Version 1.4 of the firmware was released yesterday. Is it not available through the Whisper app?
Thank you for the heads-up, @happymach. I called Whisper and they told me that, at this point, users have to go to the audi to get the update installed. So I called to make an appointment.
The Whisper website said that the update mostly provided a better experience for users when not using the Brain. But the Whisper rep I talked to referred to this update as a “major update”. We’ll see.
Well, they promised updates…nothing techies like more than an update. So, they are delivering on their promise…of an update. But not to the Brain? Hmmm…
Actually, sarcasm aside, I suppose in these early days of Whisper, updates would be more frequent, as bugs are worked out and the potential of the system is realized.
p.s. my aids get updates as well, and you’re darn sure I want 'em! Luddite that I am…
Here’s an update on my Whisper trial. I got the software update on Tuesday. I haven’t noticed any difference since I got it. I went out the last two evenings to continue trying to compare the Whispers against my Oticon Mores. Last night was a holiday “pub crawl” where a bus shuttles people among participating bars. I figured that would be an ideal test.
In three different places I tried both the Whispers and the Oticons. Two places were pretty noisy. In all of the places I found that there was no significant difference between the two HAs’ SIN performance. There was very little difference between the Whispers’ dynamic and custom (noise) programs.
With both models I had the same problem I always have in situations with lots of background speech noise: the background noise overwhelms or nearly overwhelms the target speaker. I was really hoping that the Whispers would fix this problem with its “sound separation engine”. It didn’t fix it. With each HA I still struggled to hear the target speaker. I would turn down the HA volume to the point where the background speech was comfortable, but then the target speaker was not loud enough. Increasing the volume increased the volume of the background speech just as much as the volume of the target speech.
I have another couple of weeks left in my trial, but if I had to decide now, I would return the Whispers because they are not significantly better than the Oticons. @x475aws, @happymach , and @billgem have any of you had any audi adjustments of the Whispers since the initial setup? Since no one here has seen the Whisper programming software we don’t know how much can be changed using the software. Would an additional adjustment on my Whispers make a difference? Could they be adjusted to make the custom program more beam-forming and less open? Could the sound separation engine be made stronger? I’ll probably never know. I doubt I’ll be able to get an adjustment appointment before my trial concludes. Maybe I;ll try to contact the Whisper employee audi whom I’m first talked to before I set up the appointment with the dispensing audi.
I will probably end up getting the programming hardware and trying self-programming the Oticons. I’m still not ready to accept that the settings on the Oticons are as good as they can possibly be. I need to try some minor tweaks and then undo the changes if necessary and then try something else or try combinations of multiple small tweaks. I’ll have to do self-programming to be able to do that.
Thanks for the continuing updates, @ziploc. I think there’s probably a point where no matter how good any HAs are, it’s just simply too noisy and loud to be able to manage to hear anyone properly. Was your wife able to hear conversations OK in those difficult places, or did she struggle herself as well? I guess that would be a yard stick you can probably use to measure how much to expect from HAs in general. If a normal hearing person also struggles like you do, then that’s probably about as good as it gets.
I think if you really want to take it to the next step and make it work in these almost impossible situations, you may probably have to resort to some sort of remote mic setup. If you have a ConnectClip for your More 1, then it may be worthwhile to see if the RemoteMic function on the ConnectClip can help let you hear the targeted speaker better or not in those places. I don’t know if the Whisper has an equivalent of a remote mic function in its bag of tool or not. If not now, then maybe it’s in the pipe for a future release. It’d be worthwhile to ask your Whisper HCP about it. But for now, I’d be interested to know if the ConnectClip’s remote mic feature can save the day in those situations or not. I remember a forum member (@Mark_Chambers) struggles with SIN due to asymmetrical hearing loss. I think Um_bongo and Neville both suggested the Phonak with a Roger pen as an option for him. Well, since you only have the More 1, I guess the ConnectClip remote mic function would be the closest to that suggestion that you can get for now.
What I’ve noticed from the v.1.4 update is that Bluetooth seems more reliable: the Brain remains connected to my iPhone for longer.
I have since switched audiologists, and my new one did perform thorough REM and decreased the high-frequency response somewhat, which may have had an effect on intelligibility. Since then, I confess that I too have been in a few situations where I wished the Whispers had done a better job (but I was unable to perform a direct comparison with the Oticon More 1s). I do think I will stick with the Whispers because:
- I actually like the pricing model
- I think there’s every reason to believe that the Whispers will get better at processing sound
- Being in the “Brain Trust” program means that I’ll get hardware updates.
Others have stated that at the end of the 3-year period, I won’t have hearing aids unless I continue the subscription, but hearing aids will likely have improved across the board and prices may have decreased, so I could switch to the Oticon Most 1 
if they’re a better option at that point.
