Resound Quattro periodical distorted sound

Hearing Aids
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#1

I started using HAs (Resound quattro, RE961-DRWC) since November 2020 after discovering that I no longer could hear some of the bird singing in the garden. I also found that my right ear was worse than my left. With headphones a steel-string strumming guitar would sound more like a nylon-stringer in the right ear.
It was a revelation with listening support through the HAs, although it took a few months getting used to the new crispy sound picture.

The last 5-6 months I’ve had some issues with coming and going distorted sound with what apperars as a higher volume in the right HA.

The problem seems to be triggered by sharp noises, people talking loud, even listening to some music. Contact noise from the glasses (f.ex. when chewing) can also trigger it.
Sometimes I hold my hand over the ear to cover the HA speakers to get the sound back to normal.

I used to set wind noise reduction to level 1 (lowest) to reduce the contact noise from the glasses). I suspected it to be the source to the problem since I’ve only had this function added to the basis program in the ios app. Now I’ not so sure, since turning the function off doesn’t always seem to help + having the function on doesn’t always result in problems.
My HA settings are as set by the technician at the hospital. Volume is 9 for both HAs, except for noise reduction, which is set to 1 (lowest).

Is this a common problem with the Quattro?
Is there an easy fix?

Thanks for your time reading this.

Yours
Stein Arne Jensen
Kongsberg, Norway

#2

It is a known issue with those hearing aid, it could be a blown speaker or it could be a bad microphone which require you to RMA the entire device… I used to have Quattro and the HA seems have a design flaw which have a lot of problem…

#3

Thanks a lot!
I have had the “drivers” (the things in your ear) replaced about a year ago, but I can’t recall if that was the same problem then.
So a replacement of the whole unit is the solution then? Did the problem return for you with the new unit? If yes - after how long?

I’ asking this because you get hearing aids for free here in Norway (a new unit every 6 or 7 years). I hope this will be a guarantee (or complaint) issue. Norwegian customers have much better protection than in many other countries. The producers responsibility depends on what is regarded as a products “normal lifespan”. I would guess this is more than 3-4 years for HAs.

Anyway - I’ll contact the hospital to get an appointment for a check. Hopefully the just give me a new unit (or pair?).

You shouldn’t happen to have links to other cases with the same problem. Could be nice to present some “evidence” :blush:

Again - thanks a LOT! :pray::pray::pray:

Stein

#4

Mine kept failing every 6 month, microphone failing is a known issue, i eventually replaced mine with a resound omnia and reliability of it is far better than before…

#5

pinging @jim_lewis a resound quattro user

#6

My right Quattro lasted almost 3 years. My left Quattros would fail every six to nine months for some bizarre, asymmetrical reason. Initially, I was vacuuming the microphone openings when cleaning my hearing aids with a Jodi-Vac, which I decided probably wasn’t a good idea if for no other reason than the reduced air pressure outside and perhaps increased air pressure inside on the microphone openings when the vacuum needle was passing near the microphone openings (the air rushing into the needle also makes a very loud sound, too - in the 90 to 110 dB region with ultrasonic frequencies up to 20 kHz, according to an iPhone sound frequency analysis app).

ReSound did say in introducing the ReSound One that they’d totally redesigned the microphones. So, perhaps that was their indirect way of acknowledging a problem and claiming they’ve fixed it.

My test for microphone function is to rub my thumb against my fingernails while holding my hand near the HA microphones. When the mics were working properly with the Quattros, I could hear a high-pitched “ssshhhing” sound very clearly and loudly. A Quattro with failed external microphones wouldn’t let me hear such a sound. I’ve only worn my Omnias for 3 1/2 months but they’re doing fine so far, except for occasionally getting disconnected from MFi Hearing Devices, which a reboot fixes.

#7

FWIIW, my Quatro receivers both failed after 3+ years, about 3 or 4 months apart. The failure mode was broken plastic that covers the wire. I had molds. I was very satisfied with them. My brief experience with the Ones, was distortion in the right HA from day one, I figured it was defective from the factory. I turned them in for Omnia’s around the first of the year, and so far, so good.
I have NOT updated IOS to 16.4.1 yet. :slight_smile:

#8

Thanks SSA, Jim Lewis and louyo!
These quattros are my first HAs. When I got them, I knew nothing about brands and quality. When the audiograph (norwegian name for the people doing hearing tests and adaption of the HAs) asked what I wanted I replied that my only concern is to get the HAs with the best available sound quality, particulalry because I’m VERY interested in all kinds of music. Looks was no issue for me.
Her answer was the Resound Quattro.

Now I wonder what recommendations are given elsewhere. Are the quattros really the best of the best? For music? For improved speech understanding? For filtering out background noise?

Are there real winners or will everything be down to which brands audiographs can supply.

Does neutral recommendations based on tests exist?

Again - thanks for your time!

Stein

1 Like
#9

Most is subjective. Too many variables. Your hearing, the HA’s, the person doing the fitting (very, very, important). I see musicians on here and they will give you their impressions of the brands they chose. I am pretty much tone deaf and don’t listen to much music. I do stream a lot of stuff from my computer.
My personal opinion is that for general improvement in speech, most of the top brands are fine. You may have to bug the Audiologist to get them right for you. I have been pretty much plug and play.
Be patient, trial all you can and recognize that it will probably never be what it was when you were young. Great folks on here to answer your questions. Good luck.

