HA brands/models with maybe a deposit on hold in case you skip out and don’t return them. Maybe it has to do with state laws, or maybe that’s just how to business is set up to deal with trials. Or it can simply be that they want to see you make a commitment by plunking your money down for real first. Otherwise you can just simply be trying out one model after another, then one brand after another, with no end in sight for them.

You can always find HCPs that allows demo loaners without making a purchase commitment, but it may be more rare to find one in the area that does demo loaners AND also accepts and is willing to deal with your health insurance coverage, AND most importantly, provides the service that you’re most happy with.