My current hearing aids Otion Opn S1 have been playing up for a few months. So time to get new hearing aids.
What to look for in an audiologist
I want to move away from my current audiologist which are a large nationwide company in the UK. The main reasons is because they are quite expensive (compared to independents) and I also feel that while my hearing aids work pretty well for me, some issues with the left hearing side have never really been satisfactorily resolved. In addition, I had to request an REM as well as custom ear moulds - which I have been told by this forum, should have been standard for my kind of hearing loss. One thing that also surprised me is that they don’t do word tests - which I remember from when I was very young. Maybe that is not relevant anymore, but I felt it would have helped address which frequencies I am not hearing properly in the left aid much better.
I am considering this audiologist, but other than their Google reviews (which are good), I have no idea how to choose an audiologist. I like the sound of them, but I chose them based on reviews, not any understanding of what to look for.
Potential new Hearing aid audiologist
Should I stick with Oticon or consider other aids
What I like about Oticon is their wide open sound. I didn’t like other hearing aids where they blocked off “unwanted” sound as it created an unnatural environment and ironically sometimes stopped me from hearing whatever I was trying to hear.
The thing that I most like about Oticon is that I no longer have hearing fatigue - where in the past (using Resound) I was only too glad to pull out the aids at the end of the day as everything was too loud, too noisy and I just felt that there was too much sensory stimulation. Thankfully that problem is long gone with Oticon.
I will say, that I don’t often have to ask people to repeat themselves. So, Oticon does achieve my most important priority - clarity in speech. For that reason alone, I am prepared to stick with Oticon.
However, I have a few issues with my Oticon aids which may or may not be to do with the aids or the audiologist or both?
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I can’t always hear what someone is saying in another room if they shout to me. With Resound hearings, this was far less of an issue. Significantly so.
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Music sounds terrible on both General and Music settings with Oticon. Flat, lifeless, dull, uninteresting - you name it. Resound was considerably better for Music. With Oticons music just sounds so boring and flat.
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When I clap my hands next to my right ear, there is the normal reverberation, echo sound you get from those kind of sounds. When I clap my hands next to my left ear, the sound is totally dead. This is with hearing aids on. With the aids off - the sound is as it should be in both ears. The audiologist said it was to do with compression in the left hearing aid. I am convinced that this is probably the reason why music sounds so terrible.
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While it is considerably improved since original fitting (which was a back and back again nightmare - read my first topic for background if you want - but long read) - the right hearing aid is still louder than the left hearing aid - volume differential. I think the right hearing aid volume is correct, the problem is the left hearing aid. I use the word volume, but I think it’s more specific frequencies in the left hearing aid that are the issue, rather than simply moving volume 1 up for left.
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When I go to restaurants or am walking out on the streets with people, I find that I hear better when I turn left hearing aid volume up 1, but keep right hearing aid on default volume. As with above paragraph, I don’t think that volume (overall) is the issue, but frequencies. For at home or in the Office, default volume seems to work, but I suspect that the left aid is not optimal.
I don’t want to go back to Resound. They just felt too loud in noisy environments - (try schools with kids screaming or a busy high street) and their environment settings never worked well for me. I was delighted to take the hearings out at the end of the day. Couldn’t wait. So, I don’t think Resound are right for me. However, they were far better for music and hearing people in the next room. Can Oticon step up and address their shortcomings or is there another manufacturer that would work better for me?
Questions about Oticon Opn S1 versus Opn Intent 1
I don’t fully understand how or why I need compression in my left ear. I am just conscious of the difference in quality of sound between the two ears. Would Intent address these compression issues I am experiencing in the left hearing aid?
People have said that there is a huge difference between Opn and Intent, in fact they say there is a massive jump from Real/More to intent based on a new chipset I believe? Would this make much difference for my kind of hearing.
One more point. I have always felt that Oticon is very conservative with boosting lower frequencies as they focus on boosting the higher frequencies to gain clarity in speech. Which explains why I find clarity of speech so good, but feel like the aids are not loud enough (only in left ear) on high street, restaurants or people in another room compared to Resound hearing aids.
Is Oticon far more conservative with lower frequencies or is that the audiologist that is far more conservative?
This is partially why I want to try another audiologist as I fear the audiologist may be too conservative with boosting lower frequencies. I had a major battle in the very beginning to get the hearing aids to work properly for me and the left is still not 100% satisfactory.
