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Effective Range of a hearing aid
I've posted my current audiologic report and I have a QuickSIN score of 12. I currently wear Phonak Lumity 90s with Phonak acrylic ear molds.
In order to better understand the limitations of my hearing aids and what conditions are where I struggle to hear, I began taking background noise measurements of many places I have visited. I used the mobile app Decibel X.
The situation was I was in a physicians office and background noise was 55 db average, 7 db higher than my quiet home. The physician's assistant was on a computer and asking me questions and she was only 6 feet away. I had trouble picking up her voice, everything was mumble.
I realize each individual is different, but what is a realistic expectation of how far a pair of hearing aids are effective? I opened up My Phonak app and raised the slide rule button to "3" in order to capture her voice.
Also if anyone has extensive knowledge of the Phonak system, am I a candidate for using Phonak's SoundRecover? I have tried with and without and I don't seem to notice a difference.
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Your audiogram and WR (Word Recognition) scores looks like mine 2 years ago. I've had Phonak's for 7-8 years and have been very happy with the,m, but part of that is I have a great Audiologist that has helped me put in programs to my app for loud situations.
What you are describing with a doctor's office is one of my pet peeves. They sit and look at computer while talking to us, many time with a mask on. The distance isn't the problem in that situation, it's the fact that they aren't facing you. One of the best things I've seen is a simple Three Commandments for talking to people with hearing loss (from Hearing Loss Live!). First the speaker needs to get our attention. If you don't know someone has started talking to you from the other room or from the computer, you will miss the 1st words or sentences. Second is to face us. When we have sensorineural hearing loss with low word recognition scores, we need their faces towards us for amplification purposes but also so that we can see their lips and facial expressions. They should ideally be six feet away, but that number is flexible depending on other situations like noise in the background.
It all comes down to advocating for yourself and letting the doctor/nurse that you have hearing loss and need them to talk facing you and without a mask, otherwise you could miss something important. Advocacy and educating others are absolute necessities for us. Also, when I was at your levels is when I started bringing my partner mic or Roger mic and point it at the doctor. If it is a long appointment, I've asked them to wear it on their lapel. Tell them it's not recording them, but just helping amplify and clarify. Keep in mind that hearing aids amplify but you need assistive technology in order to help clarify and understand words.
Good luck.