Phonak Spice

Hearing Aids
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#163

Sorry for the delay in responding. Busy day today. The iCom works great with the AT&T home telephone. The only thing I was struggling with was how to adjust the volume on the telephone. When I made calls, the volume in my hearing aids seems loud. For some reason, the AT&T telephone doesn’t allow you to lower the volume of the bluetooth channel using the volume control on the telephone base station. Weird. After thinking about it a while I realized that you can use the myPilot to lower the volume of the hearing aids when the phone is connected to the iCom. When you are talking on the phone using the iCom, the myPilot shows “Mobile phone + Mic” and you have two volume control bands on both sides that can be adjusted. This isn’t a problem with cell phones because the volume control on the cell phone adjusts the volume of bluetooth headsets with no issues. Must be just an oversight from Vtech (who makes the AT&T phone).

Jordan.

#164

JordanK,

How do the various apps, StereoZoom, AutoZoomControl, UltraZoom, SoundFlow, and FlexControl interact with each other? From Phonak’s eLearning material, it appears that UltraZoom is always available in auto, but StereoZoom, and AutoZoomControl must be selected manually. SoundFlow and FlexControl appear to work together and it appears that both features are always available. Is that correct? Also, what optional programming features did you choose?

Thanks in advance for your reply.

#165

Hi Stratuscom,

My understanding of how these various features work is as follows: The hearing aids have an auto mode plus 5 programs that you can have your audiologist customize for you. I have the following programs setup: Calm Situation 1, Speech in Noise 1, Music 1, StereoZoom, ZoomControl. So…to answer your question…StereoZoom and ZoomControl take up 2 of the program slots. When you are in the ZoomControl program, it automatically defaults to “AutoZoomControl” mode. This means that it automatically tries to detect where voices are coming from and it zooms in to those sounds. When you are in Auto Mode, you also have the option of holding down the center buttom on the remote and it will then put you in a ZoomControl mode that will allow you to use the directional arrows to select which direction to zoom in to. SteroZoom is different. It is designed to focus on voice directly in front of you only. Watching live theater or having a conversation at a restaurant with someone across from you might be good examples.

UltraZoom and Soundflow are just built into the programming and kick in automatically as required. Its hard to say when they are working because they just happen automatically. I believe that Flexcontrol and Soundflow work together but its not something that you do other than to adjust the volume up and down when required and Flexcontrol automatically adapts.

Make sense?

The one thing I can say is that the hearing aids are very good and regardless of what is happening…they are doing some really sophisticated things to optimize your ability to hear well in varying conditions.

I’ve got my second fitting session today at noon. There really isn’t too much that I want adjusted at this point…which is quite amazing. These hearing aids are working very well out of the box.

I will post a detailed update later today with some more thoughts based on my experiences over the weekend.

Jordan.

#166

Yes it does. That helps. The video presentations on Phonak’s website are informative, but Phonak’s user guide is disappointingly sparse. Maybe Phonak believes the audiologist will provide all of the necessary information, but that is an unrealistic expectation.

I have my first fitting later today and I’m trying to develope a strategy for the options. I like yours.

#167

Does anyone have any information on the price of the new Audeo s compared to the present Audeo models? Im just getting new aids and the audi has no information on the spice models.Im trying to decide if I should wate for the spice information or go ahead with the standard Audio model.
If the price difference is modest I would wate.

#168

WIll do! I’ll update this thread with my initial impressions later this week.

Thanks for the info. I’ll definitely have to try it out for myself.

In the UK, the spice range are broadly the same price as the older audeo range they replace. I’d imagine it is likely to be the same in the US, so it’s probably worth waiting (or trying a different audi?).

#169

Had my fitting yesterday with the Ambra MicroPs. They were coupled to a classic mould with the large tubes. My prior aids were an early version of the Micropowers coupled to a receiver-in-the-canal. The difference was impressive, but since my previous aids were two generations old with a lower powered coupling and no “Soundrecover,” it is hard to know how much of the improvement was due solely to the Spice processors.

The fitting took two and one-half hours. My audiologist was not familiar with the new Target software and spent an hour with the Phonak tech over the phone receiving instructions. The Phonak tech was very knowledgable and it was a great learning experience for both of us. Target appears to be far superior to iPFG once you understand the user interface.

