My experience going from Widex to Oticon to Starkey trial

Hearing Aids
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First, I want to say I am not an experienced HA wearer. I tried my first pair about a month ago, Widex Moment 440.

Yesterday my Audi wanted me to just try the OPN S2 (she didn’t have the 1’s) in her office. I could tell a sound difference after listening to her and my wife talk. Sounded sharper and more amplified but with less echo and vibrations, the biggest problem I was having with the moments. She offered to let me take them with me along with the moments to try in the real world and I took her up on it. I put the moments back in and we left. I was really struggling with the adjustments she had made to the moments. Everything seemed much louder. I was having to go to the app and try to make adjustments to be able to hear my wife without it being uncomfortable for me.

After we got home we went on a Jeep ride with the top down out on the country roads. After about 15 minutes I just couldn’t take the wind noise and try to hear my wife. I did bring the OPN’s with me to try with wind noise so I pulled over and put them in.

I could not believe the difference! Almost 0 wind noise and I could hear my wife really well. I could hear the birds in the trees as we would pass by. I started hearing what I thought was a rock stuck in the Jeep tire thread so I pulled over and it was a larger quarter size nail in the tire that was slapping the pavement. My wife said “you could hear that”?

It’s hard to believe the difference. I’m thinking one of three things. 1-The moments are defective in some way

2-not adjusted correctly

3-just not right for my hearing loss.

I’m thinking maybe a combination of 2 and 3.

I do prefer the sound of the moments, when everything was perfect, environment, persons voice, sound level etc. OPN’s are sharper and more amplified sounding but this is with Oticon suggested setting for my hearing loss, she didn’t have time to improve on that any.

The biggest difference for me is the way OPN’s keep everything the same level no matter what the sound or noise is. I have been very sensitive to sharp sounds for a long time. With the moments, rolling up the garage door was painful, the OPN’s make this sound normal.

I can hear the tv at my wife’s volume with the OPN’s, couldn’t with the moments unless I cranked up the volume. Then the wife would blow me out when she spoke. The Oticon tv streamer works well too. Widex doesn’t have a working tv streamer yet for the moments so I’m not sure how they would have done with steaming.

I haven’t taken the OPN’s out and may not. Maybe audi can help with the sharpness and amplified sound a little when I go back in two weeks. She will also have the S1 in by then also, that’s what she wants me to have.

I am now hopeful that I can go through the day with somewhat normal hearing and without worrying about a sudden loud clank blowing me out.

EDIT: Almost 0 wind noise at 30mph or less. Above 30mph and I have to pull volume down to -6 but still able to have conversations.

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It sure sounds like you are doing well with the Oticon aids. The sharp and loud noises could be very normal. It could be you just haven’t heard those sounds in a while and they are new to you. If sounds are just flat loud a drop in the volume could help until you get used to the new aids. Usually within a few weeks you will want more volume once you get used to all the new sounds.
Good luck with your new aids.

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I wear Oticon OPN1 ITE aids now and really love them. I am getting the OPNS1 aids on June 23rd. I am glad you are doing good with the Oticon aids, I have found that the OPN1 I have are great for me now that they are adjusted to my optimum needs. My Audi says he will copy my settings that I have in the OPN1 aids to my new OPNS1 aids then adjust the settings to maximize my hearing needs.
Please let us know what you decide on. It all depends on your hearing needs and likes.

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It’s more amplified sounding than sharp, especially my voice but also my wife’s. Not to loud though, just more digital and unnatural sounding that the moments.

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Thanks very much! I now feel much better about the whole HA process.

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cvkemp I have been following some of your thread’s so I knew you were scheduled to get the S1. Thanks for the support and I will be keeping up with you and the S1’s. You have been a great help to me dealing with my hearing loss, I really appreciate you and all the experienced people here.

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in genie software, if you select the dsl algorithm for children, the voice will sound like a natural

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Thanks I will mention to audi.

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Keep notes on the good the bad and the ugly about your hearing and the hearing aids. It helps a lot when you talk to your Audi

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It really makes me feel good when I see a member get the help they need from the forum. Your comments remind me of when I first joined this forum. Getting the needed education for hearing aids is so important.

