Oticon Vigo Pro Connects w/ RITE Review

Hearing Aids
,
#1

Ok, so I picked up my new Oticons 4 days ago and thought I would share my experiences thus far.

BACKGROUND: I have been wearing HA’s for about 25 years now. My last 2 aids were Siemens LS’ (ITC), each lasting about 8 years. I previously only wore 1 aid in my right ear. So this is my first time with an aid in my left ear.

PROS:
-I can actually hear!!!
-Directional hearing is awesome, never knew what it was like to actually know where sound was coming from. Still a learning curve here though.
-The telecoil works really well with my Spyder II cellphone.
-Went from volume setting on tv at 35-40 on average to 20ish during shows and typically turning it down to 15 at commercials.
-Wind noise seems to be reduced compared to old aids, however I haven’t been ice fishing yet so that will really give me a good compairison.
-Feedback seems to be minimal when wearing a hat or close proximity to something.
-RITE setup gives the smaller tube diamtere and most people don’t even know i have them in.

CONS:
-Things like garage doors, crinkling of paper, mouse/keyboard clicks, roller chairs across a hard textured floor, etc are very loud, boarderline painful. Not sure what needs adjustment without affecting other sounds.
-Does not seem to work well with my multi-line Avaya office phone. I did find a single line Avaya phone of a different model and it seems to work better in the telecoil mode.
-Seems like my voice is very loud and echo-y like I am in a tube or something. NOt sure if it’s the aid setting or the fact that both ears are plugged with the RITE feature.
-Bulky compared to a ITC which takes ALOT of getting used to.
-Haven’t figured out how to use the phone without going into the telecoil mode.
-Wish i had the hardware/software readily available at home to finetune the HA’s.

I am waiting for all the connect-line items to come in this week. I am getting the landline for at work and the tv unit for at home and for my cell.

I think that’s it for now!

#2

I was talking to my audiologist last week that was dealing with a similar issue for one of her other clients. She found a Plantronics Blue Tooth device for a multi line phone that works well with the Streamer. I can ask her for the model number if it would help.

#3

Not right now, Thanks!

I am going to try to get a good single line phone for my desk so that in the event that I dont want to use my streamer, I can still hear relatively well on the tele-coil.

Is it true I need a analog phone to work with the connectline???

#4

Hey willie1280,

I into my first weeks with the Vigo RITE Power …

I seem to concur with many of your observations… I’d like to offer some replies:

For my T-Coil my audi program auto swith/detect and manual on the button. I can’t say I’ve had it swith to T-Coil automatically on any phone yet. That said I can hear
well without the T-Coil on the phone with the exception that both aids also amplify my surrrounds when on the phone. Switching to T-Coil mode manually the phone is ok but
I think I need it turned up a bit if possible in this mode. Neat thing about this is both
aids swith to T-mode with the press of one button.

For loud high frequency sounds I do not think it should be painful. For mouse clicks they should not be loud …I think you need some adjustment there. Tell your audi you want the sounds but not the volume. I had very loud sounds such as clapping or dishes clanking that were borderline painful and kicked in the noise suppression. Rather than lose these frequencies or the volume my audi smoothed how fast the noise suppression kicks in so it sound natural as the aid stops amplifying these sounds…so I get the sounds up to a point which I like.

I’m glad your having success as I am. The directionality was new for me also…I never had any sense of where a sound was coming from.

#5

Yes. I got a cheap ($25 US) at&t phone. I lost the ability to see if I had a message waiting, but you can get analogs that have message waiting lights.

#6

Hi all, I’m waiting for my Vigo Connect RITE to arrive.

Based on another post I saw here, I think about Phonak aids, I wonder what everyone is using for their 3 or 4 settings on the Vigo, or other Oticon aids.

I saw there is a Mute function, why would I want to have that turned on?

Thanks!

#7

Right now I just have my day to day setting.
Then i have the manual telecoil setting where my right ear is for the phone and the left ear has the volume reduced significantly to block out background noise.

