A little about me [Archive] - Hearing Aid Forums | Hearing Loss

audiogal

10-09-2011, 01:31 AM

Hi all,

Just thought I would reintroduce myself. I used to be active on the boards back in 2008, but took a little break (we had some cranky members back then who sort of took over the boards and it just got a bit tiresome).

I'm an audiologist with over 25 years experience, and am familiar with Oticon, Starkey, Phonak, Siemens/Rexton and Resound products. I also have some experience with Widex and Unitron but don't use them as much lately.

I've worked in ENT offices, hospitals, and private practices and currently own my own practice.

I enjoy helping people hear better! :)

prodigyplace

10-09-2011, 04:54 AM

Welcome.

You program both Starkey and Phonak. do you find the Phonak Spice chips a challenge to program compared to the Starkey aids?

I had a bad and very challenging trial with the Starkey aids. I currently have the Microtech brand of Starkey S Series iQ 11 aids, They sound much better, but I fear I am not getting the full value from my aids due to some inexperience of my fitter. Choices here are limited, but the Starkey aids work out much better for me.

Again, welcome (back). Some of us may appear a little cranky, but we seem to currently lack moderators to limit spam postings.

audiogal

10-17-2011, 05:39 PM

I really haven't noticed the great difficulty programming Phonak aids that others have mentioned. The only thing I have to remind myself to do is turn the aids on after they are connected (the default is to have the aids muted). I'm not very intimidated by new software, so I generally pick things up fairly quickly. Others seem to have a longer learning curve (just going by what I see at training sessions).

The main thing, as you mentioned, is the experience of the fitter. Some are more comfortable with the fitting software than others.

Regarding your Starkey aids, your fitter can use online support from Starkey while your hearing aids are connected. This allows an audiologist at Starkey to see all the settings and offer their expertise. If you're having difficulty, this can be very helpful.

Hope everything works out with your hearing aids :)