First Time Experience

[davew]

I went to get my first aid today and thought I would share my experience both with the fitting and the aid performance. Maybe the experienced out there can tell me if my experience is normal or if there is something I should think about.

My stats
========
47 yo with high-end loss, much more so in left ear.

Freq--L--R
==========
250..30..10
500..25..10
1K...25...5
2K...40..10
3K...55..15
4K...70..45
8K...85..60

The Visit
=========
I was disappointed in the amount of testing/adjustment at my first fitting - essentially none. I was there for 35 minutes

during which the audi ran the NOAH app for my Phonak Audeo V (one ear). The only adjustment was an automated feedback test.

I asked about REM and he said that it doesn't work well with these aids (due to open fit I think). He said that he is going

to a seminar or training on a new system that works better. He said that only 10% of audi's use it. I believe I remember

seeing 40% on this forum.

He set some sort of coarse level at 2 and said we would be shooting for 4 in the end (i.e. ramping up to give my ears/brain

a chance to adjust). Maybe this is why he didn't do much testing. He said he would do the sound room test next time (2

weeks).

I asked about cleaning products, etc. and he said we would discuss that next time. I saw a Dry & Store Global in the

waiting area priced at $135. I've seen these online for $99, so I think this is a no-brainer.

The Aid
=======
I just got it and have never had a hearing aid before, so obviously I don't have any big revelations here, but so far, I am

very impressed with what I am hearing. Everything sounds "crisp" and I am hearing things I haven't heard before. I looked

at the aid online at Phonak's site but didn't get a real appreciation for the small size until I saw it "in person". It was

definitely smaller than I expected.

I thought that I would have more wind noise, but was pleased with the results. I would hear an occasional whisp of wind in

the mic, but not bad at all (even though the IX, not the V is advertized as having "Wind Noise Management").

When I cupped my hand and put it up to my ear, I got feedback. I didn't have to get to the point where I completely covered

my ear before it started. I guess this is normal?

When I went into an RF chamber at work with a lot of noisy fans in the equipment, I noticed that fan noise was amplified

pretty good (maybe too much). But then, it would fade completely out. The speech didn't sound like it was being amplified

any longer either. I thought that the hearing aid had cut off, so I touched the top with my finger and got no sound. When I

did it again, the sound came back, including the fan noise. It seems like the aid is shutting on/off in this environment.

It would sometimes shut off and then come back on its own. I wonder what adjustment would fix this if any.

More to come ...

[xbulder]

it is posible to run rem test on open fittings..

some HI test box like the Frye comes with a open fit coupler

verification is a must.. i have read about 40% people use rem...

While it is true that the most people dont use it, our obligation as

professionals is to provide the best care posible after all, we do charge

a reasonable premium for our service

[docg]

Davew-

Thanks for sharing your experience. Absolutely REM can be performed with open fittings. I won't say it is impossible to have a successful fitting with out REM, but certainly knowing what is really happening in the ear as opposed to what NOAH shows (the two are almost always very different) is of significant value both for fitting and trouble shooting.

The Audeo do really look great. Glad you like that.

With respect to the "cutting out"- the Audeo V has three programs that it chooses from based on the noise in the environment. It sounds like yours kicked into "comfort" mode which reduces steady noises considerably, but also reduces the overall gain.

This is adaptable with the programming- how sensitive the hearing aid is to noise and the degree to which it shuts down. I would talk to your Audiologist about adjusting that. Overall though, I'd be sure to get at least a week or two experience with the aid before making dramatic changes. It will take a little while to adapt to the sound and to understand how the aid is working across environments.

[davew]

Thanks for the info guys. It sounds like the "comfort mode" may be attenuating too much. I guess this could also change once I'm up to level 4. Maybe the audi could have seen this if he had done some measurements.

Also, last night when I was watching TV, if I blocked sound from my good ear, I could not hear the TV well in the aided ear. I assume that this may improve with the increase in amplitude on later adjustments as well.

Does anyone know of a good site for learning about audiology and/or digital hearing aid technology? I'm an engineer who knows some basics about digital signal processing, so this is interesting to me.

