Hi, I was wondering if anyone recommended any particular HAs for high frequency hearing loss? I don’t have ski slope loss so much as normal hearing up until an immediate drop to 70db at 3000Hz in my left ear. I ask because I’m considering putting my savings towards moving to private practice from NHS audiology, largely due to poor service from an audiologist I’m unable to change from. (Annoyingly, excellent service in terms of the ENT services I saw him for, but terrible support with my hearing aid, essentially refusing to reprogram it further after only one follow up visit (which I had nearly two years in, because he didn’t tell me that tweaking settings was commonly needed, or even possible)).
I have a Phonak Nathos Auto M (which I’ve seen described as a phonak versata plus echoblock, in a naida housing?), and before taking the plunge on private hearing aids I’m borrowing a friend’s HA programming setup to see if I’m lucky and my HA isn’t locked to the NHS, to see if I can get any better results by programming by myself.
My main problems are I hear a background hiss/drone noise constantly at the default volume (which I’m aware may well be just picking up background noise that my brain has tuned out from my right ear), my own voice is amplified a lot (I quite often can’t tell if someone else starts speaking if I am already), and any slight breeze outside pretty much renders the HA useless with noise. I don’t know how much differences in technology between top of the line hearing aids and the nathos auto m (which I think are still pretty recent/high level, and have made a massive difference to conversations in low-mid noise/hearing between rooms) will make to those issues.
If HA model is likely to make a difference, then I would like to invest in a HA I could use with an android app to have different programs (I don’t have any additional programs on my current HA, and audi refuses to add any as it ‘wouldn’t make any difference’). I’ve been looking at the Phonak Audeo Paradise, the Resound One, Widex Moment 440, and Oticon Mores. I also don’t know if anyone has any comparison between BTE and RIC HAs for the type of hearing loss I have?
Otherwise, I’m wondering if not having my hearing checked out until I was 26 might have caused some issues in how my brain perceives sound. I know I’ve had less hearing in my left ear since at least my early teens (if I slept with my left ear to the pillow, I had to put my watch outside my bedroom because it ticked too loudly, but I could only hear it with my left ear if it was right next to my ear), and now I don’t know if even after two years, my brain still picks up the hearing aid amplification as a ‘weird’ sound, as I seem to notice sound in my left ear a lot more than in my right - often I’ll miss things on my right if I’m listening to someone on my left. Again, don’t know if this is just something normal that comes with wearing one hearing aid.
That’s a lot of rambling, sorry, but would really appreciate any input on any point >< Thanks!