Mute is good for times when on a motorcycle, mowing lawn, snowblowing for us unfortunate ones, etc. I thought it was a bad idea too, but then i thought about all the times it would be nice.

#8

@willie1280, Good point about mute!

Even though I have only one HA, that’s still a good idea. I’m going to ask the audie to leave that option on.

Does anyone have a special setting for music?

#9

I’m due back for my second adjustment… good questions what do to with all those programs?

Right now I have the t-mode which places both into t-coil and that’s it. Mute would be good for when the kids are screaming or lawnmower. I will say my everyday setting/noise suppression really made my snowblower not bad…ie…regular setting is saving my hearing.

My audi was also suggesting volume control. The music program sounds interesting (although I’m getting used to how music sounds… it may be good for the movies/TV ??). One thing for sure…its all one toggle switch…I can see how it could get confusing…ie 2 beeps is volume, one beep is t-coil…but you have to go thru both to get back to regular…

#10

Oticon Epoq XWs

I have the following settings:
Left HA Sw Controls 4 Programs (Up & Down) plus long press Mutes the Mics
Right HA Sw controls Volume (Up & Down) plus long press Mutes the mics

Program 1 = Primary General Listening Program
Program 2 = Directional on Demand (for noisy places I use this alot as a sort of “Voice Zoom”)
Program 3 = Same as Prog 1 but Volume lowered to maximum (for when I am on the motorcycle but cannot reach the buttons due to my helmet. I can get a quasi-mute using the Streamer, not very effective tho)
Program 4 = Music (Almost never used but sometimes for TV, I use the Streamer for music.)

I do use the Sw on the HAs to mute the mics on a regular basis if I am assaulted with noise in a mall or Best Buy, when I walk into our manufacturing floor or if a fire truck is going by. While none of the program or volume switches happen fast enough, going to mute is faster than multiple presses of the volume button. Also, it is a complete turn-off of the mics and not just a reduction of the volume. (Important in a machine shop or on the motorcycle.)

I forgot to mention this one…
Put the mics on mute before you go into a Thruway Bathroom on a holiday/“big travel” weekend! That was the noisiest most overwhelming &funny experience after getting my aids.
Power Flush toilets, Blowing Hand dryers and busfulls of teenagers in an all tile environment!!!

#11

I saw there is a Mute function, why would I want to have that turned on?

If there’s a facility offered, there is probably a reason for it.

In this case, it allows you to get some peace & quite, for example, in an extremely noisy place like a London Tube underground train.

It could save you 30 minutes of acoustic hell, and is easier to use than fiddling with a volume adjuster or removing the aids.

#12

If you own a streamer you can use the mute option. I had bad ex. with the mute
switch, I had heard some people switch to the t program when they want to mute the instrument

#13

The trouble with using T as MUTE is that you can pick up stray magnetic noise.

In my Tube train example the T mode would deafen you with clicks, bangs and pops from the electric rails!

#14

OK, got my Vigo Connect Pro RITE late this afternoon so I am still going through the first several hours with it.

So far, I am liking it a whole lot more than the Vigo Connect Pro BTE I had before. Noise filtering is better, I’m hearing more bass, I can hear my wife while watching TV. Tomorrow will be a better test as I go through my workday.

So far though, I’m liking it and this is coming from a person who has worn Starkey ITE HAs since roughly 1980.

I am still getting used to the Streamer beeping and causing the sound to go “blank” for a second while picking up and ending a cell phone call (Apple iPhone 3Gs).

I am using the power dome on the RITE so it is a lot more occluding than the open dome so I’m getting used to that as well.

There are currently only two programs: General and Manual T Coil. The mute option is supposedly turned on and I am not sure if I am in T Coil or Mute, or as the Vigo Connect manual calls it, Standby.

I really wish the Streamer had a small LCD panel to show which program is turned on, if mute is on, volume setting, etc. Maybe we’ll see that in a future version of the streamer.