[xbulder]

Rem should be perform regardless the type of fitting done...
At the very least, a 2cc verification should be made...

[davew]

Thanks xbulder. Tell my audi that. I tried. I'm going to give him a chance and see what he does when I return in 2 weeks, but I'm not happy with him so far.

I am happy with the Audeo so far though. I really don't think I need the full 2 weeks. I feel like I'm ready for a bit more volume now, but I'll be patient.

What is 2cc verification?

[xbulder]

sometimes, you can not preform a probe microfone verification for what ever reason you could think.. for example, i had a client with down sindrome which will not sit still.... to make the story short you can check what the instrumet is amplifing using a hearing aid test box. The coupler that simulates a normal adult ear canal is a 2cc coupler.. I use a Modified swislosky coupler which provides better results.. Often times which children you perform a RECD

for more info please refer to
http://www.dslio.com/protocols/recd.html

[ZCT]

Doesn't sound too impressive to me. It sounds like the audi did the least they could to (ie run the feedback routine) and sent you out the door without bothering to answer your questions about cleaning. To me this is a deal breaker. Accepting factory defaults in an aid is what you do if you suck at programming a hearing aid.

[davew]

Yeah, I agree ZCT. But I thought I would give him one more chance since it is only set at level 2. We'll see what he does after turning it up and getting feedback from my experience.

I'll report on my next visit and you guys can give me an opinion on whether I should bail or not.

[xbulder]

often times, it is best to program the aid at the factory settings at least at the beggining. However, some conceling and verification should always be done...

[ZCT]

often times, it is best to program the aid at the factory settings at least at the beggining. However, some conceling and verification should always be done...

Maybe, maybe not. Personally, I program each hearing aid I fit from scratch. That way I know exactly what my patient started with. Then I work from there.

Remember, the factory has not met your patient. They just loaded a default prescription based on the audiogram (which they may not have even entered accurately). Their thought process was producing a quality working aid, not the intricacies of what your specific patient may like.

For example, there are usually various mathematical formulas to go from test results to prescription. While there may be 8 or more available there are typically 2-3 that you will use often. But some of these formulas are better suited to a new user, versus an existing user.

These kinds of things are typically ignored by the factory, who are more concerned with putting the right amplifier in place, and making sure the aid works perfectly.

So this is why I personally start from scratch on every fitting. It may explain why my revert rate is less than 2.5% in the past couple of years.

[ed121]

Seems like most Audie's and Dispensers just use the mfg's first fit (mfg's best guess) on their new customers. Then they ask "How does that sound?".

Probably not too bad an approach for mild losses.

But with severe/profound losses this time saving method is a loser. The problem is that the Audiogram curve is only a broad approximation of what the patient really hears. REM and other similar procedures are almost useless because they only tell what the aid is doing....not what the patient hears.

In my opinion, the only simple way to fit the severe/profound is by trial and error. If a setting works use it .....if it doesn't try a different value up or down while the patient listens to speech material.
Ed

[davew]

Yesterday, I had the chance to see how the Phonak Audeo V worked in a meeting environment that is very challenging for my hearing. Prior to getting the HA, there were two persons in this meeting that I could not understand at all when sitting across the room from them. There is a projector fan that makes a small amount of noise.

I sat across the room from them with my HA and I could hear about 70% of what one said and about 40% of what the other said. A definite improvement. However, my HA is only set to level 2 out of 4 and I believe I will get a marked improvement when this is increased.

The audi had scheduled me to come back in 2 weeks. I rescheduled my next appt for Thu, Feb 7 (only one week) because I feel like I have been in enough different environments during this time to evaluate the HA and I am used to the volume level.

I will post after my visit to relate what the audi did this time and later on how my speech comprehension is affected by the changes.

[davew]

Today, I had chance to test the Phonak Audeo V in a VERY noisy restaurant. It was the most noisy restaurant I have ever been in and I was able to understand probably about 80% of what was said. I had to ask for a repeat a few times, but others had to do this as well.

I'm looking forward to the increased volume!

[jake]

Thanks for all your posts and research on the AudeoV. I have enjoyed reading your questions AND the responses of others.

