That’s not quite true, could you elaborate on what you mean?
but it changes the program the moment a certain tolerance is exceeded or it recognizes a pattern, it is not fully automatic but more like it is loud, I do speech in noise, it sounds like music, I switch to the music program etc.
instead of you doing it, the autosense does it for you, a kind of semi-automatic
with oticon you can go through life with one program, but because there are people who don’t want that, there are a few options, 4 to be exact, Phonak offers 10+ (6 in autosense and 4+ more as additional programs=, because they are just not that flexible.
with phonak you can only do 1 program with autosense… with oticon you can do all 4 programs automatically and only mymusic does not have an automatic one.
as already written, not much changes with the other programs with oticon, it gets louder or quieter, plus the dB noise reduction or speech highlighting, theoretically, this is also possible via volume + and - in the general program.
I have several programs because I normally can’t cope with more than 8dB of noise suppression, but if I still need it, there is the speech in noise program. Alternatively, you could of course do a second general program with higher values.
Phonak doesn’t have a general program, you can get through life with one program but you won’t have as good values as with Oticon because something is always missing.
Other brands work in the same way, I don’t know Widex, I can’t vouch for it, but I think it will be similar there)
2 Likes
I’ve tested Starkey, Phonak, Resound and Signia, but with none of them except Oticon you can only cope with one program. Other brands do have a kind of normal program, but as soon as it gets noisy you have to switch to another program otherwise you get lost
Not wanting to be disagreable, but what you are saying is just not true. You don’t have to switch programs using a Phonak in noise, and I’m pretty sure you don’t have to with other brands like Signia, Widex etc.
I am unsure if you have an unfavourable impression of Phonak because you had a bad fit or you are making a naunced point about Oticon that I don’t quite understand.
I own currently Phonak and Oticon and I think there are differences in Autosense and the general program, but not the ones you are describing. In actual fact with the Oticon I have to manually go to the speech in noise program, so it’s the other way around. But that’s not a criticism.
I wear Oticon aids, now INTENT1 with the Real1 as my backup aids. I only use the general program on both sets of aids. But I must say that right after I move here and got my VA audiologist here, in 2018. It took above 18 months to find the correct fittings for my hearing loss. Over that 18 months I had 14 appointments, and 3 different sets of aids and 3 different ear molds to get my aids tuned into my needs. And I know that very few audiologists would even attempt to have that type of patiences. And I know of very few of you that have the patience to ho through the process that I went through. I am retired so I have the time. I am a veteran with service related hearing loss. I put the VA to task on its promise to serve us veterans. It has paid off in spades. What I have is as close to having my hearing back as is possible with my hearing loss. Also I must say i have been through a couple of years of hearing therapy. Including speech therapy, how to listen while wearing aids, and learning how to endure noise. I have also set in and monitored a number of audiology classes at the local university so I can actually explain my issues. It has been worth every minute. And there were times that I thought the therapy wasn’t worth the degree of mental exhaustion I was going through. But the outcome has been worth it.
2 Likes
This is what I wanted to know. Thanks.
When you changed to Speech in Noise did you notice a difference for the better between your General program and the Speech in Noise?
1 Like
In the situation I was in it was an improvement, yes, but not a massive one as I could just about hear in the General program.
To be honest, the open paradigm philosophy does mean that I am inclined to sit there in the General program and see how it goes. It’s only if things get really bad then I would switch.
1 Like
Yes. I saw that. To be honest I can’t remember if it had a good effect or not.
Question for you, do you use Roger X or the neck loop at all with the Xceeds, to connect with your Roger? I am thinking about it. Neckloop is really cheap on connevans website.
Of course you don’t have to change, that’s what autosense does, it’s just a fact that with Phonak the program is constantly “only” changed… and as I said, for me that’s only semi-automatic and I don’t like it.
I wouldn’t like it if Oticon did something like that either, for people who want a little more support there are two special programs, but as I said, you can usually get through the day with the standard, in contrast to Phonak, which, as I said, constantly changes the program.
I could say the same about them, they have a bad Oticon fit, but no, everyone hears differently of course and everyone deals with a situation differently.
Every brand has its pros and cons, which is why there will never be unanimity about a brand
1 Like
When you connect the audio shoe to the Xceed, Bluetooth will stop working. I found that out after spending money on audio shoes etc. Reason why, is the Xceed can’t handle both.
I’ve been told to connect a Roger X to an EduMic and Bluetooth will carry on working.
Of course the NeckLoop will also work.
I don’t use the Roger at the moment but if I ever get a EduMic, I’ll start using the Roger again.
I find I hear loads better with the Xceed over my Phonak’s anyway. I feel hearing with my Xceed’s and deaf with my Phonak’s.
1 Like
If you mean that Oticon has a general program and it doesn’t seem to morph into other programs and people can use that in almost all situations then I agree that is an intelligent distinction. Whether it’s totally true, i.e. the only aid that does that I am not sure.
As for your point about questioning the fit, I have no brand loyalty, but it is sometimes obvious when a bad fit is the case. I have seen so many posts where people have had a bad fit and have gone to another manufacturer and had success. But the first aid was just as good, if not superior.
That said, the previous comment does not apply to your fit, but for a poster on here that I have just seen. I saw your comments on your other post about the Sphere and after trialling the aid I agree with you. What the Sphere does is scrub background noise very effectively, but when you are in a group situation with multiple talkers there is in my mind different problems. There may be no background noise, so the Sphere program does not kick in. Okay in this situation one can manually switch to it. I did this and it seemed to me that in a quieter situation the benefits were marginal. The problem is the inherent difficulties we have, hearing fast pace conversation in a group, still exist because ultimately there are still issues with signal to noise ratio, difficult accents etc. This problem, for people with a severe loss and beyond is not necessarily solved by the Sphere. The Sphere solves a different problem which is when you walk into a nightclub you will be able to converse with one or two people while music is playing at 90dB. So I understand why you went with the intent. I am thinking of doing the same, but this time I will be looking for a provider that does REM.
By the way I own both Phonak and Oticon. I agree to a certain extent that it is possible to tell that Autosense has changed programs. However the newer Autosense 5.0 I found more seamless. But when my Phonaks were underfit the changes drove me crazy. But that was about 10 years ago.
1 Like
Why do you need an Edumic for Roger? I am confused. Ahh, because of Bluetooth. Okay.
1 Like
This is a weird characterization of these two hearing aids that has less to do with what the hearing aids are doing and more to do with how their software is set up.
I haven’t ever found that very useful. But I have noticed a minor improvement with it.
There’s been quite a bit of discussion whether other hearing aids work like Phonak’s Autosense. My understanding of Autosense is that it switches programs depending on what kind of environment it senses. Do other hearing aid companies aids work in a similar fashion or is there a notable difference in how they work? I do believe they do change based on their environment but do not know if it’s a different “program.” Part of me thinks this is just semantics.
They do change but it’s not to different programs.
I was asking about having the separate speech in noise program as at the moment I don’t have it.
I guess I wasn’t clear.
I notice quite an improvement when I press that button in the App to help with speech in noise.
2 Likes
About a year ago, I trialed the Phonak Lumity and did an A/B comparison with my Oticon More. The difference between Phonak’s AutoSense (version 5.0) and Oticon’s general P1 program is noticeable. Towards the end of my trial period, AutoSense started to get on my nerves. I prefer Oticon’s P1, which delivers a more consistent sound without noticeable variation. Now with the Intents, I rely on P1 for most of the day, even in noisy environments, where I think it performs even better than the Speech in Noise program. I only switch programs for music or when I’m playing guitar
1 Like