I went to one of your recommended “best practices” clinics for my first hearing test and hearing aids. I have some severe and profound hearing loss. I struggled with adjusting to the hearing aids and got very frustrated. I felt the clinic was also struggling with my frustrations. I returned the hearing aids and am back to where I started from.
Doc Olsen, your clinic improved my quality of life beyond words!!! I’m so grateful to have found your channel. I too was experiencing this issues even spending exorbitant amt of money. I wish others that I know would trust my personal experience with the way you fit my Rx to my aides. TY from the bottom of my heart!! It’s changed my LIFE.
I live in a small city that has no less than 8 hearing aid specialists. None of them follow this care. I had to go to Flint . Happy camper hear . So happy
The Best Practices real hearing test I was given at Costco showed my hearing aids matched my prescription very closely. The catch is that you need to retest your hearing loss often. Mine had significantly changed in 18 months.
I live in France and while I've been wearing hearing aids for ten years, I've recently been diagnosed with a vestibular schwannoma that has worsened my hearing considerably. As a result I've recently had 3 hearing tests - one with a local ENT specialist, using fairly crude equipment but at least he sent me for a scan because he suspected the schwannoma; one at the hearing department of the hospital in Poitiers; and one today with a franchised supplier. (I also had one with a different franchise a couple of years ago.) By far the best and most thorough test was from the hospital. The franchises used the "lift a finger when you hear a noise" test, and the word recognition test, and that was it. The only benefit I guess is that the aids seem to be about half the price of those in the UK and a third of those in the US (Phonak Lumity, with CROS transmitter). Best Practices, though, seem to be unexplored territory unless you're tested in a hospital.
When I got my first set of hearing aids 4 years ago the only soft speach recognition test was the audiologist walking to the office door, turning their back to me and asking if I could hear what was being said.
My audiologist is on your Hearing Up website and she is terrible. Never going there again. I can't understand conversations. Have to use captions. Telephone conversations are terrible to understand. I have a $6.5k pair of Oticon hearing aids. I have moderate to severe sensorineural hearing loss. Even though slight change from test done 4/24, hearing aids not adjusted to test and told to come back in 2 to 3 years. 😢
I can testify that Dr Olsen clinic is phenomenal. I have the Oticon, purchased previously in another state and was shocked how the settings didn’t match the need, just as this video showed. With that said, I did get an upgrade Oticon. I depend on hearing a bit more than the average person. I hope doc O can help you!
I wear Unitron Moxi Blu tech level 9. Bought the Noahlink and got a copy of the programming software. Studied a bit and made my own adjustments. 40% of my day is in 95-105 db manufacturing, so I don't wear them much at work unless I am in a meeting. Increasing soft sounds helped intensely. The new Hearing Remote app allows on-the-fly tweaks chosen by the wearer and honestly, this is almost as effective as having the programming software...almost.
The hearing aid clinic I went to did not include a REM when I was first tested and fitted for aids. I asked my AUD to perform a Real Ear Measurement on a follow up appointment almost 3 years after I first got them and the first question they had for me was why I wanted the test performed. She did schedule and do the test but from what I’ve seen watching your videos she did it very wrong and overall I’m still disappointed because my hearing aids work and help but like you say I can hear but much of the time I struggle to understand what I hear. The warranty on them is now expired and I will not be going back to that clinic again.
This talk of Real Ear Measurement is just another ploy to cover for the fact that the HA technology is not perfect to say it mildly. I had these REM done on two occasions while purchasing hearing aids and they did not do anything to make them perform properly. The problem is that it is microphones that pick up sound and they can't tell whether the sound comes from far or close they just make one big cacophony of noise. The result being, they amplify all background noise eg: fans, cars, fountains, dishes being moved, many people talking and this noise overwhelms everything else especially the human voice. I hear loudly a fountain that is 200 meters away but can barely hear my wife walking with me. Apparently manufacturers still cannot effectively come up with technology to remove noise but not impair human voice at the same time. So in quiet room they work relatively good and help a lot but the moment background noise is introduced or few people talk at the same time they become the source of terrible frustration.