We did discover from the Tech Rep that the Ambras do not list Flex Volume as a feature because Flex Control includes Flex Volume as well. Unlike the Audeos, all Ambras have Flex Control. Some Audeos only have Flex Volume. The volume switch on the housing can be configured for either Volume, Flex Volume, or Flex Control. Flex Control being the most sophisticated of the three.

The automatic mode works great. It is barely perceptible when it is switching to a different mode. I am hearing fuller and more numerous sounds than with my previous aids. Voices, radio, and TV are significantly clearer, but speech is still not perfect. Like JordanK, I could understand both conversation and the radio in the car far better than with my old hearing aids.

StereoZoom, the new feature that focuses a narrow beam directly in front of the wearer, could pick out a voice in the crowd 10 to 15 feet away. That was most impressive. However, to be understood, the speaker has to come closer as the volume of noise increases. I have not been to a noisy restaurant which is probably the most difficult hearing situation.

Speech in calm was bright (maybe a little too bright which might be fixed with an adjustment). I was able to completely understand my boss who always speaks softly.

There was a problem with Speech-in-Noise and the StereoZoom not filtering out enough of the background noise. I am scheduled for adjustment tomorrow and will see if the noise in these modes can be reduced.

I also purchased an iCom with the new aids. The iCom worked well with my iPhone 4. Phone conversation was clear on both ends. Music was also very clear. One problem again was too much background noise. When on a mobile phone, the mic volume is supposed to be muted, but in noise it was hard to understand the other party. This was also true for audio programs played from the iPhone. Hopefully, this can be fixed with an adjustment as well.

If you are planning to try the new Spice aids, I recommend that you become familiar with all of the aid’s features as well as the Target software before your fitting. Most of the information you need to know is on Phonak’s website. Much of it can also be found on this forum.

#170

Thanks for that information. I am keenly following this thread. Please keep us informed in a few days as to how they are performing in different situations.

#171

I fitted my first two pairs of Audeo Smart S today. One was a V and the other an IX. Both users have migrated from the previous generations Smarts and found the Spice to be superior in sound quality and overall impression. The noise of runnign your finger over the microphone protection was also reported to be much less.

Each fitting took about 45 minutes an Target was tricky to get used to initially, but once you understand where everything is it is more powerful and flexible than iPFG. I am fitting several more pairs, some to new clients in the next couple of weeks and am looking forward to the review with the clients to see how they perceived the aids in “real life”.

#172

You are making me envious. I’m still waiting on my Audie to get back to me. She hasn’t heard anything from Phonak yet :frowning:

#173

I am surprised your audie hasn’t heard from Phonak. They are busy now as you can imagine, but they have been very responsive to both me and my audiologist.

#174

Is there any literature beyond what is found on Phonak’s website that would help someone understand what and where everything is?

#175

The mic covers do appear different on the Spice products. Phonak is recommended that old(?) Audeo Smarts get retro-fitted with the new mic covers due to past issues with sensitivity to rubbing on hair/head & plugging too easily. I have fit a few Audeo S Smarts and been quite impressed with the results. As with anything new there is most definately a learning curve with the software. I really like the RECD measurement that occurs while the feedback reduction is being calibrated, I have found this results in significantly less fine-tuning to achieve proper fitting for the client’s I have seen so far. I am looking forward to having a client interested in the Ambra product so I can fit it and take advantage of stereozoom but do not have a lot of clients in my area who purchase high-end. I know it is a bit of pain to have this program accessed manually only, however it is not viable to expect a hearing aid to decide for you when this type of program is required. I think we would get many complaints and end up having to disable stereozoom in many cases if it WAS an automatic function.

#176

As far as use of target I find it flows fairly intuitively from left to right. I am finding myself going through most of the options one at a time to make sure I haven’t missed anything. Accessing the program manager and the individual controls for the programs initially gave me some trouble but I think I have it sorted (need to right click on program in program manager to access program options.

#177

Had my second fitting today of the Ambra MicroPs. This time we got the Noiseblock set to moderate. Phonak sends them from the factory with Noiseblock set to weak. The noise filter works well.

I attended a meeting at a noisy restaurant (the true test of hearing aids). I was missing some of the conversation while the HAs were in Speech-in-Noise. There was some improvement with AutoZoom, but when I switched to StereoZoom the speaker’s voice came right out of the noise. I was able to hear almost all of the speech in conditions that would have been impossible with my old HAs. In StereoZoom you have to turn and face whoever is talking which may not always be possible. It isn’t perfect, but it is a big improvement.

