Good evening, everyone!
I would really like to hear the opinion of Oticon users who like to use different programs based on different formulas. Which one do you like the most? Which sound do you like more on the vac+ or nal 2 algorithm?
My main pair of More2 has programs: general (vac+); 2 general (nal 2), 3 DBL adult, 4 Speech in noise.
My OPN2 auxiliary pair has programs: 1 general vac+ , 2 DSL ; 3 DSL 5.0 adult; 4 Music .
I will be glad to hear your answers!
I by my preference and desires only have the default general program. It is all i want and need. But it took my audiologist and myself 15 appointments and adjustment find tuning over an 18 month period of time. I just put my aids in when I get up and take them out at night. I have the INTENT1 as my primary aids and the Real1 aids as my backup aids. I seldom even think about the fact that I wear aids, I donât bother with the app l, and seldom change the volume levels.
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Great question. A lot of the DIY peeps love tweaking the various rationales, and from my use case I have vac+ for my P1 general program and lecture program.
I was very dissapointed with Oticonâs switch to the MyMusic program from the old legacy program, so I created a general program using dsl v5 adult with all the dnn, and ai turned off for music.
Some like nal2, and someone even uses dsl v5 pediatric!
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dsl 5.0 pediatric is cool, I like it for its clarity and legibility. However, it took some time for the brain to transfer secondary sounds to the background and not perceive them so vividly and loudly, it took several days.
Tell me, please, what does âwith all the dnnâ mean?
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These arenât âprogramsâ as such. Theyâre different fitting rationales. Thereâs arguments for sticking with one rationale and adjusting around that.
Oticon usually recommends VAC+ to get the most out of the Intents, while DSL I/o is normally retained for Childrenâs fittings to assist with speech.
Although you might find the changes handy, flipping between them without some verification risks both under and over-prescribing.
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Thank you for your reply! what kind of check can be done to get the maximum? What is fundamental about dsl-based speech assistance programs for children that vac+ does not have?
Essentially thereâs more high frequency response in DSLi/o, this helps children learning speech to develop better consonant reproduction.
The VAC+ sounds a little softer, but has better acceptability amongst older people. Also the AI amplification of speech now inherently sharpens the actual speech portion to the extent that simply enhancing ALL the HF is now a little passé; as you risk turning up the noises ( water flowing, dishes on a worktop, rustling a newspaper etc.) rather than just speech.
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Your answers are very helpful, thank you! Yes, indeed, initially I began to hear the rustle of paper and the sound of a computer mouse and printer much louder, but at the same time I hear the radio working much more clearly. In the early days, the brain is somewhat tired from information overload, but then it adapts. Whatâs the difference between nal2 and vac+? According to the audiogram, it is impossible to tell which user which algorithm will be better? Do I understand correctly that when high frequencies are lost, dsl will be preferable to vac+?
Hereâs an explanation of DNN. and you may find this website helpful for fitting rationales, although Oticonâs VAC+ isnât included, you can find information on the Oticon website, as well as doing a search on the forum, using the magnifing glass search tool on the top right of the page.
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I have Real1 with two filter choices: General and MyMusic. I donât know how they configured General for me, but MyMusic seems to have more high-frequency boosting. MyMusic is very nice for listening to music due to more treble. However, in any other situation, the MyMusic filter settings cause loud clicks (clipping?) in response to some benign sounds like a car door closing. I rarely use it.
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Actually, listening to music is what MyMusic is designed for.
It has itâs own fitting rationale, and all the parameters for speech are turned off so as to only reproduce an uncompressed music scenario.
Feedback control is dialed down, and all the Oticon fancy compression, and AI enhancements are off.Thatâs why you hear clipping, and other objectionable sounds when MyMusic is activated.
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I have the Real 1 and before that OPN 1. I like to stick with VAC+ for normal environmental listening. Itâs nice and clean and itâs what Iâm used to.
I use MyMusic for music streaming listening, and also TV streaming. I find it having a lot of âfillsâ in the mids, great for a flair of the dramatic in music listening and TV streaming usually has background music so itâs synergistic with the MyMusic program as well, IMHO.
I tried DSL Pediatric but itâs just too overwhelming for me, and I donât care to try to adjust my brain hearing to adapt to it because I donât find any obvious advantage about it that would make it worth my effort to get used to it. Plus, like @Um_bongo said, thereâs something to be said about sticking to the fitting rationale youâre most familiar with instead of flip flopping between radically different fitting rationales and not being able to get the most out of a particular one if the other one keeps making things different for you. To me itâs like trying 2 different diets at once, and all youâll end up doing is getting your stomach upset for no good reason. I know many folks tried the DSL Pediatrics and like it a lot for some reason, but itâs just not my cup of tea.
Same with the NAL-NL1 and NAL-NL2. I find them harsher sounding, and maybe itâs better for challening situations in noise for speech understanding. Might be so for the OPN 1, but the Real 1 seems to be better for speech in noise without having to resort to the NAL rationales so I dumped them after trying them. Same with DSL Adult, sharper than VAC+ and maybe helpful for SIN on the OPN, but no longer more helpful with the Real, so it gets dumped, too.
I think in general, if youâre had a long history with a fitting rationale thatâs usually brand-based, and youâve trained your brain hearing to be used to it and make the most out of it, you should stick with it unless you find it not working for you. But if it hasnât worked well for you from day 1, you probably would have switched brand already.
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Yes, very much this.
Flitting between rationales is probably not best for the mental gymnastics involved in dealing with vastly differing compression rates.
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I donât even have Oticon so sue me. Philips 9050. I changed to DSL5 after years on NAL2. It may be all in my mind or it may be the best thing thatâs happened to me on a hearing aid. The Philips doesnât allow different fitting rationales in the different program slots so I canât do a direct comparison. Less sonic glare is how I think about the difference. Iâm not planning on changing back anyway.
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Thank you for such a great reply! 
I am an adherent of the oticon brand, I find it the most natural- sounding for myself (I still remember the time when I did not use a hearing aid ! 
That was 18 years ago, 18 wonderful years that have already passed. 
The comparison with the two diets sounds very convincing to me! 
'm looking forward to trying intel, as Oticon more the limit of my abilities.
In my field of activity, I conduct electrophysiological studies of the organ of vision, perform electroretinograms. And I often have thoughts that it would be cool to understand the settings of my device just as well as I understand electroretinograms. But I completely trust my audiologist, he hears and understands my needs.
Alzheimerâs disease should not be prevented in this way, right? 
Probably not: tends to interrupt the mental plasticity.
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