Here is my take on getting better speech comprehension. Just an FYI that I am a busy executive in the IT industry, I have been wearing hearing aids for 23+ years and I think I am on my 7th or 8th set of hearing aids at this point.
MOST IMPORTANT POINT: It all starts with finding a really good audiologist. I can’t stress this enough. The best audiologists are almost like highly skilled police detectives. They ask tons of questions. They collect evidence (hearing test, word comprehension scores, etc) and they then continue to probe you with questions throughout the testing, product selection, fitting and adjustment periods. They also push you to log your experiences and take as much time as necessary to understand what is working and where you are struggling. They also really know their testing and fitting technology. They use industry best practices like REM testing. They intimately understand the strengths and weaknesses of each brand of hearing aid and they are good at recommending hearing aids that will work best for your unique hearing loss. They don’t push a single brand. They select the best product for you and then work with you to adjust the hearing aids until they get the best performance possible for your hearing loss.
I actually went through multiple audiologists until I found my current one. I was visiting my ENT Doctor for a checkup and he asked me how my hearing aids were doing. I told him I was completely frustrated with the whole process and he then recommended someone who he knew to be really good at fitting people who were very challenging/fussy patients. I have been with that audiologist ever since and he is fantastic.
SECOND MOST IMPORTANT POINT: The best speech comprehension and the latest breakthrough speech comprehension advances are only found in the newest and most expensive hearing aids. I know some people may beat me up on this but this is 100% true. You need to always start your trials with the hearing aid manufacturer’s top/latest models (i.e. 9 series, etc). These hearing aids have the most recent technology and the most recent algorithm to help with speech comprehension, specifically…speech in loud noise. I know this comes at a huge price that many cannot afford. I see this as a multi-year investment. Buying the latest hearing aid technology future proofs my hearing aids and allows me to keep them longer. Buying cheaper models really means you will be replacing them more often and IMHO, you will end up spending the same money over time. Bear in mind that you must start with a good audiologist. If you have a bad audiologist, it doesn’t matter how much you spend…you will get bad results.
LAST POINT: There are many brands of hearing aids and they all use different techniques to help you hear speech better. What works for some people’s hearing loss doesn’t necessarily work for a different person. That is why you will get so many different opinions here. Some swear by Oticon and their “open” approach to hearing. Others have gotten better results with Phonak (I’m wearing Phonak Lunmity right now), GN Resound, Signia, etc. You MUST find an audiologist who will let you try many different brands for a minimum of 30-60 days each and you MUST be patient as it takes the audiologist a while get the settings optimized and it will also take time for your brain to get used to a new hearing aid. You also need to find an audiologist who deeply understands the different brands that they are fitting and deeply understands the different strengths and weaknesses of each brand.
That’s my 2 cents. As I mentioned, I’m currently wearing Phonak’s new top model Lumity hearing aids and the speech comprehension I have experienced with these new hearing aids has been phenomenal.
Jordan