OPN S1 minirite Warbling

Hearing Aids
#1

Am 2 weeks away of ending trial for OPNS1 and still have the warbling issue with my left ear. Me and my Audi managed to switch off feedback in the right ear but because my left have a sever loss, with feedback it’s almost continuous having feedback.
Oticon representatives advised we may use another receiver 100db(now am having 85db) but my Audi thought it may not help.
I like the Audi , she is helpful and always try to do her best. I think am going to purchase the S but on a hope this will be solved.

Appreciate all inputs and suggestions!

Experiencing feedback with my Oticon Opn hearing aids
#2

Hi @AshFan. I had some issues with OPN-S1R related to feedback and cut-out of sound. My devices were replaced 3 times within a period 3 months before Oticon admitted to my audiologist that some people were having similar issues and that the engineers were “working on the problem,” but there was no timeline for a fix. As a result, I got a refund for my OPN-S1R devices, because Oticon could not give a timeline or a better explanation for what was wrong. I’d advise you to search this Forum for other posts on the OPN-S1, because some others have posted about their issues too. I really like Oticon because their hearing aids seem to give me the best speech clarity, but I don’t find them to be the best when it comes to customer service, and I’m not going to pay premium-level prices for hearing aids that are supposed to be the latest technology and still have issues. I’d also advise you to have your audiologist ask his/her Oticon rep about known issues and if the Oticon engineers have figured out what’s going on yet. Sometimes you have to push your complaints more aggressively before Oticon will admit there is a known issue and you will find out that others have complained as well. I wish you the best in getting it sorted out.

#3

Hi richnfamus1 , yes my Audi called Oticon while I was with her and Oticon mentioned that Denmark already knew about this issue and engineers are working to solve but still don’t know when. They suggested to switch off feedback manager and so it will be acting same as OPN. This worked for my right ear but left no. Had many feedback.
The warbling is not continuous, it comes only when whistling, extended letters (OoO) but it’s there .
Will meet Audi on Monday to try the receiver of 100db and see

#4

I may have posted this in one of your earlier posts. What type of fitting are you using? Open, Closed, Custom Mold?

The reason I ask is that this can have a big impact on the issue of feedback. Feedback can be suppressed by the hearing aids by shifting the frequency by 25 Hz or more when it decides there is a feedback signal. This can cause a warbling of the tone. The other way to prevent feedback is to use a closed fitting or better still a custom mold.

This software is for a Rexton, not an OPN, but they all suffer from the same physics of sound. Here is what your correction prescription would look like using open fittings.The shaded red area indicates feedback potential for the right ear, and blue for the left. The top lighter curve is the amplification used for soft sounds. You can see that the soft sound curve for the right ear has very little margin between the amplification and the area where feedback is likely to occur. In the left ear it actually goes into the zone, so it is not surprising you are having feedback issues there.

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And here is what the simulation predicts if the open domes were changed out for a custom mold in each ear. The vent size predicted for the right is 2.5 mm and the left at 2.0 mm. You can see how you gain much more headroom between the soft amplification curve and the potential feedback area.

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I guess what I am suggesting is that if you are not using closed domes or a custom mold now, that may be enough to allow you to turn the feedback suppression down, or off, or be able to leave it on, without being bothered by the feedback suppression activating.

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#5

If the original OPN feedback manager doesn’t work for your left ear, but the new OpenSound Optimizer feedback technology of the OPN S works for your left ear, then I think the occasional warbling is worth putting up with in order to be able to tame the feedback for your left ear.

While the original OPN feedback manager is nothing new and rather mediocre, it’s probably not much worse than other HA brands’ feedback manager. They really all just use the traditional 3 prong strategies of phase change, frequency shifting and gain/headroom reduction. There’s a good chance that you will run into the same feedback issue in your left ear with other brands, assuming that you’ve already used the proper fitting (like with custom molds) to reduce the other variables.

If the OPN S OpenSound Optimizer has solved the feedback issue on your left ear (albeit not a perfect solution yet due to the warbling), if I were you, I’d stick with it because the occasional warbling is the lesser evil compared to the evil of not being able to solve the feedback issue on your left ear.

And hopefully one of these days Oticon will solve the warbling issue for you. But for now at least they’ve solved the feedback issue on the left ear for you with the OSO.

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#6

I am having a closed domes . Audi mentioned it’s suitable for my loss and also the Oticon moulds are not the best in the market and will not make a difference as with my loss there will not be vents.
Does the above means it would be much better with molds!:flushed:

#7

Is there a different way to switch on OPN original feedback manager! I used to have feedback with original OPN.(not significant and was manageable)
Do you think using receiver of 100db will make less warbling!
I do like the OPN S and I noticed lately that some people voices whom I used to struggle understanding are now clear and can hear/ understand them well. Am mostly will keep these but was hoping to stop the warbling by any way.

#8

I would think so, but I don’t know for a fact because I don’t own the OPN S. But the whitepaper on the OpenSound Optimizer seems to imply that you can even use both the OSO and the traditional / original OPN feedback manager on top of that, in case just the OSO is not enough to manage the feedback alone. Ask your audi about these options. My understanding is that there are 2 feedback managers on the S (the traditional one and the OSO), and the default is just turn on the OSO without the traditional, but there are options to turn on one or the other or both or none.

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#9

I have the OPN1 ITE hearing aids the only time I get feedback is if I put my hand over my ear. I can wear over the ear headphones without feedback and I can use my phone normally without feedback.

#10

What do you use for fittings?

#11

My Veterans Administration Audi has set my aids to very aggressive settings for noise, speech clarity and feedback is all that I know

#12

Cvkemp has In-the-Ear OPN so apparently his fitting is basically the custom fitting. Probably with a small vent.

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#13

Yes my paperwork says 2 mm vent

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#14

Because I have loss in low frequency I have to use closed domes(which am fine with it) and the feedback is when I put my hand near ear, in the car with seat belt, sometimes on the pillow, so basically when something is physically close to the ear.
And to tell ivy eat Ruth, my issue with warbling more important than the feedback

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#15

Yes, a small vent is the physical way to prevent feedback. If there is no feedback present the feedback suppression does not have to kick in and cause the warbling.

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#16

I SO, we tried receiver of 100db and same warbling. Then we discussed 3-options:

  • Trying the same setting on another left h it if OPN-S to see if the aid itself is damaged. Same warbling issue.
  • Will try to have a mould on the left ear . I asked for the soft not the acrylic (I hated it when using the Resound) . She mentioned that the idea is maybe the double dome is not enough sealing the sound so the aid sometimes thinks that extended letters with high pitch is feedback and hits the feedback quickly.
  • if second option will not work, then she suggested we may try another manufacturer (probably the Marvel) .

Regardless of the warbling, i do like they OPN sound and performance and can feel my speech score is better . But does it worth to pay premium for aids with flaws and don’t k ow when they may fix it!!

#17

Is there an option to turn the feedback suppression right off?

#18

Although it worked for my right aid, Unfortunately because of my loss in the left is more severe , as soon as we switch off feedback shield , the aid start whistling mostly. It’s like a trap, isn’t it! :joy:

#19

It does seem to suggest however, that feedback suppression is the cause of the warbling.

#20

Yes . Even when we called oticon the representative admitted they got some reports about same issue and “Denmark” is working on it.
Audi told me today that she even asked couple of her colleagues and they mentioned they faced same issue with some of their patients.
The issue, no time frame for solution from Oticon.