Well yesterday I went ahead and started a trial with the Solana MicroP. And it has confirmed my suspicion that I am a natural self-programmer, it is a real bind that the Target software is so locked down, I am annoyed that I am basically being asked to choose between the best hearing instruments that I can’t put my own preferences onto or lesser technology which I can manipulate for myself.
So what I think of them so far:
The audioshoe is very neat in the way it attaches, but it covers most of the back of the hearing aid, so no matter what colour you have chosen, the most visible part of the HA is the colour of the audioshoe, only available in boring colours.
I hate the domes. I lasted all of 2 hours before I ditched them and put my Siemens ones on them. They just about fit, though you do have to take them out pretty carefully not to end up with a stuck dome. I'm sure the majority of people don't like occlusion, but it appears that I do! I wore fully occluded moulds through my childhood and later wore ITE shell aids, I am used to occlusion, and having a conductive component it doesn't make a whole heap of difference to me anyway, my voice always echoes in my head
The tube shape is not a good match to my ears, there's always a waggly bit left over
In most programs it sounds like everyone is speaking to me through a PA system
Soundrecover I adore. Yes, I know, not designed for my type of loss, but don't knock it till you've tried it. All those noises that are painful and distorted even at 30dB are just gone, no more walking around feeling like I've been shot in the brain with a BB gun when someone presses a button on the ATM. I'm gonna get me some more of that!! It was the main reason I wanted to try these hearing aids but it's been left off in 3 out of my 4 programs :mad:
Soundrelax def seems to work, though not sure how necessary it is compared to soundrecover cos loud noises don't really bother me that much, it's the frequency that matters.
I can understand my daughter. That is almost priceless, and if we can make the rest of the instrument work out for me in other situations then that's an easy sale, I can speak to my little girl without anyone getting frustrated.
With current programming I cannot understand men. They sound like they have been muffled first but then played back through an amplifier in a very large echoey room, so it's hard to explain to the audi, he says does it sound muffled or echoey - um, both! Any tips on what to do about that on gratefully received! :D
Those beeps are a pain! I don't want to have NO beeps, but the beeps are really long, and they don't overlay the other sound, they mute everthing until it's done beeping, that's really annoying that if you change program to get better access to sound it actually makes you miss a couple of seconds while it plays a merry tune - is there an alternative where it will still make some kind of confirmation that it's changed program but doesn't beep like a mad thing? Especially on return to Soundflow Automatic, that is a loooooong tune - if you remove the beeps is it still obvious you changed program so you can count how many you cycled through?
I like the Zoomcontrol, and I think I prefer it manual than automatic because if you have someone each side of you and one is quiet and one is loud I bet the auto zooms to the loud person - maybe someone with the Ambra or IX series will confirm how that performs?
I actually seem to be able to figure out where things are. I hear an alarm and I looked straight at the car with its flashing lights. Never happened before, will be much safer crossing the street now.
Would love to hear a better description of Stereozoom, it’s the one thing about the Ambra that I find tempting, but the brochure just fiddle-faddles around the point that there is a network of microhphones that produces a beam - unless it’s going to shoot lasers out at people (which sounds kinda cool!) that doesn’t make any sense to me.
Seeing audi again Monday, any recommendations on how we can get rid of the “everyone is speaking through a microphone” sound? I am not a bit bothered if stuff sounds “natural” or not, I’ve never had fully functional hearing, I’ve worn hearing aids forever, I dont’ have any frame of reference for what “natural” sounds like, and it’s far more important to me that I get audibility. If everyone sounds like a Cyberman but I know what they are saying to me then that’s absolutely fine by me, but the problem just now is that it muffles up the sound quality. I think the issue for me with Target is that is starts with the idea that you want things as natural as possible, which is a good starting point for late-deafened folks and mild losses I’m sure, but I’m quite used to and quite happy with things sounding weird, I’d rather there was a box you could tick for “just make it audible and hang the consequences” and start the fitting from there.