#178

Hey everyone,

I haven’t posted an update on my Audeo S Smart IXs in a week and I thought I would provide some additional comments.

I had my second fitting on Monday and there really wasn’t too many changes required. I asked the audiologist to remove the sound recover feature from my music program as I like to keep the sound as clean as possible when listening to music or playing the guitar. The other thing that I had him do is remove the ear locks that were attached to the receiver. They were digging into my ears and making them sore and you don’t really need them with the new torpedo shaped domes. Other than that…we didn’t really adjust anything. Its quite surprising how well the hearing aids were adjusted after just two fittings.

Wednesday morning I jumped on a plane for a few days of business meetings in Las Vegas and I got to try out the new Smart IXs under some really noisy and challenging environments.

First test - The Airplane: I was quite surprised how well these hearing aids did during the flight. Flying is one of those noise environments that are typically tough for hearing aids. I flipped the hearing aids into Autozoom and they did great. I had no issues hearing the person beside me, the stewardesses, or even the announcements that the pilot makes during the flight.

Second test - The hotel and casino: Once again these hearing aids did quite well. They seem to adapt to different types of noise environments and I felt that they did much better than the previous versions. I had no issues having discussions in the lobby, in the casino and in the general meeting areas of the hotel. Soft female voices are still an issue and I did have problems hearing the asian woman behind the checkin counter…but I think this is quite normal given her accent and soft voice. Flipping the hearing aids into StereoZoom really helps out under these conditions and the you always have the option of turning up the hearing aids in SteroZoom mode by using the remote.

Third test - Noisy restaurant: We ate at a very noisy Italian restaurant in the Venetian this evening and this was defiantely the worst case scenario. The restaurant was crowded, the floors were tile, there were many different conversations going on at the same table, etc. Once again the hearing aids did better than expected. There were still times that I had a bit of trouble hearing but I found that keeping the hearing aids in StereoZoom with a slightly higher volume (using the remote) really helped. There was certainly none of the voice distortion that I noticed with the previous version of the Smart IXs. Stereozoom seems to really help out in these circumstances because the feature tells the hearing aids to cross transmits the sound from each hearing aid to the other hearing aid…wirelessly. This means that both ears are always hearing everything. It seems to work quite well and provide greater clarity in noise.

Tomorrow I’m going to wearing the Alera 9s again to see how they do in the noisy Las Vegas environment. I will say that the Audeo S Smart IXs have certainly exceeded my expectations and are a huge improvement over the previous model. Nobody should be too quick to call the Spice versions minor upgrades because they are not.

Jordan

#179

Which is the gist of what I and ED observed at the launch. It wasn’t some kind of technobabble frenzy, the instrument has genuinely moved the paradigm forward.

#180

My experience with the Ambras are very close JordanK. I fly to London next week (in the cockpit) and will report back after Thanksgiving.

There is one negative that I hope to resolve. While driving with the HAs in the auto program, listening to the radio, the road noise is blocked and the radio is clear; then all of a sudden the HAs will zero in on part of the road noise and block out the radio. I am not sure what is happening, but I think UltraZoom mistakenly identifies the radio as unwanted noise. I’ll keep playing with this one. Conversation with a passenger though works flawlessly.

#181

If I could experience half of the success that the above posters have stated, I would be in tears. I hope people with all types of hearing loss are able to benefit. Thanks for posting these insights, gives me cause for hope!

#182

I am testing the Oticon Agil pro and the new Audeo S YES (Spice platform)
I have the YES, because they have 2 microphones on each side. I change the test-aids every day to compare.

One problem I had with the Audeos was the quick shifting of the zoom. While driving a car I had permanently other sound within seconds.
The sound seems to go through my head from the left side to the right, once loud wind noise, then again no noise at all.

The other problem:
When both hearing aids hear by crosstransmitting, then I had difficulties to know where some noise is coming from. I heared it clearly, but had to look around, where it came from.

May be it is only in the automatic modus.

My Agils are better in a noisy restaurant. Much better. My Audeos are the master of speech in calm. Much louder than the Agils.

In the moment, I would prefer the Audeos. If they only would not change permanently the hearing direction.