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Audiogist used to and should still but many don’t, explain that every time you try on a new aid there’s an adjustment period. I’ve been wearing aids for over 40 years and know each time I try on a new pair it’s going to sound different. But for the new first time user there’s the scream factor. Meaning the whole world sounds like it’s screaming at you. This is why your audiologist allowed you to take the aids home. Not just to see if you hear better but to give your brain time to adjust to the additional volume along all the other sounds you are hearing and haven’t heard for a long time. It can be overwhelming at first but with time your brain will adjust and things will tone down. Getting in a jeep with the top down is like a nightmare situation. The only thing you’ll hear is incredibly loud wind noise and nothing else. You’d be better off with the top up the windows closed and the ac on low. Of course everyone is different. Thinking back I recall it taking about 2 weeks for everything to calm down and things to seem normal. Keep in mind that once you get used to your aids when you take them out you’ll think you’re deaf. That’s because your brain has adjusted to the aids and all the additional sounds. I feel like screaming just thinking of riding in a convertible with a new pair of aids. So be patient and take your time. Of course some people will say that never happened to them. That’s what I love about this forum. But you’ve already experienced it. Just stay calm and try to go with less noisy environments. It will get better.

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tim4, thank you for your very helpful review. I’m sure you’re tempted to abandon the Moments, but I think you have a good opportunity here since your audi is allowing you to trial these two sets of HAs simultaneously. It sure sounds like the Moments are not adjusted optimally. Maybe work with your audi to get the same level of hearing comfort with the Moments as you have with the Opn’s considering that you say you like the Moments’ overall sound better in a quiet environment. It would be very interesting to me to follow your journey as you continue to compare these two models.
At some point soon I will replace my Oticon Opn 1 HAs (previous model to the S1). Oticon S1 and Moments are at the top of my list to try.

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Yes she explained very well. She also said not to play a swapping game between the two. Wear one for for at least 3 days, 7 would be better, then the other.

The Jeep ride is what was so amazing about the Oticon’s. They handled the wind so well and I was still able to carry on a conversation with my wife. We average about 20 mph, still wind but not like going 55.

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I agree that the moments probably are not tuned well enough. The first day with the moments they were programmed according to Widex recommended setting for my loss. I had to go back to audi the very next day, couldn’t understand a word of speech. She has tuned on them 3 times and still not as good as Oticon recommended settings. There is just so much difference between the two on how loud sounds are handled at the same time as someone’s voice. This is so important to me at work when going out in the sometimes very noisy shop.

I will definitely try to keep this thread updated on my progress because I know how important it is to me to get information from this forum. I’m not sure how helpful ones review of a HA is because what might be good for my hearing loss may not be for someone else. But, the way OPN’s handled wind noise right out of the gate should be worth something. I still have to evaluate how well I can understand speech in different situations, which is what’s MOST important to me.

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Funny. I tested the oticon exceed and thought they were absolutely awful. It just goes to show that no one can really recommend another hearing aid to another user. When it comes to hearing loss no two people are the same.

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It is like I always tell people we are all different and are use to different hearing environments. The aids that I find works best for me may not work for someone with the same hearing loss, but use to different hearing environments. And to be honest our brains all work different too.

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All the newer aids are very similar. The biggest difference is the fitter. As far as speech goes, tuning is everything. Same goes for music, tuning is everything. It is a bit of science and a bit of art and a whole bunch of listening.

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That’s why when someone says the audi let them go walk around the store for an hour with their new aids, to test them, I just shake my head. Maybe that works for a mild loss, I wouldnt know.

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I think she had the moments close to what I needed for speech. The problem was all the other sounds were to loud. One of my grandkids is a 5 year old boy, all boy and if he was in the room while the adults we’re talking I wouldn’t even try. I would just pickup my phone and turn um down or switch to my work program which is not any good for speech. In the kitchen helping the wife, no way we could talk and cook or cleanup. This morning with the OPN’s in, I put away the dishes out of the dishwasher without having to adjust anything. Now is my audi talented enough to get the moments to do that, I don’t know :man_shrugging:

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Just out of curiosity - if the Opticons are working so well out of the box so to speak, why bother with the Moments any longer?

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