@Volusiano, I was by myself last night (I;m not married). I wouldn’t be comfortable asking a stranger or a casual acquaintance to speak into or wear a remote mic. Interestingly, I met another HA user who said he had severe hearing loss. He didn’t seem to be having near the difficulty I was having. He was wearing what I think were Resound One M+RIE HAs. They were some sort of in-canal HAs rather than RICs. He swore by them and said that,for him, not having the HA mic sitting behind his ear, as with an RIC, made a big difference for him
People with normal hearing doubtless have trouble understanding speech in the environments of a pub crawl. So there’s that.
I have to admit that I’m skeptical of something called a “Brain Trust” just because it’s such an obvious sales pitch. The phrase plays on several tropes at once:
–In God We Trust
–Trust us we’re Brains
–“Brains” as itself a trope of the whole Smart Tech industry (we’re smarter than old school HA’s)
–and the invitation to Join Our Brain Trust Tribe (and all brands do some form of this).
It’s a pretty good marketing phrase!
and the Brain (erghhh! why not call a toaster a brain, or a waffle iron with a chip in it?) is an interesting approach. It’s a big ol chunk of hardware that you have to wear around. It better do something! I wonder.
Good idea about remote mic.
They should have put remote mic (a la roger on) in the whisper brain…
WH
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Sorry, I presumed incorrectly that you were married. And I totally that the idea of a remote mic would only make sense if you go out with a family member and are comfortable asking the family member to wear it t hold conversation with you. But I totally agree that the idea of asking a casual acquaintance or a stranger (like your waiter or hostess or someone you just met, etc) to wear a remote mic is not apt.
It’s hard to compare someone else’s ability to hear well with their HAs to yours. It may not be about what brand/model that person wears. I suspect that he’d be successful if he wore the Whisper or More as well. It may be more about what kind of auditory cues he still has left in his brain (that you may not have left) that can sort out the cacophony despite his severe hearing loss.
I also don’t think a CIC is superior in terms of performance compared to a mini-RITE theoretically speaking, despite his swearing by it. I think it’s actually the reverse, that a RITE is usually better than the CIC in terms of performance. It’s doubtful to me personally that he’s able to wear a CIC despite claiming to have severe hearing loss. If your severe hearing loss requires a big receiver like a 100 dB one, then I’m not so sure if a CIC can fit such a large receiver AND the HA all inside the ear canal in the first place. Maybe his definition of severe hearing loss is different than the standard definition of it. But nevertheless, I’d take what he says with a grain of salt, at least in terms of comparing his experience to yours. They’re not apple to apple comparison, and whatever works for him doesn’t mean that it’ll work for you anyway.
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If REM was never done then your fitting is incomplete, and maybe that’s a problem. As mentioned earlier, a sound described as “mid-rangey” doesn’t call to mind strong enough highs to make speech clear. And Whisper apparently does still need that.
Meanwhile I made a suggestion to them along those lines. According to one of the white papers, Whisper uses the Brain’s processing speed to identify speech in segments of sound, rather than running the sound through a cascade of processing that hopes to highlight speech. So, if I understand correctly, when they finish with a sound segment they know where the speech is, within the limitations of their algorithm. Why can’t they emphasize the highs in the speech-containing part of the segment? Seems like this could be an alternative to what we’re all told now, “Accept shrill or tinny sound overall in the interest of speech intelligibility, and you’ll get used to it”. Could also help with feedback.
While this comment was directed @ziploc, I think it was @happymach who mentioned that he had a mobile audi who doesn’t do REM, but in a recent post, he said the he switched to a new audi who did REM for him.
So I presume that @ziploc had REM done on his Whisper for him, but it’d be less confusing if @ziploc can confirm that he did have REM done on the Whisper to clarify the situation for everyone here.
Please see message 12.
Thanks for that, @x475aws. You have a good memory. In fact I was the one who asked him if REM was done and he said no in post 12, but I didn’t recall it until it was pointed out here. Thanks again.
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I got an adjustment a few days ago on the Whispers. I had been afraid that I would not be able to get an adjustment before my trial ended, but the dispensing clinic got me in within a reasonable time frame.
I told the audi about the problem I had been having where hearing background conversations and noise was interfering with my ability to hear target speech. I asked for more directionality.
When I left the audi office I felt immediately like the adjustment was an improvement. I have not always had that feeling after an adjustment with other HAs. Voices sound “sharper”. So much so that I feel that any additional “sharpness” would be too much. Even this level of “sharpness” might be too much for most people; but for me it seems just about right. It DOES sound a bit more robotic and artificial, but that’s fine with me if it improves my speech comprehension. I feel like my ability to comprehend both male and female speakers has been improved, at least a bit.
I haven’t switched back and forth with my Oticon Mores very often since the adjustment. I’ve been trying to get used to the new Whisper adjustment and I figured I would have a few days afterwards to switch off.
But now I have been around someone who subsequently got sick and tested positive for Covid. So even though I feel fine and tested negative right after that contact I feel that I should isolate for a few days. So I haven’t had much opportunity to switch off in noisy situations.
Could the Oticons be adjusted to achieve the same level of “sharpness “? I don’t know. But, at this point, with this new Whisper adjustment, I feel like maybe I will lease the Whispers after all. The speech in noise performance is better since the adjustment, although far from perfect. If the Whispers’ SIN performance is better now than the Oticons’, then maybe I could look forward to even more improvement as more Whisper software updates are released.
