Sooooo FRUSTRATING!!!! I hate my new hearing aid.

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Phi4Sius

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When I first got my new Phonak hearing aid, I could hear wonderfully. Things were great - crisp, clear, perfect in many different situations and I could hear and understand everyone and everything. Now I can't. A couple of problems:

1. Windowblind effect

When things get loud, there would be a window blind effect like noise is going through a bunch of thin fluttery objects. Now, that no longer happens (or I'm not noticing it) and I'm having a damned hard time understanding people (including my mom, when I could understand her no problem far away and behind me when I first got it).

2. Normal mode: everything sounds like a cocoon

When external noise is loud enough (such as driving in the car on the freeway), everything starts sounding like I'm inside a cocoon. Everything sounds muffled and very crappy. I don't WANT THAT: I want to hear everything normally from waking up to when I go to sleep like I heard with my analog.

3. I'm having an increasingly hard time understanding people that I could hear perfectly when I first got it. Like my mom for example. I can't understand her anymore unless I can visually lipread what she's saying.

AAAGGGHHH. Why can't I go back to analog. Why do these stupid hearing aids have to require multiple trips to the audie to get them programmed just right. Why can't I just get a hearing aid where I can just SET IT AND FORGET IT and get to my life until the next major thing comes along in five years. Why does the ^*@#&ing industry have to go to digital just to remove a single part when it's been proven that my brain has been wired for and prefers the analog version. Why can't my audie carry analogs...they're gone from my audie's office now and they only have a power analog.

Sorry folks...I'm soooooooo frustrated right now I could scream.

I don't mean to be so negative but after figuring this out and finding it out I'm very angry at things right now. :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :(
 
2. Normal mode: everything sounds like a cocoon

When external noise is loud enough (such as driving in the car on the freeway), everything starts sounding like I'm inside a cocoon. Everything sounds muffled and very crappy. I don't WANT THAT: I want to hear everything normally from waking up to when I go to sleep like I heard with my analog.

It sounds (no pun intended) like you may have compression enabled on your hearing aid. You can ask your audi to turn off this feature so that environmental sounds and voices do not fade in and out. When I wore digital aids (Oticon DigiFocus II super power BTEs), my audi enabled compression and I couldn't hear a thing. Once it was turned off, I could hear much better.

By the way, if you're unhappy with a digital aid, you can always ask your audi about trying an analog. They are still being made.
 
3. I'm having an increasingly hard time understanding people that I could hear perfectly when I first got it. Like my mom for example. I can't understand her anymore unless I can visually lipread what she's saying.

Again, it sounds like compression may be responsible for this.
 
I take that back about the windowblind effect. It's still there plain as day.

Aaaaggggghhh.

I'm going to see what happens when I have everything turned off 100%.

I don't want anything interfering with the sounds that reach the hearing aid.
 
I hated digital too. There are times when I want to listen to background noise (like music) and it wouldn't let me (my cochlear does this sometimes too). Analog does not do that to you.

I'll see about the compression next time I talk to my audi. I've complained about it before so I'm guessing she did turn it off.
 
I didn't have a good experience with digital aids and am beginning to think that the audi who told me my hearing loss was too severe to benefit from them was correct. Digital aids made speech more difficult to understand. Sounds were also weak and distorted. When I went back to using my analogs, I could hear much better. Having said that, I know alot of people with severe-profound hearing loss like I had who love their digital aids. They just weren't right for me. I also think that the fact I wore analogs for 10 years made my adjustment to digitals very difficult.
 
If your new hearing aid was working great for a while at first make sure also that your ear mold is not pluged with ear wax. That happens to me once in a while. If you wanted to go back to analog aids Phonak still makes a wide range of analog aids. Phonak mades three lines of analog aids Classica with five models, PicoForte3 with four models, SuperFront with five. All fourteen analog aids are BTE's and the one I am currently using is SuperFront PP-C-4 in my unimplanted ear. That is quite a big range of analog aids still being made by one company. Once in a great while I used my Supero ditigal aid 412 but even with that model I have compression turn off. I had the Supero tuned as best as possible but still like my analog aid most of the time.
 
