I have Phonak Audeo hearing aids and have had them for almost 2 years. They are OK at best but my sitiation is challenging.
I work in a busy trauma center and there are noises everywhere. Some repetitive (monitors and alarms) some constant (Ice machine hums and loud overhead AC units).
Then there are burst noises like yells, screams charts being tossed etc.
I hear all of these all too well. I still have trouble understanding speech in this melting pot of distractions despite several tries at changing settings. Hearing on the phone is a nightmare… Everything is amplified except the phone
I honestly don’t have a lot of confidence in my audiologust however. I have had to bring her professional instructions on the various features so she can apply them to my aids but still I am out almost $8,000 and very frustrated.
Do I need new aids or a new audiologist?
Can anyone give me a recommendation? We live near Greensboro, NC.
did your Audiologist ask questions about your working environment before she fitted your hearing aids? They really need that information to determine what hearing aids are best.
I have aids from Widex, Senso Diva, but they’re over 6 years old. For a while now I have the same problems you’re having. In a noisy environment I can’t understand speech very well. I hope the new aids will fix that.
I’ll report here if the new ones are any better. If not, I can give them back after a 4 week trial, and get different ones.
Walk into your audiologist and tell her you just sent for a set of Resound Azure hearing aids over ebay. They have for best offer and i got a pair for $750.00 Send your audio report to the folks via email and they will program before they ship them. Tell your audiologist you expect her to work with you adjusting the programs if necessary. Tell her you have had enough for $8000.00 and are expecting her to cooperate with you in every aspect. If she refuses find another audiologist who will program them. You can also mail your aids to some of the internet shops in the U.S. and they will reprogram them for you. My Azures work quite well in environments like you describe. Not like a set of real ears, but quite well. My opinion is you are being ripped off.
I think it’s a little unreasonable to walk in on an audiologist and demand that she program a pair of aids that you foolishly bought on e bay, and to continue to program them as is necessary, free of charge, because you are unhappy with the aids you purchased from her 2 yrs ago. You also need to post your audiogram because no one here should be recommending any type of hearing aid without first seeing that. You are probably better off finding a new audiologist since you are so down on the one you currently use. You should never buy an aid without first testing it and you should take the time to do a little research to find out different things about the aid you are testing and find out whether the price you are paying is fair. You also need to establish a relationship with an audiologist so he or she can better understand your lifestyle, and program your aids accordingly. Finally, depending on your loss, you may always struggle in a noisy environment. Hopefully your aids can be adjusted in order to help you with your situation, but there are no miracles here. Aids don’t fix, they can only help.
You should have your hearing aids reprogrammed. Fine tuning which involves guesswork will never correct errors that were done in in-situ adjustment. So request a new in-situ fitting and have it carefully done, especially in the low frequencies (the amplification must not be set too high at frequencies <500Hz because then the HAs will sound muddy). You should demand to verify the final parameter values of the fitting yourself.
I was very frustrated with my Widex Inteo for 3 years despite over 20 visits to various audiologies during that period. Then I got my hands on a programming device (Widex iP5) and I spent 30 minutes in the in-situ fitting which resulted in much better sound than ever before. The sound was sharper and I could hear the high frequencies, and even traffic noise is not uncomfortable anymore. I could hear lyrics for the first time in songs that I have listened to over hundred times. I achieved a much better fitting in 30 minutes than those of many audiologists.
I understand your frustration. Your audiologist can’t understand what is wrong as his ear is OK. What is tinnitus? How to imagine? It’s all guesswork. Personally, you have to experience it then you will understand the problem but too bad they can’t because they have good hearing. If you can afford to pay $8000 for the hearing aids, you should have little problem to pay just 10% of your investment to fine tune yourself.
This is an alternative solution provided to the frustrated user. If you are an audiologist, too bad I might have hurt your professionism. But after all , user should have the choice to program themselves rather than depending on some unqualified ‘audiologist’ doing the trial and error.
Obtaining the hardware and software to self program is just part of the problem.
You really need some knowledge of how the hearing system works. I suggest studying the available books first. Some of the audiologists may help you if you buy your Aids from them. (most will not)
A USA reliable source for a HiPro interface is bidbybid on Ebay. I have had a number dealings with this guy and found him knowledgeable and honest. He is located in California…I’m in Bethesda, MD
Note: I have no financial connection with the above or any commercial person in this industry. Ed
I would recommend you say to your audiologist, “Will you tell me when you might have a visit from the Phonak rep. so that maybe we can work together with a fresh pair of eyes on this problem.” The reps are used to being brought in for programming problem cases and hopefully you will not have burned a bridge with your audi.
i definately agree on the use of the phonak rep. As an Audiologist, we take what you say and try to adjust. But sometimes what you say isnt really what is happening and vice versa. The Rep is good to utilize bc they know ALL the tricks and ins and outs to help get your problem solved!!!
X-builder: About the legal ramifications of an audiologist helping a patient with self programming.
I don’t know if there is a liability issue if the helped patient damages his or her remaining hearing by improper programming. I doubt it.
First, trying to prove that the self-programmer damaged their own hearing in a court of law, would IMHO be almost impossible. Then there is the issue of proving that the alleged additional loss was not a product of the progression of the patient’s disease or other extraneous factors.
Look you can sue anybody anytime for anything…but I doubt if any one has ever successfully sued in this type of case. Too many variables. And to the best of my knowledge there are not any laws or regulations that specifically address this issue…at least not that I am aware of. If there were such restrictive stuff people like America Hears would certainly be in jeopardy.
Some time ago I had an audiologist supply me with self-programming soft and hardware. She had me sign a simple statement that this was my idea and my responsibility. Ed
You could use any test box and determine if the MPO of the gain of the instrument
is unsually high to the point that it could induce further hearing loss. it is easy to prove this… AH business has not been successfull else where, Europe , Asia, India, China.
I doubt they will survive in the future, but time will prove me wrong perhaps…
