Reverse cookie bite? and open-fit vs molds

Hearing Loss
#1

Hi, its me again - the nurse with the borderline hearing loss. Got my audiogram done and it hasn’t changed much in 7 years, but at least I have it in front of me now and can post it.

freq L R
.25 40 35
.5 45 25
1k 35 20
2k 35 25
3k 40 35
4k 40 40
6k 40 40
8k 45 45

since I have that hump of almost normal hearing in the middle, from what research I’ve done so far I have a mild reverse cookie bite by the looks of it. Not sure if this makes my life easier or harder, since it appears to be a pretty rare type.

From what the audiologist said, I also like things loud - which is true. My discrimination scores were 75 for the rt and 95 for the left. I usually turn the volume up past what I need, because that way I can enjoy what I’m watching/listening to and don’t have to concentrate constantly to try and make out what they say. I wasn’t too impressed with the speech discrimination part of the test though - he re-used the words for the right and left ear, so I found myself able to guess correctly for much of the left.

Since I have some low freq loss, the audiologist that did the test said I would be better off with an earmold than an open fit. I’m not worried about ‘discretion’ but I am worried about comfort - the open fit aids I have now (some cheap tango 3Ps from ebay) drive me nuts for the first 30 minutes, but if I can get past that, I forget they’re there. but that first 30 minutes is me fighting to not pull them out and just itch and scratch at my ear canal. I’m afraid that an earmold would be worse.

#2

So.?? What’s happening…?
And your speach scores, were they 75% at 40db or 75% at 80db? Makes a difference right? How did you make out…?
I don’t know if I agree with the earmolds. I think you’ll do fine with an open fit IF they are for you. You loss does not appear to force/warrant an ear mold. But this is you and you have to be comfy to get the best improvement you can.
The Phonak Audeo IX (high end) is a good fit. I do believe you can get that in a RIC or just tube. The RIC’s are said to be crisper? Don’t have one so I cannot comment directly. I do want to try one though. Getting to my audiologist is a nightmare. I work in NYC but live at the Jersey Shore so my commute gets in the way.

#3

Actually, for the speech threshold part of the test, the patient should be familiarized with the words. Some offices even post a list of the words in front of the patient. They are simply standardized this way and so are meant to be given this way. In real life the context of the sentence and situation clue you into situational word banks, but anyway…:smiley:

Your thresholds certainly make you a candidate for open fit aids. But i have a handful of patients with a loss similar to yours and they started with open fit aids and 3 of them switched to in-the-ear aids that occlude their ears (GN Resound Remote Mic Live models). They preferred the occluded nature of these aids because they tend to hold in more sound and gave a greater perception of overall loudness. Open fit focus more on clarity. Will your audi allow you to try one and switch to another during your trial period?

Good luck! :stuck_out_tongue:

dr. amy

#4

Without seeing the masked BC I’d not like to say what the exact loss is here, but that left ear is practically flat. It’s not really a reverse cookie bite at all IMHO, but I’d suspect you’ve got some conductive element in there.

Perhaps CIC with a volume control and a varaible vent- depending on the canal.

#5

All things considerd (BC scores, Speech Discrim, SRT, etc.), a RIC would initially
come to mind. Consider it a combination of the two, but much less occluding.
As to the discrim test, familiarity is one thing, but I would tend to agree to repeat
the same words from L to R would breed an opportunity for the memorized “fill-in-
the-blank”. It would’ve been just as easy to hit “Track 4” as it would’ve been “Replay”??

Also, on the surface (assuming you’re understanding that all of this is speculation to us all),
the Discrim scores on the Right ear seem to be ‘off’. You can post your complete test
result if you have them, but I might consider a 2nd opinion, i.e. retest.

#6

What no one has said yet is that you aren’t really borderline - you have a hearing loss, plain and simple. 20-25db is not almost normal hearing like 5-10db would be. You really will be surprised at what you’ve been missing when you finally get a set of new aids in. Since you don’t have a severe/profound loss, you’ll find that you have many more options to choose from. Good luck.

#7

ABB:
So you have a RITE and a custom mold? I wasn’t sure you could do that. Why did you chooise the custum over the open?
Sorry - I forget your results & I am on my BB.
What do you feel the benefits are? I am used to my CIC compressing/blocking the louder noises so I am not sure how I woild like the full open. Strange ??