New HA user here. I’ve got the Oticon Intent 1s… and I’m very pleased with them so far. So much better than not hearing, you know?
My audi setup the General program, and (later at my request) the MyMusic program. So, I still have two program slots available and I’m thinking: Why not use them for something!?
My biggest hearing challenges are speech in noise, though this is pretty much handled well-enough for me by the General program. What I struggle with most, oddly enough, is hearing the announcers over the ambient crowd noise on TV sports broadcasts.
Knowing that the Oticon’s pretty much “auto adapt” to the environment, I was wondering if folks have found any of the other programs (comfort, lecture, speech in noise) useful enough to make fooling around with program changes worthwhile.
Also, I see that telecoil is a program, also. Anybody have experience with using this at the theater or anyplace?
I have been wearing Oticon aids for 15 years and my INTENT1 aids since last June. I only have the general program and it is the only program that I need or desire to have. I went to a concert last Thursday and enjoyed it greatly. I listen to audiobooks and music streamed to my aids. I go to meetings, Lectures, and even movies and the theater without needing any extra programs. The key has been getting the prefect fitting possible. That is the role of your audiologist. Yes it can be done with the proper dedication by you and your audiologist.
I use all four programs and, as I can set them up on my own, I also use them for testing.
Automatic: This is my default program.
Speech in Noise: I hardly use it as normally the automatic is enough.
Telecoil with Micro (MT): I use it for calling with the headset or when watching TV. It’s also useful in situations where the telecoil is set up (e.g., cinema, theatre, church, etc.), but not tested yet.
Test Slot: At the moment, I use the automatic program that I had before the last setup (also to compare it with the new setup, as I had the feeling that the new one was not that good).
So far, I haven’t used the programs MyMusic or Lecture/TV, maybe later when the telecoil is not used anymore or when testing is over. I also tested the comfort one but haven’t used it much. The problem is often that I am in a situation that is not ideal, but I forget to switch the program, or I switch it when it is too late.
Last month I used the automatic program 41% of the time, MT 14%, the test slot automatic 10%, and the TV adapter 35%, during around 15 hours of wearing time a day. 73% of the time in an easy environment and only 9% in a complex environment. That’s why I didn’t use speech in noise. To be honest, I prefer the automatic more as I don’t like the sound when it works too much. That’s why I have only a 2 and 8 dB reduction on MoreSound Intelligence.
Thats also why I have chose the Intent 2 and not the 1.
My last setup made my hearing aids much more comfortable.
I’d told my hearing instrument specialist I was tired by 2:00 pm and exhausted by the time I got home.
I was constantly working hard to hear. Just exhausting.
So he changed some stuff. Don’t kow what. result? Im not so tired. But I am having issues hearing. I find that increasing the volume by two clicks I hear better. Shook hands; he said “see you in six months”. That’s what workman’x comepensation will pay for.
I went to a wonderful concert.Jake Shimabujuro was playing in Oakville nearby. He’s a viruoso with a ukulele.
When I walked in his music was playing. I settled down and picked up my phone. myPhonak. Darned if the HA’s hadn’t picked “MUSIC” and it was magnificent. I saved the program, just in case.
The centre filled up and was noisy. We were asked to turn off our devices…I did. I have no idea whether the HA’s were in music or not. I’ve never, never ever had myPhonak show me I was in MUSIC before. If I had thought of putting it in airplane mode I would have taken a chance and left my iPhone on.Someone here suggested that.
ChuckI want what you’ve achieved. I may be getting there. I want my heaing aids to work. Simple. Put them on and leave them alone.
Now I can hear music better in my car when I’m in autoSense
I want to say to the original poster that the most important thing is having your hearing aids set up well as Chuck said. So once you’re happy, remember to go back as soon as you have clues you aren’t hearing well again.
And with my setup it’s so important for me to change my wax guards and domes.
When my Hearing Instrument Specialist did REM he had me in domes made by another manufacture. Resound?
If I use Phonak Domes (closed, two tiny holes) I can’t hear nearly as well.
If I change my Domes to the Resound domes (closed two tiny holes) I hear much better.
I went through an 18 month period of time where, I had 15 appointments for adjustments. During that time i also had therapy sessions to help me with understanding speech. During that time of the many adjustments my aids were slowly raised in volume, and I had to allow my brain get use to the extra volume. The final outcome was me being able to understand speech, with a bonus of being able to enjoy music again. During that time I had lecture, music, and speech in noise programs along with the default program. As i progressed through that 18 months I got to where the extra programs weren’t needed or even desirable. It can be done but it takes patience and an audiologist that is committed to seeing the process through to the end. My audiologist did say at the beginning I only had a 50/50 chance of it working but by the time we were a year into tje process he was saying I had a 90% chance of it working.
As I have said before my audiologist is a professor of audiology at the State University Medical school and my case is actually a case study.
Many good responses here so far. I think between the General program, MyMusic, Tcoil (to listen on headphones to get even better and authentic music reproduction through quality headphones), the fourth program is usually Speech in Noise, although the General program might be good enough for the most part already except for the most challenging situations.
A couple of things I haven’t seen mentioned yet is perhaps use this fourth program to try out things like the other standard fitting rationales like NAL-NL1 or NAL-NL2 or DSL-v5 Adult, or if you have a heavy ski slope type hearing loss, to try Speech Rescue frequency lowering on that fourth program to see if it’d be helpful or not.
I’ll add the Lecture program could save some users from investing in the TV Adapter.
Not saying it’s for everyone, but it really increases the dialog for me.
Thank you, everyone, for all your excellent suggestions! They are all very much appreciated.
Many people noted how important it is to have a good audi and get the HAs set up and tuned right for you. I really appreciate this advice. Despite traveling over an hour to a large, internationally know, hospital famous for eye and ear care, my fitting (and subsequent check-in visit) were “perfunctory” at best: 30 mins, didn’t even ask me the basic fitting setup questions in Genie, did the REMs and selected a set of domes and wire lengths. Done. Have a nice day.
Not satisfying…. But I’m still impressed with the results.
I’m going to take your advice and find a local audi who’ll spend the time to get things “really dialed in”.
Thank you all again, and very much, for your helpful assistance.
I’d still love to hear more about folks’ experience with different programs on the Oticons.
I’ll make a pitch for adding Comfort. Some people here recommended it for noisy restaurant situations instead of Speech In Noise.
I’ve found it’s sometimes helpful for that. Nothing is perfect— but that’s a tough situation for a lot of ‘normal’ people too.
But I’ve found it’s useful in two situations. One is when there’s background mechanical noise—like a fan or even road noise.
But I use it most often while walking and listening to an audiobook. I select it—I’ve preset it for a low volume—and then start my audiobook. With that sequence, I can independently control the volume of the audiobook with the buttons on my phone, so turning up the book doesn’t also turn up traffic and leaf blowers. This setup allows me to walk, focus on the book, and maintain situational awareness of ambient sound for safety.
Other than that, I find that General covers most of my needs.