After I’ve road tested the HA a little bit, I’ll go back to the audie to fine tune the programs. @Squeezer53 has given me a couple of good ideas.

Thanks all!

#15

Learning to use the RITE with phone handsets is turning into the biggest pain for me. It has nothing to do with the auto-telecoil or manual telecoil but getting used to how to position the handset next to the aid. This was so much easier when I wore ITE HAs.

Yes, using the ConnectLine phone adapter will be easier but then I’d have to drag the thing between work and home.

Adapt and adjust…adapt and adjust…

#16

You might try a speaker phone at home. That’s what we do…

Sorry, the picture was lost.

#17

Been lurking around here for a couple of weeks since getting My Vigo Pro Connect Powers. For your house, get a bluetooth phone such as the one I bought (Vtech DS6321-3) which works pretty much flawlessly with the Streamer. Pair it once, then never have to pair it again, its automatic and very slick. Your bluetooth cell also will pair with the V-tech and you can use the home handsets to make and receive cell calls too. The thing comes with 3 handsets for your house and you don’t need but one phone jack. I paid just over $80 shipped for this phone. To answer incoming calls, all you hae to do is hit the Streamer’s phone button. To make calls, you dial on the handset, then hit the menu button twice to transfer the call to your Streamer. Very easy.

Then for the office, I got a Jabra JX-10 headset with Jabra A7010 bluetooth hub bundle for $110. Didn’t need the headset so I sold it for $40. So for $70 this took care of my issues at work. The reason I got the Jabra bundle instead of a A7010 hub by itself is because the A7010 is discontinued and getting very hard to find. Anyway, at work, you have to lift the handset and set it down on the desk, press the phone button on the streamer, then dial the phone. To answer the phone, you have to pick up the handset and hit the button on the streamer and begin talking. This part is a bit awkward at first (due to the pause from the time you lift the handset to the time you press the streamer button and it initializes), but overall works well. I usually answer on speaker phone, and if I want privacy I ask the caller to hold for a second while I press the Streamer button and turn off the speakerphone.

So for $150 and change I have my phone issues taken care of. Cheaper than the $200 my audi quoted for the Connectline phone setup…and I don’t have to carry it back and forth.

Regarding the Vigos. I am fairly happy with mine. I need some tweaking. Whenever I am driving in the car with the radio on, the aids seem to hunt for a program. Sound goes up and down and up and down continuously. I need a “music in the car” program that shuts off the noise compression entirely. I can manage the sound so as not to damage my hearing. So far my programs include a phone program (loud in right ear muted in left), and T-Coil program. My audi set the “individual” setting on “Dynamic” and I don’t think I like it. I would rather the aids react more slowly to changes in noise levels, or not at all in some situations (like the car).

Also demo’d a set of Epoq’s. I did like them better. More low tones and crisper highs. But my wallet will not allow the $2200 price difference for the XW’s.

#18

Unfortunately, we bought a Panasonic DECT 6 expandable phone system back in January. If I was to buy a cordless phone today, I’d definitely try out one of the setups that work with Bluetooth. That would certainly be a whole lot better than using the ConnectLine phone adapter.

@mde8965, interesting that you mention the Epoq offering more low tones. The Vigo was recommended to me because I only need one aid and, as I was told, the Epoq and Dual require two aids. Can anyone elaborate on how true that is?

A “music in the car” setting with no compression sounds interesting.

#19

kloda - I was never told anything about Epoqs “must” be sold in pairs. They do communicate with each other, which is cool. But I don’t think 2 are required by any means…

And too bad you already bought non-bluetooth cordless. Buteven if you just replaced one of them with the bluetooth base (you would need to plug it into a phone jack) you would have what you need for $~80…

#20

the offering low tone- you must be referring as multiband directionality.
Only Vigo pro upgrads have this option - where low freq. are kept in omni
and higher freq. have directionality (adaptative).

Having the low frq. in omni gives the percetion of better lows