Really great feedback and information. If they only helped with conversations I think that would be fine. It is not necessarily quiet voices that are a problem either. Just certain voice types or environmental noise interference. Breathy or hissy voices are particularly problematic. Hopefully this thread helps other mild fence sitters :).
Completely agree with this. The degree of ālossā often has very little to do with the numbers and lots to do with the social/work/relaxing activities of the client. My range goes from a Hermit to a High Court Judge: everyone sits somewhere on that scale.
Iām a high school teacher in my 60ās, with mild/moderate high-frequency hearing loss. Iāve been having trouble understanding student speech in the classroom from distances of 8 or so feet and beyond; in addition, my husband complains that sometimes I have the TV too loud. I have no trouble in one-on-one conversations (except in noisy restaurants) and no trouble on the telephone.
The audiologist initially fitted me with a Starkey IIC. My own voice sounded booming, the occlusion was uncomfortable, and background noise in restaurants was absolutely deafening - even using the Starkey iPhone āappā for restaurants! This was all bad enough, but the real clincher was that due to the sound distortion (is this a āgivenā with digital devices?), student speech was more difficult to hear than without wearing aids!
Soā¦my next ātest driveā was the much-touted Oticon Intiga RIC (behind the ear). With the Oticon, my voice sounded normal to me, and the sense of occlusion was much less. But all the other problems remained, in particular the deafening noise in restaurants, and distortion of speech of everyone - even people in close-up conversations in quiet settings! My audiologist conceded that HAās do not replicate normal speech or restore normal hearing: okay, got that. But if they distort speech to the extent that it makes words more difficult to decode, then what is the point of the HA?
So I rejected the Oticons. My audiologist then remarked that āMaybe this just isnāt the right time for you to get hearing aids,ā and offered to refund my money (which was a fortune). So actually, I guess it was she who fired me!
Bottom line: I have no hearing aids (and no audiologist), but many questions! Is it possible that indeed, as my audiologist suggested, Iām just not yet at the point where I can benefit from HAās? And was she correct that distortion of sound with HAs is just something you have to accept? She also said that HAs cannot block out restaurant noise; is this correct?
And finally, has anyone had experience with the HAs I tried (Starkey IIC and Oticon Intiga RIC)?
I would be so grateful from insight of others with similar experiences - or for any advice!
I would give a different audiologist a try, it sounds like the audiologist you went with didnāt know how to correctly set up or adjust the hearing aids you tried. Good luck!
I have mild hearing loss as well, but with terrible tinnitus. I was not happy with my first audiologist, found another, and had a complete different experience. Try doing some research (healthgrades.com or angieslist.com if youāre a member) or maybe word of mouth. Best of luck. The right audiologist makes a world of difference regardless of what hearing aid is in your ear.
Thanks so much for the replies to my post, āFired my audiologist!ā But I would still like to hear from people regarding their experiences of sound quality (as opposed to volume, which is the easy part) of any digital HAs.
Specifically, is sound distortion inevitable with digital aids? I experienced distortion of speech with both the Starkey IIC and Oticon Intiga RIC, to the extent that rather than improving my ability to hear speech, the aids were actually a detriment. So discouraging!
Thanks again; all feedback from is priceless!
Amitie (French for āfriendshipā)
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Dear Amitie,
Here is my experience with getting HAās for the first time. It does not completely mirror yours, but maybe you can still use some of it.
I have had HAās for 8 month now, so I am well used to them. At first it was kind a wondrous experience, because I heard so many new things or so much more of things that had been kind of muffled (without really realizing it). Next I got kind of disappointed with how poorly I sometimes understood speech, especially in movies and fast paced environments. I sometimes think to myself - did I even understand speech this poorly before my HAās? But if I am compltely honest with myself, i think that before HAās I did not fully register how much I missed, I kind of thought that other people couldnāt hear what they were saying in the movie either - which is of course ridiculous! I also avoided the phone without realizing what my problem was. So now that I have recognized my hearing problem, gotten HAās my expectations have changed and I expect to hear everything. Sometimes I still donāt, but it may still be better than before.
I also had the issue with all other noises being terribly loud in the beginning, but after a few months that is rarely an issue.
Understanding speech from a distance is always a challenge, because HAās pick up sound the best with in a few feet. That you can only remedy with either getting closer to the speaker or getting a remote mic.
What does your audiogram look like and what are your discrimination scores. Iāve never experienced distortion of speech. Of the HAās I tried Phonak, Resound and Oticon; I found Phonak to sound too mechanical for me and found Oticon and Resound to sound very natural and went with the Oticon. The two variables in your situation is your audiologist and your ears and without having your audiogram numbers up, the proās on this site would be taking a shot in the dark.
Dear Seb,
I am looking at my audiogram, but do not see a neat list of numbers for each ear, like so many people display on this website! My audiogram consists of a chart with xās and oās, which range from 25 to 65 on the chart, if that means anything. My WRS (word recognition score) was 92% right ear, and 88% left ear.
Believe me, I will insist that my next audiologist provide a comprehensible audiogram, along with explanation. Once I have a set of numbers, I will post it!
Thanks,
Amitie
Amitie;
The chart with xās and oās IS the standard format for an audiogram. Thatās what my audiogram looks like.
Once you learn how to read it, you will be able to figure out how to post your results.