Oticon still manufacturers the 380P which is an analog aid. I've had 380Ps since 1991 and they gave me wonderful service and performance. They worked perfectly for 15 years of daily use and never required a single repair.
 
I too spent weeks trying to adjust to a new digital aid. I have finally given up, and will return it and order another analog aid this coming Wednesday. Why do the audiologist push me to try digital? Why do they insist that analog will no be available soon, is this true.

Hugs to you, I hear how frustrated you are. I hope you can resolve the problems you are having with your digital aids, and if not, return them and go back to analog. Good luck.
 
Moon-child,

Analog aids are not going anywhere. There have been claims that manufacturers will stop making them, but that is far from the truth. Not everyone can benefit from digital aids, so there is still a market for analogs. As has already been mentioned, there are a variety of analog aids that are still available.
 
Thankyou Hear Again. Five years ago my audiologist told me that the next time I came in for a new aid there would not be analog available. Well, a couple months ago I went in and was told there were only about 2 kinds of analog available and then this extreme push to try digital. Who do I believe? I believe you and the people here, and I thankyou for your post.
 
yes there are still analogs out there. Look over Phonak and Oticon's websites, compare them, then visit your audiologist and tell him/her you want an analog.

I couldn't get used to the Naida when I tried it out last year, just never got it right and too many problems with it I felt it wasn't really worth the time. But I've been happy with the Supero hearing aid (got it May 2004). Thought Naida would be GREAT but that wasn't the case for me. Was highly disappointed with it, really. But everyone will get their own individual results with different hearing aids. Only you know what is best for you, and if you feel the analog is the best hearing aid for you, then the audie should be respectful of that and get you the analogs!
 
Moon-child said:
Thankyou Hear Again. Five years ago my audiologist told me that the next time I came in for a new aid there would not be analog available. Well, a couple months ago I went in and was told there were only about 2 kinds of analog available and then this extreme push to try digital. Who do I believe? I believe you and the people here, and I thankyou for your post.
Click to expand...

You're welcome. :)

You should believe the people here on AD because we're not trying to sell you a digital hearing aid like some audis.
 
john57- That's certainly not the case. My ear mold is definitely not plugged with ear wax. Neither is the tubing.

Everyone - I get the same pitch - that they don't support analogs anymore, that analogs aren't being made anymore, that they won't be able to do anything for me at that office if I get analog, etc.

RUBBISH according to everyone here.

It really is the case of getting "used" to hearing what the digital brings in. At first it was wonderful, but now it's really bad compared to what I heard with my analog.

I'm going back to analog. I'm tired, frustrated, and my patience has worn thin with digitals. I'm hoping to see if I can't get an analog one for my left ear as well. I'm told my whole life that they won't help me in my left ear, and now I see people on here with my similar profound loss that HAVE benefitted with them AFTER the SAME situation with their audiologists.
 
Phi,

I'm glad that you'll be trying a hearing aid in your left ear. You may be pleasantly surprised by the results. Good luck and keep us posted! :)
 
Yup, you AD'ers are irreplaceable. I am finding the past two days I have spent here I have felt more support and learned more than I could possibly imagine.

Good luck to everyone struggling to find the best HA for them.
 
That's great, Moon-child! I've been a member of AD since January 2005 and it's one of the reasons why I continue to participate. I learn so much from everyone here. :)
 
....and the support I am getting by sharing and comparing is just super. I have been feeling very isolated in my hearing world, this had made such a big difference. Ok, sorry, back on topic now!! :)
 
I can understand your frustration but understand that digital aids are good. You are just not used to the sound and I wouldn't recommend just quitting on them. It does take time to get used to them and it takes time to get them adjusted exactly how you want them. Multiple trips to the audi are annoying but in the end it is well worth it. I can sacrifice a couple months of annoyance to have the hearing I want. It took me a couple months to get mine to exactly how I like them with my first set and now I am going through it all again with my second set.

I also hate the sound the road makes when I am driving but I just turn them down a bit. Or I set them to my Second memory which is set for parties and places with crowds. It knocks out that background noise quite a bit. It is frustrating hang in there..
 
Well, what I understand is that digital aids are good for you, and I am happy you were able to get them to work for you. Some of us prefer analog, to us, they are good for us. I am grateful to have the choice.
 
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