I am also headed for my first aids and considering the audeo V's. Please keep the updates coming. Especially ones regarding performance in different enviroments.

In the noisy resteraunt, you said you were hearing at about a self estimated 80% with the aid. What do you think you would have heard without it? Any idea?

[davew]

That's a great question Jake, and one that I thought about. However, I can only attempt a guess since I did not remove the aid and try it.

I have somewhat of a comparison though. I was at a very noisy restaurant about a year ago (no aid). The restaurant was not as noisy as the one I was at yesterday. However, I felt like I was not part of the group because I couldn't hear most of the people at the table at all. My wife sat to my left and had to relay most of what was said to me. I had trouble hearing the person across from me and the person to my right as well. I would guess that I heard about 50% of what was said from these two. Others who were further away, I could not hear at all.

I can tell that the high frequency gain provided by the aid is a big factor in the improvement I experienced yesterday. I wonder if I would experience further improvements from the Audeo IX, but this one seems to work well for me. I am looking forward to my audi visit tomorrow when he increases the gain further toward my target level.

I think the audi's on here would caution that not everyone is alike. I believe I have moderate loss, mainly in one ear and I only have one aid. Someone who has more profound loss or other circumstances may perceive things differently.

I'll continue posting my experiences until I've reached my target gain and reported on that.

By the way, the Audeo looks cool too. :cool:

[jake]

Yeah it does(look cool). I have tried one on but not 'trialed' one yet. Hope to do that soon. I will need two. The first Audi I went to quoted a pretty good price I thought, 25% off off msrp. That put a pair around 4300 w/ the remote.

I have a ski slope loss, normal at 250Hz, then linear drop to 70db at 8000Hz.

Completely missing high freqencies in both ears.

I do ok on the phone though, and most of my business is done one on one so I do ok there.

But I really struggle in a large group. The one thing I hate even worse than a NOISY restaurant, is a QUIET one, especially if you have a group around a large table. Then everyone wants to talk softly so that the people at the next table don't hear - well then the conversation falls completely off my radar and I am forced to switch to puppy dog smile mode - not the best!

The other thing I REALLY struggle with is distance. If someone is 30' away from me- forget it, even if they are practically yelling. But if they talk at a normal level at 5-10' I do fine, why is that?

My wife and I can at least joke about me giving completely wrong answers to things. She compares me to an older neighbor who must also have a hearing problem. My wife was out walking with our two little girls and a pack of coyotes crossed the street less than 20' in front of her. They are non agressive, just scrounging for food. Well she turned around and started heading home and ran into this neighbor a few doors down. She told him you won't believe it - I just saw a pack of coyotes - well, she he he just gave her the biggestest smile and said - 'that's good!'

She had to explain again, but we still laugh about that...when I miss stuff, I'm now becoming like 'the coyote man'.

[davew]

I got one for $2000 and the remote would be $250 if I got it, so this is pretty close to your price.

I know what you mean about the puppy dog smile and the coyote. Sometimes I just get tired of asking someone to repeat themselves, so it's easier that way. But that's what the hearing aid will help with ... I hope.

It "sounds" like your hearing is a bit different from mine. I'm sure one of the audi's on here can answer your questions about soft versus loud and near versus far. Audi's? Are you reading?

[jake]

Yes I am pretty good about asking people to repeat themselves, but if I don't get it the second time, it starts stressing me out.

When a neighbor talks to me from across the street, I just have to go over there, it's really frusterating. If you have time for a conversation, that is great and neighborly, but sometimes I don't have time and I'm sure they don't either, they might ask the simplest of questions and I don't get it.

I am curious as to why this is. I mean, I have very little trouble face to face, with the person speaking normal, but from far away, I really struggle, even if the person is speaking LOUD. Maybe the higher frequencies have a harder time going distance than lower frequencies? Maybe I'm relying on lip reading more than I think.

When I'm on the phone, I can hear a lot of stuff in my office background (like when I'm on hold or something and there is no converstaion going on) that I can't without the phone. Clicking of the keyboard, rustleing of papers etc.

