Wish I could report the same success. Sphere’s are really good at home w/my husband; tv is good w/o any accessories; put a couple more people in my family room, not so good. Restaurant trial was terrible. With 8 others at someone’s home, terrible. Any suggestions?
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Thanks!
Your comments really help me.
It seems that the hearing aids you have are well setup. I interpret that the Phonak hearing aids have matured and are much more capable than my Phonak Audeo Paradise P90R’s which I was provided when that model was first introduced. It’s good to know.
And–Phonak has supported my hearing aids really well in the 3+ years I’ve had them.
In about two years I shall qualify for new hearng aids. I’m confident that Phonak’s offering will be even better by then.
DaveL
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I think ggreenone you might need to talk to audioligist? Based on everything I’m hearing/reading, My Audiologist is going to have soem custom programs to set up when I get my new ones… I appreciate all of the input.
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The first thing I would recommend is to try the Spheric Speech in Loud Noise program directly, by selecting it manually from the app. See if that makes any difference in the restaurant/multiple people context. At the beginning of my free trial, the program was not available in the app, but it was part of the “package” from which the automatic program chooses from, based on what the HA detect. It’s possible the threshold for the Spheric program to kick in does not sit right with you, by selecting it manually you can really feel how much of a difference it can make, and then ask your audi to change the threshold accordingly.
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Hard to say what is wrong as you haven’t shared your hearing loss profile and you haven’t said if you are using open domes, closed domes or custom molds. The Sphere program works extremely well but it really shines with more closed type fittings. I suspect your audiologist didn’t setup the hearing aids properly with a full REM test, etc. You may want to make an appointment with your audiologist.
One more thing. If you are sitting at a table with 8 other people and there are many loud conversations going on at the same time, you really need to have the microphones on the hearing aids set in a very narrow, directional focus or you will hear everything at the same time. This isn’t the fault of the hearing aids.
Jordan
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I really enjoy my spheres but there reaches a point where the Roger On (in pointing mode) is necessary.
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Hey Jordan, I am trying to catch up on your deep thread…
Do you make all changes via the instruments themselves, or do you ever use the App ?
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Hey @IGZO
I’ll be really honest here. My audiologist has my Sphere’s setup really well so I almost never make any adjustments via the app or even change programs. The only thing I use the app for is to: 1) Occasionally check my battery levels which isn’t really necessary as I have a widget setup on my iPhone’s lock screen which shows real time battery life, and 2) I sometime mute the hearing aid microphones when I am doing something around the house with a loud piece of equipment (i.e. lawnmower, electric drill, vacuum cleaner).
I probably spend 98% of the time in the automatic (AutoSense) program. The new version of AutoSense on the Sphere’s is really fast at adapting to changing sound environments and it does an amazing job of focusing in on what you want to hear.
Make sense?
Jordan
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Yes - thanks.
Guess I will try speed change = fast… I have it slow.
I often use power tools, and the modes switches fast enough on that.
My main issue is TV. Those darn commercials, and also the often terrible audio… in restored, ancient, YouTube… etc. So I am constantly adjusting the volume of the stream via the app, which confounds me, as it immediately turns on the mics!
Why would a person want the mics turned on, just cause he nudged the stream volume a tad ?
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I have noticed that the volume is a little high when I first start using the Phonak TV Connector to watch TV. You can adjust the starting volume right on the TV Connector.
The other thing that was helpful for me is that my audiologist set the microphones on the Sphere’s to automatically drop (I think -5 db) when streaming. This reduction in environmental noise allows me to stream to the Sphere’s at lower volumes while still maintaining a bit of environment awareness. I still find myself adjusting the volume a bit via my iPhone but not as much.
Jordan
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Yes, I have experimented with both the TV Adapter volume, and the mic level in the Target Software for streaming. But none is a solution to the VARIATIONS in broadcast volume, or volume needed to make sense of crappy soundtracks. I had started researching AGC modules.
Figure I could insert an automatic gain control system between the TV and the Phonak adapter. Unsure of latency, and never seen a Toslink compatible AGC unit. Nor saw any with great reviews.
Isn’t any volume equalization feature in TV or YouTube/Spotify apps settings? Or in PowerAmp/Wavelet app?
Whatever options apply, you can be sure I have tried to implement.
BUT nothing properly attenuates the commercials.
Nothing levels whacked out, overmodulated background soundtracks.
There was an article I read a few years back, explaining why today’s movies have such poor dialogue clarity. I will try to find it again.
Between how Amazon Fire TV handles all the various streaming services, and then the smart TV as well as Fire Stick is supposed to manage levels. It is awful !
It’s compression. Designed to increase overall energy by keeping as much energy to the quietest bits as possible. It’s basically doing what NAL2 does in your hearing aid by reducing the dynamic range of the output to make it all loud.
It’s a weakness of the legislation that limits the peak level, but doesn’t consider the average energy of the signal; when that happens in music, speech and especially advertising the whole sound gets mixed ‘UP’.
As a comparison, listen to older album tracks vs. EDM, the v/u meter never really drops out of the top half of the scale.
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Yes - so at home, could an AGC be applied in line - would that help ? Or is everything so crushed in a narrow range, that it would make little difference or further compress to bury intelligibility and discernment more?
Here is the article as I said about dialogue today in movies - should be some consolation to HOH frustration that it is not only us suffering.
Here's Why Movie Dialogue Has Gotten More Difficult To Understand (And Three Ways To Fix It)
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I have had Phonak Paradise for 4 years and just got the audeo sphere on test. I was given soft domes to try but they give me an horrible pressure inside my ear feeling so want my paradise molds fitting on these.
Also noticed a couple of problems in the week i have had them.
- The left one’s battery is way weaker than the right one. I insert them at 07:00 and the right one was at +/- 60% at 23:00 and the left also said +/- 60% but it died at around 20:00.
If I stick them on the charger when i shower and leave them there for 1-2 hours the left one will die and loose sound after about 1 minute even though the app says 100%. Going to ask for a new receiver as 3000 euro each is way to expensive to have one I do not trust.
Second issue is using teams with my laptop at work.
I know from my paradise days to disable the RFCOMM device in the bluetooth device settings on my laptop and use an external mic but with the spheres I can join meetings and hear everyone but if I call someone directly or get called directly via teams I have no sound.
Only way to get sound back is switch speakers to say my laptop speaker then back to the sphere and then it works.
Anyone have any fix for this?
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I have been looking around the net and notice the sphere use Bluetooth 6 which I think is the issue has windows still uses and old hands free telephony protocol which might be the cause of my sound issues when calling or getting called.
Only trouble is i have issues on my works laptop and thats locked down so tight I cannot change anything to test.
Fix to disable hands free telephony
between my speed reading and your spelling… not sure I fathom… BUT sounds like poor contact between the aid and the charger. Or a bad battery/intermittent internal wiring contact .
The batteries on mine, charge rapidly and are good for two days!
Usually they don’t go below 70 percent with me.
my spelling? for some one who’s mother language is not English It’s not that bad.