I very much appreciate all the knowledgeable replies here. They have been very helpful, and this is why I posted here. A few comments:
Regarding REM, this is how Widex describes the ‘Sensogram’ function in their Compass GPS fitting software:
The Sensogram is an in-situ threshold measurement and one of the most accurate ways of fitting a hearing aid. The measured in-situ thresholds take into account the effect of the earmold/shell, the size of the individual ear canal and the hearing loss.
I don’t know if this serves the same function as REM, but I do know that this was done during my most recent fitting session.
And I agree, that my theater environment is a particularly challenging one. Add to this the fact that the quality and audbility of the dialogue tracks will vary quite a bit from movie to movie, and I realize the inherent difficulties here.
To provide some perspective, the problem I have in understanding dialogue in most movies is not severe, and overall I am quite pleased with the improvement my current aids and fitting provide. I guess I’m just basically wanting to put a little icing on an already delicious cake.
So I don’t feel that I need to reinvent the wheel with regard to my current fitting, but am just curious if a few minor tweaks could add those few extra percentage points of improvement.
I think my initial plan will be to create a new programming slot for movies, with the same settings as what I currently have, and just modify the directionality parameters, to emphasize the front, and de-emphasize rear, and the sides. I do specifically recall him pointing out those options when we did the re-fitting last week, so I know that should be fairly easy to do.
Depending on how that works out, I might explore some of the other options suggested here.
Thanks again to all who have posted their ideas and comments, which I have found very helpful and instructive.