But not a phone ringing -! One time I was one the phone and the person said 'hey do you need to get that?' I was like 'what?" They said isn't that your other phone ringing?' I was like nope, not here. Sure enough, I hang up and start thinking about it and go check they caller id on the other line and I did get a call. *sigh* I wonder what the perfect hearing world think when they get wacky responses like that. I guess there are enough wacky people out there they just lump me in with that crowd...?

My next appointment is coming up, so I am looking forward to my trial.

[davew]

I went back for my first adjustment yesterday. I told the audi that they were working fine, but needed more volume. He turned up the overall level and then we went to the sound booth for a tone test with the aid in. He determined which freqs he needed to turn up. I watched and he mainly turned up the lower freqs - from the upper 300 Hz up to somewhere below 1KHz.

We went back to the chamber and he wanted to turn the same ones up some more and give me some more highs around 3K or 4K. I noticed that we were bumping up against a gain limit at the higher frequencies even though the graph had a limit line that was higher. He said this was due to feedback being possible with the open molds.

Also, I asked about the higher freqs (above 4K) since these were trailing off like a ski slope. He indicated that it's not good to give these too much gain because the sound quality can be bad. He said people don't like what they hear when these are too high. Any audi's want to comment on this?

I can tell that it is definitely louder after the adjustment. I'll comment on how they do with speech in noisy restaurants and in meetings after I find out.

jake, on your issue with not being able to hear when people are yelling at a distance. You may have to create a separate thread to get the audi's to respond. You are right about the higher frequencies being attenuated more when traversing the distance.

[jake]

Dave sounds like you were getting a little more customer service at your visit yesterday. Where you pretty happy with him overall?


Thanks for the hint on posting a new thread on my other question.

[davew]

I was more pleased with the fact that he at least did some measuring this time.

I had asked about REM on my first visit and he told me that he couldn't do it on the open fits. This time he told me he was going to a seminar on Saturday concerning how to do this with open fits. He said that there is currently still debate on the effectiveness with open fits because of the sound that escapes. But my thought on that is that this is like the real world - sound will be escaping.

[jake]

Yes, when I tried on a pair of open fits, I liked the feeling. Even before it was turned on, I could still hear pretty normally and barely knew it was there.

That's what kind of moved me away from trying the CIC idea. Just reading on the web, so few people seem to be satisfied with them and so many complain of the plugged up feeling and painful fittings. Sure sound escapes, but your ear can breath a little too.:D

[davew]

I've had some fluid in my ear the past few days. I'm not sure whether this is a sign of an eminent infection or not (caused by HA?).

In a meeting with low speakers and projector fan noise, I still had trouble hearing low speakers. I don't feel like I had quite the improvement that I indicated last time - even with the increased gain. This may be due to fluid still in my ear, sitting at different distances/angles from the speakers, or improper adjustment.

Here are my audiogram readings, including the new readings with my aided left ear.

Freq...L...R...Aided L
===============
250.....30...10
500.....25...10...20
1000...25.....5...20
2000...40...10...20
3000...55...15...30
4000...70...45...50
8000...85...60

I don't know why he didn't measure at 250 Hz. I assume he didn't do 8 KHz because of his statement that people complained about gain at higher freqs not sounding good. It would be great if an audi could comment on this. Is it true?

Also, do these settings look fair for a first adjustment? If I can't get better gain at 4K and 8K, I would think that this is going to be a problem with speech intelligibility (which I am still having). Along these lines, it is interesting to note that Phonak advertizes "Crystal Sound", found in the Audeo IX, with increased gain for freqs above 8 KHz to aid in speech intelligibility.

Finally, how many adjustments are customary?

[docg]

Davew- I really wouldn't get too worried about the sound field audiogram with the hearing aid. Using aided sound field measurements gives an inaccurate representation of real-world hearing aid performance. Most hearing aids, Audeos included, use low-threshold compression or WDRC. This means that the hearing aids provide the most gain for the softest sounds. In a sound room, testing the softest sounds you can possibly hear, will put the hearing aids at their maximum boost. This maximum boost is rarely realized in the real world because it is never that quiet. By the way, did he plug your good ear? Otherwise, it could be the good ear responding and not the hearing aid ear.