These are all basic programming requests. REM is a verification tecnhique. It still requires the knowledge of a hearing care professional. For instance, using REM to properly adjust Compression settings could solve almost all of the things you mentioned, however, properly implementing Expansion and Noise Reduction would provide additional benefit. I guess my advice to you is to find a better provier who knows how to program hearing aids better, that also uses REMs.
Totally agree with you. I have 3 sets of hearing aids. I hear the best with my 10 year old Bernafon. I think because of the double domes, that I wear with the Bernafon.
I would say that you are not specifically picking on Costco, more accurate description would say that the aids just were not setup-programed correctly. I have always thought that about the programing of my aids-- Resound GN's. From your comments in your example sounds like you can read the programming in Costco HA's , didn't know you could do that. I think my programming and the "real ear" test were not adjusted correctly for the low,mid,and high volume sounds, then not having the real ear correction didn't help at all. Sure wish I could get my HA's programed correctly, as I believe the hardware is quite capable. Bruce W
FYI my Costco provider did do the Real Ear Measurment but after multiple visits and and adjustments of my Rexton hearing aids and my ability to hear soft voices even in quiet situations has not improved. Mostly even after 3 different open domes all I note is discomfort in my ear canals, and loud annoying amplification of meters, fans, foot steps, crinkling plastic etc.
I have the same problem. My hearing aids were bought from a HearUSA store. They cost $5000 and I am at my wits end to the point I don't wear them when home alone. Although the stores audiologist was most helpful in the initial setup and follow ups, I still get unbearable amplification of things like motors, fans, rustling, running water, etc. After watching the above video I am beginning to think that maybe a second opinion/checkup would be beneficial. I have four friends, all wearing $1200 hearing aids from Costco. None of them have any problems. I will never again invest this much money into a pair of hearing aids.
When my vision went bad I got new glasses that only cost a few hundred dollars. The improvement was immediate and wonderful. In contrast, when my hearing went bad I got aids that cost 10 times as much as glasses, but the improvement was only negligible. Not only that, the hearing aids felt uncomfortable and they made music and song birds sound unnatural and tinny. Maybe 'best practice' hearing centers could do better, but this video makes me concerned. If only 5% of the hearing centers follow "best practices" that doesn't speak well for the industry. I'm also guessing that audiologists who are members of Dr. Cliff's 'best practice' team probably aren't cheap. Given the state of my bank account, I think I'll just find some cheap OTC aids that I can afford and accept the poor results.
Audiologists in south africa are so expensive that for elderly people can not afford it. There is no solution to this. What can we do to find an audiologist that is affordably and still give you good service. Any recommendations?
After a SSHL in my right ear (65 db avg and 44% WR)) I have struggled to find a solution. One audiologist had me try CROS aids, which I didn't like at all, and a regular HA which made my own voice sound loud and robotic - I hated both of those. I got a second opinion with another provider who did a little better but I still didn't like the HAs that I tried. During a WR test where someone sat across the room from me and read words that I repeated, I got 100% with no hearing correction (my good ear has normal hearing) and 80% with the HA - it actually made things worse because the overamplification and feedback was so distracting. They told me I just had to get used to the feedback, but since none of the solutions seemed to make me hear better overall, I passed on the HAs altogether. Is there a better solution for a one-sided hearing loss?
So why didn't you try adjusting the hearing aids he had, rather than charging him additional money first (likely $2,000 to $4,000). He may have gotten much better hearing from the Costco aids?
There are two providers of Phonak Lyrics in my city (San Diego) and neither can do REM on my lyrics. I know that I’m not getting ideal output but I don’t seem to have options with the uniqueness of the Lyric and regular best practices.
I was blaming Starkey Gemini AI - maybe I have the wrong target but there is no one on your system within several hundred miles. Kind of looking like the Gemini AIs may end up being really small paper weights. Can't blame my audiologist - you would think Starkey would want every pair that goes out to be as good as it gets. I assume the fitting software could require the additional steps...
