Loss of hearing clarity: Solutions or strategies anyone?

Wow. I am struggling with clarity and excited to read your post. I purchased NuEar hearing aids in December of 2017 and I meet with the hearing aid guy as often as I feel I need to which was every 2-3 weeks initially and then we would go for a month to 6 weeks in between adjustments. I have Meniere's so my loss fluctuates at times. The hearing aids provide the volume but clarity continues to be an issue for me. My job depends on being able to hear people and I get very frustrated some days. I like your idea of having different programs to try. Thank you for sharing your ideas!

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Clarity solutions for me has been a problem of communicating effectively with the audiologist as to what I am not understanding. The hearing test allows them to set the decibels according to the frequencies their test tells them needs enhancement (increased decibels). HOWEVER it has been my experience that those tests do not always indicate what you are hearing in real life (as opposed to the tones in the hearing booth) Adjusting their settings according to what you tell them is educated guessing on their part. I have required multiple "fitting"(as in a dozen more or less) for them to adjust the decibels of different frequencies to a point where it works for me. Using hearing aids that have multiple programs helps a lot. I have them leave the original program. Add an adjusted program. Compare the 2 then return to let them know what I experience. Again add a 3rd program leaving the first 2 and again comparing. Repeat until all programs are used. Checking each program in different environments. Car. TV. Restaurants. One on one conversations. Meetings. Deciding which work best (finding some work better than others in different environments.) Then eliminate any that are not that good. If need be, replace those with any additional adjustments.

Recently, I found sites on line for student audiologists to practice on. They have tones at the different test frequencies used by audiologists.
Wearing my hearing aids, I set the computer volume at what seems to be a normal and comfortable level for the 2000 frequency (test middle value) then I compare either side (1000 and 3000) to the volume level of the 2000 and record whether it seems louder of softer of about the same. Then compare the 1000 to the 500 and record the same result louder or softer and then the 500 compare to the 250.

Then I go in the other direction comparing and recording the result 3000 to 4000 to 6000 to 8000.
Now the hard part. I have the audiologist create a program that balances the volumes according to adjusting up or down volumes based on the adjustment variation from what ever THEIR original 1500 setting is. I can then compare that program to others.
I find applying this to the original, while also being prepared to give a verbal account of what I am hearing to the audiologist, for them to create a modified original the way they usually do, (leaving the original as is) that gives me 3 programs to compare.

I find my method gives a pretty good balanced volume where one frequency of sound does not drown out other frequencies. Also any frequency that is not effectively being heard by MY ears will be increased which I find makes all the difference in the world for clarity. Many audiologists use a technology that they charge an arm and a leg for (usually built into the higher pricing of their hearing aids) called real-ear measurement, which tells them what sound is actually getting to your ear to see if it corresponds to your audiogram... different things can cause a variance. My method allows me, I believe, to be able to tell more precisely what I am ACTUALLY hearing... and be able to effectively communicate that to the audiologist. I find some reluctance from audiologists to do as I request, possible they think I am telling them how to do their job and might be offended BUT I tell them I am just attempting to give them all the information I can so they can give me the best possible hearing experience from my hearing aids.

I realize this is probably too much information but use it or not as you desire.
Hearing aid users note that you can have your audiologist do a new test on you and adjust your aids if your hearing has changed. (and then get adjustments to the new settings as needed) When you are looking for a new hearing aid, find out how many years you can get adjustments from them at what charge? Some are free for 3 years. Some may limit to 3 free adjustments then $25 or much more per adjustment.

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@stephenmcelroy Thanks for all that info - I don't have the details down yet, and may not have the patience to apply as thoroughly as you have, but I'm all for making my expensive high-tech hearing aids work for my individual hearing. I've been wondering how to communicate to the audiologist where my problems are. And I've been meaning to look for an online test that would help me pinpoint what I'm missing.
It is surprising to me that the audiologists don't routinely test to see what is actually getting through. Also, I think that the normal testing is kind of a blunt instrument, and that I may have some odd random hair cells(or whatever) that just don't work.
That idea of using different programs is a good idea although I think my aids only have 2 extras. Your summary of the different hearing environments is handy too -maybe I should be more methodical in checking each environment. I can never tell in the audiologists office whether my HAs will work in other environments. You've given me lots to ponder and work on . . .thanks again!

