Hi All. New here. I’ve had a search of topics but can’t seem to find my question.
I have a middle range hearing loss and can hear high and low. So I’ve found with my Phonak HA it just makes everything louder so I still struggle with speech in a noisy environment as the noise I hear well becomes louder than the sound level I’m missing. Audiologist said at time my type of hearing loss wasn’t as common and HA were not great for that specific hearing loss (HAs help in quiet environments but at work or out where I need to hear people tends to be background noise).
I’ve been doing some reading on the new AI HA and am hopeful they may be able to amplify just the level I’m missing.
Could anyone confirm or have experience with a similar loss of hearing?
Thank you.
They certainly are able/should be programmed against your loss. But that said, until you are adjusted to the new sounds it will seem like a lot of stuff is REALLY loud.
It just takes time for your brain to adjust. Wear your aids all the time you can. Many of us wear them all the time except sleeping or when we’re in water.
If you look at my losses I have the same general loss pattern as yours, it is called “cookie bite” and is quite often genetic in origin. And your hearing aid professional should be able to adequately address your situation. I was not sure at first about hearing aids, but after a quick demo at Costco I knew I needed to get something! I tried an earlier version of the Philips they sell now. The VA fit me with Phonak P90-R has about three and a half years ago. I have an appt for the next ones in a few weeks.
I feel vulnerable without my aids now. I don’t want to go out of use the phone etc. without them available. One failed once right before a business trip and it felt like a disaster. I tried to limp through on Apple AirPods Pro (the earlier version than the current) and it wasn’t fun.
WH
Thank you for you reply.
Yes I have worn them all the time for about 6 months and I still have real issues hearing people in shopping centres or even at work with just a few people talking. If I put them up loud enough to hear I get a headache from all the really loud background noise, but do this if I really need to hear someone.
I’ve been back twice for adjustments since first fitting but that didn’t seem to make much difference.
They’re Phonak Audeo M-70 R. (released 2019 - I inherited them unused from my Dad. I’ve had hearing loss probably since I was 10 years old from a very bad ear infection, or so audiologist thinks as she said I had adapted remarkably well. I only found out about my hearing loss in my late 20’s having to do my first ever hearing test for work. It was a shock but explained a LOT of things. Audiologist at the time thought I was managing well enough not to need HA. In my 40’s I really started to struggle more so tried my Dad’s when the opportunity arose).
So they might be getting on a bit. Hence pondering if new ones with AI could adjust for background noise like I’ve seen claimed.
Hi. I have a similar problem with my hearing loss. IN my case I@ve lost the low freqs and the middle and my condition Cochlear hydrops means that on a bad day, the HAs make things louder but it’s still all really a weird loud roar with whispers in it. Hard to explain but you’ll probably get what I mean.
I think what you’re experiencing, at least this is what I experience, is the fact that the hA has a tiny little speaker in it and if you pump lower or middle freqs into it, especially in a noisy place, you get a loud roar through it and you struggle to pick out individual words.
Weird question, but hhave you tried taking the hearing aids out in a noisy place to see if your brain can actually make more sense of the noises around you?
Secondly, have you tried AI on any hearing aids? more to the point, have you tried the standard speech in noise programs with Phonak not just the AI spheric ones? I mention this because dialing back some of the noise, you don’t even need to put all the AI in, but just taking out some of the noise can hmake a real difference to picking out words. It is a lot of experimentation sadly.
Happy for you to PM me about it if you want. Not saying I’ll have all the ansers but I can tell you the sorts of things that have worked for me.
I would also say BTW the phonak spheres are absolutely fantastic for blocking out noise and amping speech. you have a ton of different settings to play with there and the possibility of using both vented, closed and activent receivers, so you should be able in theory, to find something that works for you and more to the point, find someting that works for you by playing around with the settings in the app yourself.
Did you wear your dad’s hearing aid without having it fitted by an audiologist?