A much better verification method, as has been mentioned previously in this post, is REM. I've been doing REM for 4 years with open fittings and they work very well. I'm glad you are doing well with the Audeos. I've fit quite a few of them with very good success.

[xbulder]

lets see, you can do aided speech in a sound field to see how much benefit you get in a bulkpark.. In fact you can use usable gain, how much better you can hear with the aids on.. However, almost EVERYBODY would agree the method to verify a good fitting is REM. I would @ least prefer a 2cc verification to a sound field.. I think soundfield was something done in the 70's

Most hearing aids, have digital feedback supression and other features that would provide false answers to sound field tests

[davew]

docg and xbulder,

Thanks for the info. He did plug my right ear, docg. My audi is apparently taking the path of least effort. He was supposed to go to a seminar on REM with open fits this past weekend, so maybe he will do this in my appointment today.

Unfortunately, I have had some fluid in my ears the past week. It has affected my hearing on and off. I thought about cancelling the appointment, but I am hoping it will be clear when I go. Also, if he uses REM, I would think it wouldn't matter since the mic is doing the measuring and not my ear.

I believe I understand that REM will take into account the acoustics of your ear canal, but, if I understand it correctly, it doesn't take into account the response of my eardrum, etc. I guess the best test is how well do I hear in various real-world environments. Right now, I still have some trouble hearing in my number one priority environment (meetings), and in my number two environment (noisy restaurants). Is there any test that can be done at the audi's office to simulate this? It would be great if someone came up with a method for simulating this and verified it with many subjects in several real-world settings.

[davew]

docg and xbulder, what are your opinions on gain at the higher freqs. My audi seems reluctant to increase this, but this is where my loss is and this is where most people lose their ability to hear. If I can't get the high freq gain, I'm not sure that an HA can help!

[xbulder]

docg and xbulder,

Thanks for the info. He did plug my right ear, docg. My audi is apparently taking the path of least effort. He was supposed to go to a seminar on REM with open fits this past weekend, so maybe he will do this in my appointment today.

Unfortunately, I have had some fluid in my ears the past week. It has affected my hearing on and off. I thought about cancelling the appointment, but I am hoping it will be clear when I go. Also, if he uses REM, I would think it wouldn't matter since the mic is doing the measuring and not my ear.

I believe I understand that REM will take into account the acoustics of your ear canal, but, if I understand it correctly, it doesn't take into account the response of my eardrum, etc. I guess the best test is how well do I hear in various real-world environments. Right now, I still have some trouble hearing in my number one priority environment (meetings), and in my number two environment (noisy restaurants). Is there any test that can be done at the audi's office to simulate this? It would be great if someone came up with a method for simulating this and verified it with many subjects in several real-world settings.

You are missing the point of rem... The key is independet verification..

lets, see - the audi plugs your audiogram in the fitting soft, it chooses a HI and decides what fitting formula it will use to compensate for your HL. So far so good.. That fitting formula would tell how much gain you will need for each frequency and what not..

the purpose of rem is to verify that what is coming out of the aid and into your ears is what the fitting formula asks for.. the acoustics of the earmould would alter the frequency response and thus the need of fine tuning ...

[davew]

xbulder, I'm not sure what I am missing about REM. I understand that it is an independent verification as I indicated when I said: "the mic is doing the measuring and not my ear". I also understand that it accounts for the acoustics of my ear canal. I guess I missed your point altogether. Could you elaborate?

Anway, when I went back, I got REM'd! The audi was like a kid with a new toy. He was enjoying going through the different measurements and settings and I was more than willing to let him experiment. I just hope he knew what he was doing. He seemed to.

He indicated a target zone for my gain and tested with speech simulation under various scenarios like soft speech, etc. He determined that there was a big dip in my response from about 1.7K to 1.9K and bumped up the appropriate gains. He made several adjustments and we looked at the results after each adjustment. It was very interesting and we spent a full hour adjusting.