Dr Cliff tien razón ay muy pocos audiologos que hacen bien su trabajo compré Phonak Naida Lumity Up90 y no me los pueden programar para que oiga bien ya le dije a mi probador que me mande como otro audiologo y no me resuelve
Hi Dr Cliff, I’ve been fitted with phonak bte Naida L90-SP hearing aids but they haven’t been working very well for me. My audiologist has said REM doesn’t work as well on the phonak software I’m wondering Is this correct or should I insist on using REM. Thank You
Hello, there is absolutely no link between a programming software or a hearing aid brand and REM, because REM is a measure, every hearing aid can be measured in the ear canal. Then the programming software is used to adjust the fitting. I guess the provider is just not used to REM. It’s a technical measure that needs to be correctly used to get a benefit from it. No REM but a good clinical sense and free field measures are better than bad REM’s in my opinion
This guy is not your average audiologist. The audiologist that pay him to get on his list of none to little of what he does. They don't take that much time and most don't have the knowledge he does. Much as hearing aids cost compared to what they cost to make somebody is making a bunch of $$$. I understand a lot of that cost is for service and warranty but if you still can't have a normal conversation without a lot of “whats.” …Whats the answer?
Doc Olsen, your clinic improved my quality of life beyond words!!! I’m so grateful to have found your channel. I too was experiencing this issues even spending exorbitant amt of money. I wish others that I know would trust my personal experience with the way you fit my Rx to my aides. TY from the bottom of my heart!! It’s changed my LIFE.
I went to one of your recommended “best practices” clinics for my first hearing test and hearing aids. I have some severe and profound hearing loss. I struggled with adjusting to the hearing aids and got very frustrated. I felt the clinic was also struggling with my frustrations. I returned the hearing aids and am back to where I started from.
I believe you….
Doc Olsen, your clinic improved my quality of life beyond words!!! I’m so grateful to have found your channel. I too was experiencing this issues even spending exorbitant amt of money. I wish others that I know would trust my personal experience with the way you fit my Rx to my aides. TY from the bottom of my heart!! It’s changed my LIFE.
I live in a small city that has no less than 8 hearing aid specialists. None of them follow this care. I had to go to Flint . Happy camper hear . So happy
The Best Practices real hearing test I was given at Costco showed my hearing aids matched my prescription very closely. The catch is that you need to retest your hearing loss often. Mine had significantly changed in 18 months.
I live in France and while I've been wearing hearing aids for ten years, I've recently been diagnosed with a vestibular schwannoma that has worsened my hearing considerably. As a result I've recently had 3 hearing tests - one with a local ENT specialist, using fairly crude equipment but at least he sent me for a scan because he suspected the schwannoma; one at the hearing department of the hospital in Poitiers; and one today with a franchised supplier. (I also had one with a different franchise a couple of years ago.) By far the best and most thorough test was from the hospital. The franchises used the "lift a finger when you hear a noise" test, and the word recognition test, and that was it. The only benefit I guess is that the aids seem to be about half the price of those in the UK and a third of those in the US (Phonak Lumity, with CROS transmitter). Best Practices, though, seem to be unexplored territory unless you're tested in a hospital.
When I got my first set of hearing aids 4 years ago the only soft speach recognition test was the audiologist walking to the office door, turning their back to me and asking if I could hear what was being said.
My audiologist is on your Hearing Up website and she is terrible. Never going there again. I can't understand conversations. Have to use captions. Telephone conversations are terrible to understand. I have a $6.5k pair of Oticon hearing aids. I have moderate to severe sensorineural hearing loss. Even though slight change from test done 4/24, hearing aids not adjusted to test and told to come back in 2 to 3 years. 😢
That is not the experience I would want anyone to have with a HearingUp provider. Please email me a DrCliff@DrCliffAuD.com so I can resolve the issue.
I can testify that Dr Olsen clinic is phenomenal. I have the Oticon, purchased previously in another state and was shocked how the settings didn’t match the need, just as this video showed. With that said, I did get an upgrade Oticon. I depend on hearing a bit more than the average person. I hope doc O can help you!