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Hello - I have been reading posts on this site for a couple of weeks, and wonder if others (besides JK) have encountered less than satisfactory service from hearing professionals at clinics. I have been using a very high-end clinic for about 12 years now, and have had different experiences ranging from satisfactory to barely acceptable to unacceptable. In the unacceptable bucket:

1. Customer service - HA company takes 2 weeks to do repairs that actually take less than a day to do, and charges extra for expedited service of 2-3 days. It's as if they don't care that a patient can't work or function without aids. Also, when I asked for a copy of the insurance agreement before being willing to spend money to renew, I was told they don't do that and don't have a copy available. Really! I swear.... I did not renew. Now, I'm extra vigilant with my $7000 HA's.
2. Respect - My feedback has been dismissed, diminished and ignored at times. The worst was when an audiologist suggested a different company's HA. I agreed to try (because how could I assess effectiveness without trying). Within hours, I was miserable. The sound was too harsh (I'd had HAs before, so I was pretty sure this was not just an adjustment issue); a series of 4 or 5 adjustments over a period of 5-6 weeks yielded no better success. Each time, I reported that the experience was like an assault on my system and I could not function in meetings or other typical settings any more. Finally, I begged to return to my original HA company, and when fitted with a new pair of those, got my hearing and sanity back. When I asked the audiologist why she had taken me so far down the road with the other company, she said she liked their sales rep and service better. Honest.
3. Training - Hearing professionals who sell HAs basically get their training from the HA companies. This is a travesty, as it is a total conflict of interest to only have the HA seller's education and not a professional course of how to work with hearing impaired adults to ensure the best product and service.

In the okay bucket:
1. Lately, the audiologist I have seen has treated me like a fully functioning human being. I guess that's something!

You probably wonder why I don't change clinics. I wonder that myself. I think I don't expect to get any better service anywhere else, tho that's probably flawed thinking. It's also that changing partners in mid-stream means learning to swim in tandem again, and I'm not sure I have the energy to do that. My current HAs need adjusting (I can tell my hearing loss is slowly worsening). I plan to go to the local (NW Washington, DC) HLAA meeting in a couple weeks to gear up for the next round. Perhaps I'll find more information there that could make this journey smoother.

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Clarity solutions for me has been a problem of communicating effectively with the audiologist as to what I am not understanding. The hearing test allows them to set the decibels according to the frequencies their test tells them needs enhancement (increased decibels). HOWEVER it has been my experience that those tests do not always indicate what you are hearing in real life (as opposed to the tones in the hearing booth) Adjusting their settings according to what you tell them is educated guessing on their part. I have required multiple "fitting"(as in a dozen more or less) for them to adjust the decibels of different frequencies to a point where it works for me. Using hearing aids that have multiple programs helps a lot. I have them leave the original program. Add an adjusted program. Compare the 2 then return to let them know what I experience. Again add a 3rd program leaving the first 2 and again comparing. Repeat until all programs are used. Checking each program in different environments. Car. TV. Restaurants. One on one conversations. Meetings. Deciding which work best (finding some work better than others in different environments.) Then eliminate any that are not that good. If need be, replace those with any additional adjustments.

Recently, I found sites on line for student audiologists to practice on. They have tones at the different test frequencies used by audiologists.
Wearing my hearing aids, I set the computer volume at what seems to be a normal and comfortable level for the 2000 frequency (test middle value) then I compare either side (1000 and 3000) to the volume level of the 2000 and record whether it seems louder of softer of about the same. Then compare the 1000 to the 500 and record the same result louder or softer and then the 500 compare to the 250.

Then I go in the other direction comparing and recording the result 3000 to 4000 to 6000 to 8000.
Now the hard part. I have the audiologist create a program that balances the volumes according to adjusting up or down volumes based on the adjustment variation from what ever THEIR original 1500 setting is. I can then compare that program to others.
I find applying this to the original, while also being prepared to give a verbal account of what I am hearing to the audiologist, for them to create a modified original the way they usually do, (leaving the original as is) that gives me 3 programs to compare.

I find my method gives a pretty good balanced volume where one frequency of sound does not drown out other frequencies. Also any frequency that is not effectively being heard by MY ears will be increased which I find makes all the difference in the world for clarity. Many audiologists use a technology that they charge an arm and a leg for (usually built into the higher pricing of their hearing aids) called real-ear measurement, which tells them what sound is actually getting to your ear to see if it corresponds to your audiogram... different things can cause a variance. My method allows me, I believe, to be able to tell more precisely what I am ACTUALLY hearing... and be able to effectively communicate that to the audiologist. I find some reluctance from audiologists to do as I request, possible they think I am telling them how to do their job and might be offended BUT I tell them I am just attempting to give them all the information I can so they can give me the best possible hearing experience from my hearing aids.

I realize this is probably too much information but use it or not as you desire.
Hearing aid users note that you can have your audiologist do a new test on you and adjust your aids if your hearing has changed. (and then get adjustments to the new settings as needed) When you are looking for a new hearing aid, find out how many years you can get adjustments from them at what charge? Some are free for 3 years. Some may limit to 3 free adjustments then $25 or much more per adjustment.

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