Open canal hearing aids

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Priscilla

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I am an old turkey, have never worn hearing aids but now I badly need them. I do some teaching at a college and have decided I will have to discontinue if I cannot find a way to improve my hearing---it is really frustrating for me and for the poor students (who tend to speak softly of course). I have had a test which diagnoses mild to modrate hearing loss especially in the higher registers. I tried two types of aids and definitely prefer the open canal type. The audiologist I used only offers Vivatone Standard Version S44 and it does not have directional microphones. It does have a button I can press when there is a lot of background noise---problem is when I press it in a noisey situation I can't hear whether it's a one beep or two beep signal. But the truth is that neither position makes it possible to hear in those situations. I end up finding that it's better to just remove the aids entirely. Sorry I'm taking up so much time with this explaination but I would really appreciate some advise. My questions are:

Would directional microphones help?

Can anyone recommend a brand which changes automatically when there is background noise? (making it unnecessary to press a button)

Does anyone know about a new Oticon Delta open canal aid? I saw it described on the internet and it certainly sounded interesting.

Many many thanks. I feel so lucky to have just discovered this forum---this is my first posting.
 
Would directional microphones help?
perhaps..don't expect too much from hearing aids.. they don't restore normal hearing.. they are just assists.. directional microphones may be helpful at times but not completely..they don't solve speech understanding problems even though they make noise much lighter

Can anyone recommend a brand which changes automatically when there is background noise? (making it unnecessary to press a button)
I advise you Oticon Syncro II or Oticon Tego .. they are otomatic switching models.. BTW I still use an old anolog hearing aid :mrgreen:


Does anyone know about a new Oticon Delta open canal aid? I saw it described on the internet and it certainly sounded interesting.
I don't know.. I don't care about cosmetical appearance of hearing aids.. I just want to hear better using hearing aid.. that's it

Many many thanks. I feel so lucky to have just discovered this forum---this is my first posting
welcome to AD :) enjoy your stay
 
I know ecevit said "don't expect much", but you described your hearing loss as "mild to moderate", which suggests that there is at least the potential for great benefit. My grandfathers both have mild to moderate hearing loss, and their aids did make a big difference.

Directional mics will help somewhat. A digital hearing aid is probably what you want, and those generally self-switch. Some people hate 'em, but if you like 'em at all, you'll love 'em.
 
I have heard a lot of good things about the sebotek's. I am thinking of getting one. You should do a search on it and look into them. THey go deep in the ear canal but have a soft tip where people dont even notice they have them in. Then there is a tiny clear wire that travels up the curve of the ear (looks virtually invisible) and another piece that fits behind the ear.
 
In the canal

Thank you so very very much. I had never heard of sebotek. Is it a brand name or a type? Which brand are you thinking of buying>
 
Self switch aids

Forgot to ask---you say some people hate self switch aids and I'm wondering why they do.
 
Lou82 said:
I have heard a lot of good things about the sebotek's. I am thinking of getting one. You should do a search on it and look into them. THey go deep in the ear canal but have a soft tip where people dont even notice they have them in. Then there is a tiny clear wire that travels up the curve of the ear (looks virtually invisible) and another piece that fits behind the ear.
Click to expand...

Hey, that sounds interesting to me...do you have URL website for me to lurk into it? I wonder what it looks like...thanks!
 
Priscilla said:
Forgot to ask---you say some people hate self switch aids and I'm wondering why they do.
Click to expand...

It's b/c automatic switch prevents people from adjusting their hearing aids for 'fine tuning'.. Most of the time automatic switch works well but sometimes some people want to prefer their own settings.. it's like automatic gear box in automobilles.. you know some people prefer manual gear box
 
What ecevit is true. But what I had originally been thinking about was how some people don't like digital. For example, my aids are Oticon DF2's. They have 3 "modes": analog, digital, and a mixed mode. When I first got them (they were my first purely digital pair), I didn't like the digital, so I went with mixed; now, I'm more comfortable with them, and I find that digital gives me even more help.

It's basically a matter of personal preference. In a lot of cases, digital can help more; but that's irrelevant if you don't like the sound.
 
coloravalanche said:
Hey, that sounds interesting to me...do you have URL website for me to lurk into it? I wonder what it looks like...thanks!
Click to expand...
Do a google search on sebotek. Not only will you get the home page, but you will get a lot of other info.

Good luck
 
Open fit

Hi. For mild to moderate losses - especially HF losses, and if you prefer an open fit you could try to contact another HA dispenser which may have both Vivatine, Oticon Delta, GN Air for you to compare. Sebotek is a closed fitting reducing occlusion nicely by having a close to the eardrum completely closed tip - which unfortunately prevents ventilation of the inner ear. (Most benefits have a drawback). Both Delta, Air and Sebo are directional and Delta is adaptively fully automatic. Air is a fixed directional aid. Let your hearing do the choice. Maybe also look at the design. Best regards.
 
Priscilla said:
I am an old turkey, have never worn hearing aids but now I badly need them. I do some teaching at a college and have decided I will have to discontinue if I cannot find a way to improve my hearing---it is really frustrating for me and for the poor students (who tend to speak softly of course). I have had a test which diagnoses mild to modrate hearing loss especially in the higher registers. I tried two types of aids and definitely prefer the open canal type. The audiologist I used only offers Vivatone Standard Version S44 and it does not have directional microphones. It does have a button I can press when there is a lot of background noise---problem is when I press it in a noisey situation I can't hear whether it's a one beep or two beep signal. But the truth is that neither position makes it possible to hear in those situations. I end up finding that it's better to just remove the aids entirely. Sorry I'm taking up so much time with this explaination but I would really appreciate some advise. My questions are:

Would directional microphones help?

Can anyone recommend a brand which changes automatically when there is background noise? (making it unnecessary to press a button)

Does anyone know about a new Oticon Delta open canal aid? I saw it described on the internet and it certainly sounded interesting.

Many many thanks. I feel so lucky to have just discovered this forum---this is my first posting.
Click to expand...


:welcome: This past fall, my audiologist talked me into "coming into the 21st century with new hearing aids technology." I wear two of them and went back to bte. Okay, now to answer your question regarding turning up the beep. Tell your audiologist that the beep needs to be louder. If I presume, the beeping is also what you'll hear when your battery in the hearing aid is about to go dead. You will need to hear the beep.
 
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