I wear Unitron Moxi Blu tech level 9. Bought the Noahlink and got a copy of the programming software. Studied a bit and made my own adjustments. 40% of my day is in 95-105 db manufacturing, so I don't wear them much at work unless I am in a meeting. Increasing soft sounds helped intensely. The new Hearing Remote app allows on-the-fly tweaks chosen by the wearer and honestly, this is almost as effective as having the programming software...almost.
Unfortunately there are no audiologists that do best practices in our area.
The hearing aid clinic I went to did not include a REM when I was first tested and fitted for aids. I asked my AUD to perform a Real Ear Measurement on a follow up appointment almost 3 years after I first got them and the first question they had for me was why I wanted the test performed. She did schedule and do the test but from what I’ve seen watching your videos she did it very wrong and overall I’m still disappointed because my hearing aids work and help but like you say I can hear but much of the time I struggle to understand what I hear.
The warranty on them is now expired and I will not be going back to that clinic again.
Good call.
This talk of Real Ear Measurement is just another ploy to cover for the fact that the HA technology is not perfect to say it mildly. I had these REM done on two occasions while purchasing hearing aids and they did not do anything to make them perform properly. The problem is that it is microphones that pick up sound and they can't tell whether the sound comes from far or close they just make one big cacophony of noise. The result being, they amplify all background noise eg: fans, cars, fountains, dishes being moved, many people talking and this noise overwhelms everything else especially the human voice. I hear loudly a fountain that is 200 meters away but can barely hear my wife walking with me. Apparently manufacturers still cannot effectively come up with technology to remove noise but not impair human voice at the same time. So in quiet room they work relatively good and help a lot but the moment background noise is introduced or few people talk at the same time they become the source of terrible frustration.
These are all basic programming requests. REM is a verification tecnhique. It still requires the knowledge of a hearing care professional. For instance, using REM to properly adjust Compression settings could solve almost all of the things you mentioned, however, properly implementing Expansion and Noise Reduction would provide additional benefit. I guess my advice to you is to find a better provier who knows how to program hearing aids better, that also uses REMs.
Totally agree with you. I have 3 sets of hearing aids. I hear the best with my 10 year old Bernafon. I think because of the double domes, that I wear with the Bernafon.
What model is it?
@ainmard2927 Bernafon Chronos 9 on CN9 it no longer available in the USA. Bernafon is a wonderful hearing aid.
I would say that you are not specifically picking on Costco, more accurate description would say that the aids just were not setup-programed correctly. I have always thought that about the programing of my aids-- Resound GN's. From your comments in your example sounds like you can read the programming in Costco HA's , didn't know you could do that. I think my programming and the "real ear" test were not adjusted correctly for the low,mid,and high volume sounds, then not having the real ear correction didn't help at all. Sure wish I could get my HA's programed correctly, as I believe the hardware is quite capable. Bruce W
FYI my Costco provider did do the Real Ear Measurment but after multiple visits and and adjustments of my Rexton hearing aids and my ability to hear soft voices even in quiet situations has not improved. Mostly even after 3 different open domes all I note is discomfort in my ear canals, and loud annoying amplification of meters, fans, foot steps, crinkling plastic etc.
I have the same problem. My hearing aids were bought from a HearUSA store. They cost $5000 and I am at my wits end to the point I don't wear them when home alone. Although the stores audiologist was most helpful in the initial setup and follow ups, I still get unbearable amplification of things like motors, fans, rustling, running water, etc. After watching the above video I am beginning to think that maybe a second opinion/checkup would be beneficial. I have four friends, all wearing $1200 hearing aids from Costco. None of them have any problems. I will never again invest this much money into a pair of hearing aids.
When my vision went bad I got new glasses that only cost a few hundred dollars. The improvement was immediate and wonderful. In contrast, when my hearing went bad I got aids that cost 10 times as much as glasses, but the improvement was only negligible. Not only that, the hearing aids felt uncomfortable and they made music and song birds sound unnatural and tinny. Maybe 'best practice' hearing centers could do better, but this video makes me concerned. If only 5% of the hearing centers follow "best practices" that doesn't speak well for the industry. I'm also guessing that audiologists who are members of Dr. Cliff's 'best practice' team probably aren't cheap. Given the state of my bank account, I think I'll just find some cheap OTC aids that I can afford and accept the poor results.