Hereās how to read it:
At the top, there should be numbers: 250, 500, 1,000, etc. These numbers represent the frequencies of hearing.
Along the left side you should see numbers ranging from -10 at the top to 120 at the bottom. These numbers represent the dB (loudness) of what you can hear.
Oās usually represent the the right ear, xās usually represent the left ear. Wherever there is an x or an o on the graph, that is the point at which the Hz (numbers on the top line) intersect with the dB (numbers on the left hand side of the graph), and that represents the quietest sound your ear can hear for that particular frequency. Essentially, the higher up/closer to the top the xās and oās are, the better your hearing; the lower down/closer to the bottom the xās and oās are, the worse your hearing is (meaning you can only hear things that are higher decibels or louder). So when you say your numbers are from 25 to 65, know that ānormalā hearing for an adult is considered to be 25dB or lower. Mild hearing loss ranges from 25-40 dB, moderate hearing loss ranges from 41-70 dB, severe hearing loss ranges from 71-90 dB, and profound hearing loss is anything that is below 90 dB. Your hearing loss would be considered a mild-to-moderate loss. (My hearing loss is none to mild in my left ear, and mild to moderate in my right, as indicated by the numbers in my signature below.)
There are many websites which explain how to read an audiogram. I personally like this one: http://ahearingloss.com/reading-your-audiogram/
That should get you started. Iām sure there are others who can explain this far better than I can, but at least this is a start:)
Kerry
Thanks Kerry, for your excellent explanation! That does support my audiologistās description of āmild to moderateā hearing loss.
I notice you are wearing an Oticon; is it a RIC, an IIC, or what? And how is the sound quality? I trialed the Oticon Intiga RIC, but voice distortion (among other issues) caused me to turn it back in. So currently I am without an aid (as described in my earlier posts) and without an audiologist. Other people on this site have encouraged me to seek out a new audiologist, which I am eager to do. I just hope I can find an individual with technical competence, patience, and of course integrity! Thanks again for taking the time to explain the graph!
Amitie1;
Youāre welcome! I wasnāt sure if what I had written made sense. Glad to know that it did. There are others who are much more experienced than me on this board who could probably explain things better, so hopefully someone else will āspeak upā, too.
Iām wearing an Oticon Alta (not the Alta Pro, which is the next step up). Itās a mini-RITE/RIC, so it is very, very small. When I first started this journey of getting a hearing aid last summer, I really wanted an IIC aid because I didnāt want anyone to know I had it. However, none of the four audiologists I saw recommended that. They all essentially said the same thing, which was āIf your hearing loss fits a RIC, that will provide the best hearing.ā As far as the sound quality goes, itās maybe a tiny bit tinny. I compare what Iām hearing in my aided ear to my ānormal-ishā ear, so of course any hearing aid would sound more tinny than what is heard through an unaided ear. I have very young children, ages 1 and 3, and their voices sound pretty much the same in my aided ear as they do in my unaided ear. (I was worried their voices would sound shrill and harsh. They donāt sound any more harsh than they do in my unaided ear.) My husbandās voice sounds the same in both ears as well. The only real difference I notice is that higher-pitched female voices and cartoon character voices on TV are very difficult to understand with my aided ear. Iām not sure what thatās about, but Iām not going to obsess about it right now, because I hear those voices fine using both ears, which is ultimately what matters.
Honestly, I think my hearing aid could be tuned a bit better, but Iām content for right now and believe Iām hearing what I ought to be. I think the key is finding the right audiologist. I love mine!!! Sheās a bilateral hearing aid user herself since she was a toddler, so she gets it. Even when I donāt know how to describe what Iām hearing in technical terms, she usually at least has some idea what I mean, which is helpful.
Anyway, I wish you luck finding a good audiologist! Ask around. Your local hearing association might be able to recommend someone. Or, if you see someone wearing a hearing aid, you can always ask them who they see. As near as I can tell, itās all about the audiologist! You can have the best hearing aid on the market, but if the audi doesnāt know how to program it to fit your loss, you wonāt have a good experience.
Kerry
Iām new to this forum and the world of hearing loss. Iām suffering mild hearing problems which seem to get worse the last years. Iām now testing my first HA, but as it is quite an investment, Iām in constant doubt. When looking into my audiogram, would you recommend to wait of go for it now. Iām 49 years old.
Thanks for the advice.
Iād go for it now. You have a moderate to moderate severe loss in the 1500hz to 3000hz range. Improving that should improve your speech understanding.
Your main loss is in the meat of speech and understanding.
You definitely need hearing aids. As the others above said your loss is moderate to moderately severe - not mild. You will find life so much easier when you regain hearing those sounds you are missing.
Thank you all for the advice. Iām getting convinced that it might be the appropriate time to start. Iām now in my second week of trying it out (oticon opn 2). How many devices should be tried before knowing these are ok?
If they solve your hearing problems then go for it. There is no rule that says you have to trial more brands. Have a read up on what features are available and what you might like to try. If you find that the current ones meet all your needs then they are a good choice. Ask lots of questions of your audiologist and try the aids out in lots of different situations and soundscapes. Go out to a crowded place or restaurant and really see how they perform. Make sure you try all the places and situations where you have had the most trouble hearing. A good audiologist can get things pretty close the first time so you may have just picked the right person to fit them also.