Another thing I’ve noticed with this recent adjustment is that when I increase the volume on the Whispers it doesn’t seem to get overwhelming and distorted as quickly as when I increase the volume with the Oticons. All this is totally subjective of course, but I’m just reporting my impressions. We’ll see as (hopefully) I can make some head-to-head comparisons right before my trial expires.
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I noticed the same thing with volume adjustments on my Whispers vs my Oticon Opn 1’s. Not as overwhelming at all.
Have you tried the Custom Noise program?
Well I’m back with the final results of my Whisper trial. I decided to return the Whispers. It was a difficult decision. Whisper and the dispensing audiology office were both very helpful and cooperative.
My trial was much longer than a usual trial due to having to negotiate a tricky situation with my insurance, and my having to reschedule an appointment due to a very mild bout with Covid.
Ultimately my decision was based on three factors:
- I paid a lot of money for Oticon Mores only a year ago and I was reluctant to consign them to a back-up HA role so quickly.
- The details of Whisper’s lease/buy agreement cast some doubt on whether I could physically obtain the Whispers now and still qualify for an insurance benefit next year when I would receive the planned new Whisper hardware.
- I thought the Whispers sounded maybe a bit better than the Mores, but it was not a night-and-day difference in speech comprehension.
It was a difficult decision because there was a possibility that further audi adjustments and/or further Whisper updates could have significantly improved the sound.
I did tell Whisper when I first contacted them that I wouldn’t be buying the Whispers unless I felt they were head and shoulders better than the Oticon. Whisper agreed with that, so I don’t feel that I abused the trial. I think that if I had done this comparison between Mores and Whispers before I bought the Mores that I would have chosen the Whispers. The idea of the frequent updates that Whisper plans (and has actually delivered) are exciting to me. I really believe in Whisper’s concepts.
The dispensing audi said that there would be no problem with me doing another Whisper trial next year when there will be no question about insurance reimbursement. I plan to do so. I’ll do another post shortly about my detailed impressions of the Whispers vs. the Mores.
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Thanks for sharing your experiences. Sounds like it was a tough call to make.
After having the opportunity to compare Whisper with Oticon More, here are my impressions: one of the main things I noticed was that when I woke up in the morning and saw my rechargeable Oticons sitting in the charger, and then saw the Whispers with their battery compartments open and the Whisper Brain in ITS charger I found it was easier to just reach for the Oticons and put them in my ears. The Whispers were pretty terrible for battery life and I always dreaded frequently hearing the battery low message on the Whispers. Also a couple of times I forgot to put the Brain on the charger before bed. Admittedly this is pretty minor. But it highlighted how much I’ve become used to rechargeable HAs.
The mid-rangey tone that I mentioned about the Whispers at first seemed to sound more natural to me once I had worn the Whispers for a few weeks.
After I had the audi do an adjustment on the Whispers they sounded like they were adjusted to a rather “extreme” point, kind of like they were adjusted almost to the point of feeding back. But they never fed back. I LIKED this extreme adjustment. I felt like it helped my speech comprehension just a little.
Unfortunately a lot of my trial happened just as the Omicron wave was forcing everyone into lockdown so I couldn’t go out and socialize in noisy environments as much as I wanted to. In the last few weeks when I started to go out again I tried to pay attention to the differences between More and Whisper. There were times when I thought I sensed Whisper’s “sound separation engine” working to separate out the target voice. But it was VERY subtle. Too subtle. It might even have been just my imagination. All in all I don’t think there was much difference in my speech comprehension between the two models.
The impression I got was that there are no adjustments in the audi’s software to turn up the effect of the sound separation engine. I would really like to play around with Whisper’s programming software to see what adjustments are available but it’s apparently not available to consumers.
I would recommend a Whisper trial to anyone looking to buy new HAs. I’d be happy to answer any questions from forum members.
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Thanks for sharing, @ziploc . I really look forward to your detailed impressions of the Whisper vs the More.
I was going to suggest the same thing that you can always sign up for the Whisper lease next year if the insurance aspect is going to be a sure thing next year compared to this year. However, if you only get a chance to use the insurance once every few years and not once a year, if I were you, I would maybe wait yet another year, at least until your Mores fall out of its 3 year warranty before leasing the Whisper, simply for the reason as to not waste whatever warranty coverage you will have left on the More. Of course, this is assuming that you don’t find the difference between the More and the Whisper big enough to justify having to pay a lease on the Whisper while the More is still under full warranty.
Who knows, maybe if you will have kept wearing the Mores while still under warranty and it develops some kind of problem that warrants replacement, then you can get a brand new pair of More as replacement then move on to the Whisper lease and relegate the More as backup. But if you retire the Mores too soon such that you never get a new replacement pair before the 3 year warranty expires, then the original Mores are more liable to fail sooner rather than later. I know reliability is not a big concern anymore for just a backup pair of HAs in the first place, so your priority to get a pair of HAs you may like better may trump getting a new replacement for the More.
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