Help for Hearing Impairment

Hear-Hear

browniej wrote: »

The ones he is advising have 12 or 16 channels, depending on exactly which ones I choose. He was also recommending the Siemens range as he felt the tone was softer than some others such as Starkey.

12-16 channels probably needed, given your circumstances. Would agree about Siemens being "softer" than Starkey.

browniej wrote: »

Now that NHS Scotland has dropped the Siemens range and opted for Oticon, no remote is available. Seems like a backward step to me.

Not quite true. Oticon do have a remote control that works with their Zest-C models, but it is much more expensive than the basic Siemens remote control.

browniej wrote: »

Do you know anything of the Specsavers range? I know some manufacturers have now introduced an Invisible in the canal model - just wondered if Specsavers planned to.

You really need to ask your audiologist at Specsavers. There's nothing on their website about any such plans. I would, however, suggest that IIC aids - while great in theory - are proving difficult in practice. There's lots of info on American consumer sites about the problems encountered so far.

browniej wrote: »

I will order them to arrive maybe a week before starting back so that I can get used to them a bit before starting and then properly try them out at work.

You've had some really good advice there, about having them a couple of weeks beforehand, and then dealing with the work situation.

browniej

Hear-Hear wrote: »

Not quite true. Oticon do have a remote control that works with their Zest-C models, but it is much more expensive than the basic Siemens remote control.

I shall have to ask about the Zest-C models on my next visit.

You really need to ask your audiologist at Specsavers. There's nothing on their website about any such plans. I would, however, suggest that IIC aids - while great in theory - are proving difficult in practice. There's lots of info on American consumer sites about the problems encountered so far.

I shall ask Specsavers. I was told that IIC can cut down on occlusion on the Facebook group but nothing much more was said.

Do you have any links for the US sites you mentioned?

You've had some really good advice there, about having them a couple of weeks beforehand, and then dealing with the work situation.

That was more my thoughts than the audiologist's but he seemed to agree with me.

Thank you for your help by the way. It's been very useful.

Guardsman

I have kept a record on how long my batteries last. In warmer weather they last two days longer than they did in winter.

Savvy_Sue

Guardsman wrote: »

I have kept a record on how long my batteries last. In warmer weather they last two days longer than they did in winter.

You've had some warmer weather? Oh yes, I remember, a couple of days, waaaay back ... :rotfl:

Guardsman

When I use the house phone I remove one of my hearing aids and just use the phone's volume booster but still had problems when using a mobile phone.
After a long search I have finally found a basic mobile phone that meets my needs, the volume boost on it is brilliant plus it flashes when it rings.
http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/5185786/Trail/searchtext%3EBINATONE+MOBILE+PHONE.htm

Hear-Hear

Guardsman wrote: »

I have kept a record on how long my batteries last. In warmer weather they last two days longer than they did in winter.

There's a variety of reasons why battery life fluctuates. The two main reasons being the amounts of daily usage can vary from day to day for some people, and the other being the exposure to noise. This first is pretty obvious, but the second can be underestimated.

In winter, we tend to be indoors more. We watch more TV, listen to more radio, and generally socialise more. Digital hearing aids use a lot more power the noisier the environment is, as the "noise suppression" activity of both aids increases greatly.

If you have the inclination, and you are in any way socially active, monitor the battery life over Christmas. It may surprise you how short the life can be at this time of year. (Almost halfway to 25/12 now!)

chewynut

Wow, reading this thread has made me realise how much I don't know about my own hearing loss and hearing aid :eek:

Very short history: born partially deaf. My right ear is beyond help. I can hear a few low noises in it but that's it. My left ear is better. I have almost normal hearing in the higher register but anything deeper than Alan Rickman's voice is lost to me. I'm not sure what hearing loss I've got. I think the little bones in my left ear are calcified and the ones in my right ear never developed? (Sorry. I never wanted to know about it when I was a kid and my mum's memory is so bad she can't remember what the audiologist told her)

I had my first digital hearing aid on the NHS in 2008 and it was fine. The back bit was purple and the mould had a TARDIS on it because I don't get the prejudice towards hearing aids I'm not sure what it's called. Possibly a Phonak Eterna?

I had it replaced on Wednesday with a Phonak Nathos. The back bit is bright red and the mould is bright pink. It's awesomely eye catching But it's too quiet. I kept telling the audiologist during the fitting that everything sounded muffled but he kept showing me a chart that compared the new programme to my old one and said they were very similar. I said I'd give it a go but it's only Friday and I'm already tired of having it on full volume with a ton of background noise and I'm constantly mishearing people - if I hear them at all. There's no way the programmes can be the same. It feels like I've got a lump of bubblegum in my ear rather than a hearing aid!

I've booked another appointment for Monday to see what they can do. As you can tell, I know nothing about anything. Is there anything I should be looking out for? Are they 'screwing me over?'

Cheers!

Savvy_Sue

They may not be screwing you over, but YOU are the wearer, not them. They can tell you until they are blue in the face that the new settings are 'similar', but if you still can't hear then the new settings are wrong for you!

Simples ...

You weren't by any chance allowed to keep the old one were you? My mum refused to leave without her old one, and after a couple of visits told them that she saw no point using the new one if they couldn't set it properly, as she's quite happy with the old one.

Oh, and they should be able to tell you what the problem is now, if you're interested.

chewynut

They let me keep the old one - which I've gone back to using - because it was from Derby but Nottinghamshire use a different one so it was of no use to them. I asked for a new one because I've been having problems with my old one in the last year or two. Lots of random hissing and it's cutting out or going very quiet. They told me they couldn't fix the alien and offered a new one.

I did think it was as simple as the programming not being right but then I read this thread and it opened my eyes a bit! I didn't know if they were sending me off with an old piece of tat because I don't know any better

Thanks!

Hear-Hear

Phonak Nathos is a pretty good aid, chewynut, as long as it has been set up properly for you. You are an experienced user, so unlike new users, you already know what to expect from a hearing aid, and of course what not to expect. Very difficult to give specific advice without knowing your complete case history and configuration of your hearing loss, but here's a few tips for your appointment on Monday..

1. Ensure that the audiologist runs R.E.M. This means Real Ear Measurement, and involves measuring the actual performance of the aid and your (snazy) ear mould whilst in place in your ear. The Nathos software will show up any differences between the 'target' gain and the 'R.E.M.' gain, and the audiologist can easily close any gaps. You should be able to notice an immediate improvement, if that is the problem, even in the relatively quiet confines of the audiology room.

2. If that is not the solution, try asking for a more "linear" setting. The audiologist will know what this means.

3. If you want to be bold, explain to the audiologist that you aware that the Nathos chip runs on Phonak's "Core" platform, which is now obsolete. You are also aware that Phonak's current platform is "Spice" and that you want a model from that range. You may be advised that "Spice" isn't available on the NHS. This is not quite correct; it's just not 'normally' supplied by the NHS, and may need the Senior Audiologist to complete the programming procedure.

So, three items to remember... REM, Linear, and Spice. It could be one of a variety of other issues, but these three would be fairly good places to start.