I am new to hearing aids and to the practices of audiologists.
I just finished testing for one week my very first pair, Audibel A4, which had about 45 minutes of seemingly careful back and forth adjustments by the audiologist. I was generally happy with them, but I didn’t know what to listen for.
From a different audiologist, without a break, I’ve just started testing some Widex Unique 440s that had about 20 minutes of tuning during a rushed fit-you-in type appointment.
With the Audibels, it took two days to tolerate my own voice. With the Widex, it has taken only a few hours. I believe this more a function of my own brain and not the aids, themselves.
I understand about the brain getting used to my own voice and to other sounds. However, my engineer’s knowledge of sound systems leads me to think that sibilance is a systems issue more than it is a hearing issue. Only the Widexes have a sibilance problem, and I consider it a severe problem. Many but not all voices sound very much like an old radio that has not been tuned in exactly. It is unacceptably annoying, and I had to remove them to listen to the news.
The loaner Audibels were set for automatic volume adjustment with manual adjustment denied. At the appointment, I thought this very odd, but yet I never felt the need to adjust it during the week. Contrastingly, the Widexes were issued with 8 volume settings available. In the lowest setting, I hear very little sibilance, but the aid is not doing enough for me at that setting.
I ask this group to share knowledge and experience with sibilance. Is it likely that, for me, the Audibels are just a better choice than the Widexes? Is it more likely that just not enough time was spent in the short Widex fitting appointment to get rid of sibilance? Over time, doe one accommodate for sibilance such that it is not heard at all? Does anyone know the strategy for getting rid of sibilance when tuning hearing aids? The frequencies that it usually occurs, 3K to 8K, is where I need the boost, and just lowering those frequencies would be a waste.
Hz 250 500 1K 1.5K 2K 3K 4K 6K 8K
L 20 20 20 30 45 75 90 95 95
R 20 15 20 25 35 65 85 85 80