I told him I thought that I needed more high freq, but he said there was no headroom at the highest (4K-8K) freqs. This is disappointing since this is where the majority of my hearing loss is and I suppose that most people have lost this as they get older. He said that Oticon was paying attention to the higher freqs with the belief that the brain may be able to use even minor improvements to decipher speech. I know that the Audeo IX specs claim this as well. Maybe I should have tried these, but I doubt if I would be able to discern any noticable improvement.

I am getting much more mid freq sound than I was though and this may be enough to help me understand in meeting and noisy environments. I'll report back on this next week.

[davew]

I'm getting a little distortion in loud environments (sounds like peak clipping). I'm a little reluctant to have the audi turn it down though. I noticed that there are multiple settings for different environments - loud, soft, very soft, etc. I would think that he should be able to cut the gain for a loud environment, but this may affect my ability to hear speech in a noisy restaurant.

Are there ways to tune this without affecting speech gain?

[jake]

Dave
How are they doing with

tv?
music, i.e. car radio while driving?
talk radio, if you ever listen?

Did he set you a different program for either of these?
thanks
J

[davew]

Hey Jake,

I had a long reply to your question and it didn't get posted for some reason. Maybe my thread is too long?

Anyway, I was saying that my hearing is OK in my right ear, so hearing the TV or radio is not too bad. I do have to turn it up a bit louder than my family. Even with the aid, I notice that my wife can hear fine at about one or two volume clicks lower than I can with my aid in. I guess I have to realize that my hearing will never be as good as someone who has good hearing.

I did a little experiment where I was turning my aid on and off. I found that my speech comprehension without the aid required about two volume levels higher than with the aid. I also noticed that the highs were much better with my aid in. Even when I turned the volume up two levels with the aid off, I didn't have the high freq quality like I did with my aid on.

As far as programs are concerned, my aid has 3. I believe they are:

1. speech in quiet
2. speech in noise
3. music

As for talk radio, I do listen to this and it seems loud at times and I have to turn it down, so I believe that my comprehension is better - probably due the improved highs again.

That's all for now ...

[davew]

Had another adjustment on Friday, 29 Feb. The Audeo V has three programs:

Speech in Quiet
Speech in Noise
Comfort in Noise

When there is noise and no speech, the aid switches to Comfort in Noise. I hear this when driving. It sounds like the HA is shutting off, but it's not because I can touch the microphone and hear it. It can be annoying when listening to the radio or to someone speak in the car with me because it switches on and off. I can't hear a click, but I can hear the audio cut in and out and it can be annoying. I told the audi about this and he changed a setting which was called "seamless transitions". The effect is much improved. I can hear it occur sometimes but not nearly as much. There is another setting that can be changed to set the level at which it switches between Comfort in Noise and Speech in Noise, but he wanted to try the seamless transition first. Makes sense.

Also, I noticed that when I switch the aid on when driving and listening to the radio, I get a lot of road noise initially and it interferes with the speech on the radio, but after a couple of minutes, the signal processing kicks in and filters out the noise component. I can hear the road noise gradually fading down.

Do other users have similar experiences with other products?

We also turned up the speech in quiet and speech in very quiet gains so I could hear soft-spoken people in meetings better. I will test this out this week and report back.

By the way, my 312LC Lightning battery (expiration July 2011) is lasting probably about 90 to 100 hours in the Audeo V with my gain settings. I need to be more disciplined about recording the time.

[jake]

"Also, I noticed that when I switch the aid on when driving and listening to the radio, I get a lot of road noise initially and it interferes with the speech on the radio, but after a couple of minutes, the signal processing kicks in and filters out the noise component. I can hear the road noise gradually fading down."

Dave does the radio get clearer at this point or did it make the radio softer too.

How are you doing without the remote. Is it auto switching at an intelligent level?

[davew]

I am able to hear the speech on the radio better because it filters out the road noise. Initially the road noise is somewhat drowning out the radio. After the noise is filtered, I can make out more words. I'm not sure if the speech gain is reduced too, but I would think that there would be some reduction in speech gain, although I'm no expert on this.