#10

I have a CI and cochlear partnered with resound to bring 2.4ghz streaming hearing device…

#11

Thanks for the help to each and everyone of you!

Stein

#12

As many forum members note in other threads, the way any brand of HA is set up and what choices you make/your HCP makes in fitting can have a tremendous impact. The Quattros are good hearing aids, but by ReSound’s own admission, the more recent models of the Ones and the Omnias are improvements.

I recently trialed both the Phonak Lumitys and the Omnias. I thought that the Lumitys in general might have been slightly better in sound quality and listening experience. But the Lumitys only come in a rechargeable version with an average runtime of 16 to 18 hours on a full charge when doing a moderate amount of streaming/phone calling per day. I found the Lumity sound processing a bit more aggressive than with the Omnias. The Omnias had excellent sound quality, and I could get them with disposable size 13 batteries that will give me a ~10- to 11-day runtime. I also like the M&RIE receivers (microphone-in-the-ear), which do significantly enhance sound localization for me. Being an Apple Watch user, being able to control my HA settings via my Apple Watch was important to me, and I couldn’t do that with the Lumitys.

I don’t go with ReSound’s proprietary Audiogram+ fitting algorithm, based on the Australian National Labs NAL fitting algorithm, but much prefer the evolved NAL-NL2 algorithm from the same organization with ReSound user settings of EXPERIENCED, NONLINEAR. For noise control/noise elimination, I deliberately wear occlusive custom silicone molds made by ReSound with Select-A-Vent. The occlusion minimizes noise getting to my ears if I turn off my external mics or turn Noise Control all the way up. The occlusive molds also help with HA beam-forming with the HA mics tuned only to listen to what’s in front of you (as in the Restaurant mode for the Quattros), reducing the amount of noise leaking into your ears from all around if you’re in a noisy situation and want to focus on listening to sounds or speech coming from a particular direction. I have the bass boost for streaming turned up to the MODERATE setting.

With any brand of hearing aid, you should have your HCP set up a music program for you. The most basic HA settings are designed for listening to human speech, and some of the processing to enhance speech understanding interferes with the sound of music.

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#13

Thanks for your reply! I see there’s a lot I have to learn about HAs and how they are set up for a user.
The model with a microphone in the ear channel, is it to compare input (microphones or bluetooth) with the actual resulting sound in the ear?

Stein

#14

I had two pairs of Resound Quattros because I bought a second pair when the first pair had to go for service due to the microphone problem. Both of them needed new microphones in one or other aid about every six months.

But for the last two years I have been using Resound Ones and I have had no faults at all so far. I have noticed that in the All Around mode the aids can suddenly switch to a focused mode when there is a lot of background noise and this sounds really weird, also much louder in one ear than the other. But all through Covid I used them switched to the Outdoor programme except when listening to Music, when I would use the Music programme. That cut out this focus issue.

I have just ordered a pair of Resound Omnia aids and I will be very interested to see how they work out.

2 Likes
#15

I used to experience a similar warbling effect with sound from speakers or raised voices. This was much reduced by adjusting Time Constants* from the recommended Syllabic to Slow and using Binaural Directionality for the microphones.

You could also investigate with your audiologist if the Impulse Noise Reduction setting is too high. Mine is at mild.

  • both of these settings can be found in the Smart Fit programming software under Fitting : Advanced Features.
1 Like
#16

Thanks for your reply. Is this Smart Fit software something that is available to the end user?

Stein

#17

Yes it is available on Windows. Check out the DIY topic at the link below. You will also need a Noahlink device to wirelessly connect your hearing aids to the software.

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#18

Thanks again. Sounds complicated.

Stein

#19

DIY isn’t necessary for most people who have a good audiologist.

But if, like me, you want to avoid long trips or long waiting times between appointments its a wonderful learning experience. It can be a little daunting at first but as long as you make a backup of your settings and only change one or two things at a time you can’t go too far wrong. If you somehow do you can just revert back to the original settings or the last good settings.

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#20

Whether or not you decide to give DIY a try, you can sign up online at Audiology Online to audit courses for free on how various brands of hearing aids work. Here is a search filter for courses on Audiology Online for ReSound:

For anyone else, if one changes the name in the URL filter link web address from “resound” to “phonak” or “oticon,” one can find courses for aids from other OEMs as well.

The different manufacturers also have PRO websites vs. alternative user-oriented websites.

Here is a link to the ReSound Pro site for support materials for hearing aid professionals (such sites implicitly contain a lot of marketing to professionals, too). (the following is the U.S. site, perhaps if you search on ReSound Pro hearing aid support materials, you can find the equivalent EU site).

Hearing aids ReSound - Support materials

Even if you don’t go the DIY route, learning more about how your HA’s work can help you have more meaningful discussions with your HCP. You could ask your HCP for the full professional report on your HA settings from the fitting software and be better able to understand what your settings mean, etc. In some ways, it’s like whether you want to know the details of how your car works or whether you just want to hop in and drive and take for granted whatever your auto service center tells you the car needs work on, etc.

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