Firstly, I am using Oticon OPNS3 minirite with 100db receivers. My complaints are:-
Sound is husky, raspiness (not clean & clear)
Massive HF loss see graph, but less severe in lower frequencies.
WRS = poor
Suffer from hyperhidrosis (massive sweating) and live in a hot climate!
Hearing in noise and groups Zero
Tv & youtube very poor using bluetooth and/or tv adaptor.
Questions
a) Should I consider BTE aids and what power
b) Which brand would give optimum results?
c) would up aids be unsuitable for my loss?
Thank you for any help you can offer
My hearing loss is somewhat similar to yours, very happy with my Phonak Audéos, also great for streaming (using both their TV streamer and great Bluetooth). You may also consider their new Sphere model (AI chip for speech in noise, beefier battery).
Humidity is a big risk for HAs imho. Phonak has Luminity Life models that you can swim with (which I still wouldn’t do)…
Thanks for your advice!
@Neville could you comment on the hearing loss scale on the audiogram? (Audiogram is in original post)
My take is that is a very big loss but I don’t understand why the hearing loss scale goes down further from what I’m used to seeing. I’m no expert but my take is that considering your audiogram and your report of poor word recognition I’d suggest getting an evaluation for cochlear implants. If that’s out of the question I would think an UP BTE would be appropriate. I don’t think brand particularly matters although m.y leanings would be Phonak Naida UP, but I really think cochlear implant eval would be helpful. Edit: I’d definitely take Neville’s advice over mine.
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I am curious if you can really hear sounds in your higher frequencies. Many of us with your type hearing loss really can’t hear upper sounds properly.
At 65 I went the cochlear Implant route with Medicare help. They are very expensive without any financial support.
Something you might try are hearing aids with frequency lowering technology. If you do use this technology you will not need SP or UP aids for the profound high frequencies. Your Oticon aids have speech rescue that just might help you get some of that wrs back. This technology helped me a bunch for a few years before CI.
There are some very knowledgeable members here on the forum that can help you. Neville is one of them.
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Thanks for your reply! Recently an Audi told me that I should avoid UP aids because my mid-range frequencies are not too bad and UP are really for those frequencies and lower losses! The suggestion was BTE & open domes! I have tried frequency lowering but the oticons don’t go low enough for this to be successful in my casel! I have rejected the CI option due to age and other health issues!
I have got to the stage of minding my own business and avoiding social situations with a partial acceptance of my loss after countless visits to Audis and although I struggle to hear I sometimes have more successful bluetooth calls and I can still hear about 60-70% of what my partner says however youtube and television sound is bad! Turkey where I live has a major shortage of really competent audis which doesn’t help!
Infinio Sphere and Infinio R have robustness quite as in Life model (parylene coating etc.)
The Phonak aids might be a better choice as far as frequency lowering. They are capable of going lower than most of not all hearing aids.
Essentially moderate out to 1 kHz dropping relatively steeply to profound thereafter. That kind of loss might be okay in a P custom tip RIC or it might do better in an SP BTE, it really depends a lot on the individual, the max word recognition, whether there is a conductive component, the size of the ear.
With a lot of sweat sometimes a BTE can be more robust, especially if there are a lot of receiver breakdowns, but on the other hand sometimes moisture and a BTE just leads to a lot of tubing management that may or may not be straight forward depending on dexterity.
Absolutely not. You do not have an open dome loss, you have a custom tip small vent loss. The suggestion of an open dome, unless there’s something else going on that calls for it, might indicate you should interview other clinicians.
Again, sometimes an SP BTE can be better for this loss but sometimes it’s not. There is variability to how someone handles gain at 2 kHz when you’re at that level of loss–could be quite beneficial or could be a distorted mess. If someone really wanted to exhaust their options and was willing to lose a bit of money on earmolds if it doesn’t work out, the Phonak Naida SP BTE would have the best frequency lowering options and a well-fitted mold would help overcome to likely total lack of REM measures in Turkey. It might also give direct streaming to the computer and TV, or might need an accessory if there’s a delay. It would open up Roger options. I like the Oticon BTEs for people who don’t find frequency lowering useful, but Phonak really still does have the best frequency lowering options.
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So the audiogram is the typical scale but for some reasons goes to a 140dB loss instead of 120dB?
Yeah, it’s the oticon software. I don’t know why it does that.
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