I have thought about getting the remote for situations where I am trying to make out what a soft-spoken person says in a meeting. My audi increased the soft and very soft gains and I can detect some improvement. He said there is still room for more gain and I will probably get him to crank it up a bit more on my next visit. The remote would cost me $250, so I'm trying to get by without it. It seems to be performing well on its own, although I would like to see how the remote would do.

I still can hear the difference between the "Comfort in Noise" and "Speech in Noise" modes and it is somewhat dramatic when it changes. Again, there's no click or anything like that. I can just hear the noise gain go down significantly and suddenly. I can see where the Audeo IX with remote might be beneficial here since it would detect a program change (via remote) in this environment and learn the setting. But I don't think it's worth the extra bucks.

[cammycat]

Had another adjustment on Friday, 29 Feb. The Audeo V has three programs:

Speech in Quiet
Speech in Noise
Comfort in Noise

When there is noise and no speech, the aid switches to Comfort in Noise. I hear this when driving. It sounds like the HA is shutting off, but it's not because I can touch the microphone and hear it. It can be annoying when listening to the radio or to someone speak in the car with me because it switches on and off. I can't hear a click, but I can hear the audio cut in and out and it can be annoying. I told the audi about this and he changed a setting which was called "seamless transitions". The effect is much improved. I can hear it occur sometimes but not nearly as much. There is another setting that can be changed to set the level at which it switches between Comfort in Noise and Speech in Noise, but he wanted to try the seamless transition first. Makes sense.

Also, I noticed that when I switch the aid on when driving and listening to the radio, I get a lot of road noise initially and it interferes with the speech on the radio, but after a couple of minutes, the signal processing kicks in and filters out the noise component. I can hear the road noise gradually fading down.

Do other users have similar experiences with other products?

We also turned up the speech in quiet and speech in very quiet gains so I could hear soft-spoken people in meetings better. I will test this out this week and report back.

By the way, my 312LC Lightning battery (expiration July 2011) is lasting probably about 90 to 100 hours in the Audeo V with my gain settings. I need to be more disciplined about recording the time.


Hi davew,

I recently got my first hearing aids too. They are a pair of the Savia Art open fit (the one without the speaker in the ear). I too have the sensation of volume coming and going when I am in the car. I am used to it now, but the first few days it drove me crazy. I thought something was wrong with the aids. I now realize (of course) that they were just switching between sound environments. I can't decide whether I like the slow switch or the fast switch setting better.

I've had 2 fittings so far and I'm really frustrated by the process. Things in the real world never sound like they do in the HAS's office. He would make an adjustment and ask me how it sounded and it would seem OK at that point. I would get into the car or go to work and it would be different. I couldn't think how I had gotten it so wrong. Finally, it came to me that he was asking me in one sound environment and not adjusting for differences in the other environments. Having a hearing aid that is super adjustable can be a good thing, but it sure makes for a more complicated fitting process, especially when your HAS doesn't have much experience with the high end devices.

I love the open-fit style. I first tried an in-the-canal type (at the HAS's suggestion) but hated the sound, the discomfort and the looks. The only problems I have with the open-fit are domes which keep popping out of place and a bit more feedback. I'm hoping with a few adjustments those issues will go away.

I have the Sound Pilot remote for the aids and like it a lot. First I tried the watch remote, but it was too heavy and clunky for a woman's wrist even though it was the "woman's" model. Also, you had to cycle through each of the programs to get to the one you wanted (a real pain). I switched over to the hand held remote. I like it so much better (and it is way cheaper too). I almost always wear clothing with pockets so it is not a problem to take with me. I like that you can select the program directly and that because it is more powerful than the watch remote, I can change settings with the remote still in my pocket instead of in front of my face like you have to do with the watch. I realize that it isn't strictly necessary to have a remote, but I like the extra bit of control it gives me when the aids don't quite get the sound environment right. I want to use the datalogging info from my volume switches at my next fitting. I'm hoping it will make the process a little more successful this next time. One thing I wish the remote would do that it doesn't is tell you what autopilot sound environment the HA is choosing at the moment.

I hope you will continue recounting your experiences as a new user. It is so helpful when you can compare notes, so to speak. I hate not knowing what to expect.

Cammycat