Sad but true
Audiologists in south africa are so expensive that for elderly people can not afford it. There is no solution to this. What can we do to find an audiologist that is affordably and still give you good service. Any recommendations?
After a SSHL in my right ear (65 db avg and 44% WR)) I have struggled to find a solution. One audiologist had me try CROS aids, which I didn't like at all, and a regular HA which made my own voice sound loud and robotic - I hated both of those. I got a second opinion with another provider who did a little better but I still didn't like the HAs that I tried. During a WR test where someone sat across the room from me and read words that I repeated, I got 100% with no hearing correction (my good ear has normal hearing) and 80% with the HA - it actually made things worse because the overamplification and feedback was so distracting. They told me I just had to get used to the feedback, but since none of the solutions seemed to make me hear better overall, I passed on the HAs altogether. Is there a better solution for a one-sided hearing loss?
So why didn't you try adjusting the hearing aids he had, rather than charging him additional money first (likely $2,000 to $4,000). He may have gotten much better hearing from the Costco aids?
I have a question. Since no one but Costco can program their heating aids how were you able to check how his were programmed
The open domes have been a problem for me as well.
How much do these cost?
Bottom line no autogliist will spend all day with youtomake sure you are happy period
I don't have any audiologist. What should I do? I have phonak rechargeable hearing aids for last one year.
Which one is better Lumity 70 or signia CandG 3ix for voice clarity and calling streaming and for noise environment
My hearing aids from Costco are great and so was programming .
Me too.
Happy to hear!
you are lucky all the tests and programing was done correctly.
Are you saying that the standard soft domes made by the HA manufacturers to be used with their HAs do not work? Only custom molds work?
There are two providers of Phonak Lyrics in my city (San Diego) and neither can do REM on my lyrics. I know that I’m not getting ideal output but I don’t seem to have options with the uniqueness of the Lyric and regular best practices.
I was blaming Starkey Gemini AI - maybe I have the wrong target but there is no one on your system within several hundred miles. Kind of looking like the Gemini AIs may end up being really small paper weights. Can't blame my audiologist - you would think Starkey would want every pair that goes out to be as good as it gets. I assume the fitting software could require the additional steps...
HELLO THERE I AM HAVING PROBLEM HEARING WHEN PEOPLE TURN THEIR BACK AND TALK BUT I DON'T WAN TO WERA HEARING AID IS THERE HELP - THX
Dr Cliff tien razón ay muy pocos audiologos que hacen bien su trabajo compré Phonak Naida Lumity Up90 y no me los pueden programar para que oiga bien ya le dije a mi probador que me mande como otro audiologo y no me resuelve
Why do you speak so fast in your videos? I enjoy your content but find you hard to follow sometimes. Please slow down and take a breath. Regards
Click on the little cog on the UA-cam and the bottom right. You can slow the video playback there...
Hi Dr Cliff, I’ve been fitted with phonak bte Naida L90-SP hearing aids but they haven’t been working very well for me. My audiologist has said REM doesn’t work as well on the phonak software I’m wondering Is this correct or should I insist on using REM. Thank You
Hello, there is absolutely no link between a programming software or a hearing aid brand and REM, because REM is a measure, every hearing aid can be measured in the ear canal. Then the programming software is used to adjust the fitting. I guess the provider is just not used to REM. It’s a technical measure that needs to be correctly used to get a benefit from it. No REM but a good clinical sense and free field measures are better than bad REM’s in my opinion
@@MatthieuK-h5t, Thanks for the reply and information I’ll have to go back and get some adjustments done.
Your audiologist is lying
This is not true. I am not sure why they would say that. I use REM on Phonak hearing aids all of the time.
@@rachaelcookaud2695 Thank you for your response, I’ll get REM done in my next appointment and hopefully see some improvements.
Pure toon score of 16 is safe for 15 year old boy
This guy is not your average audiologist. The audiologist that pay him to get on his list of none to little of what he does. They don't take that much time and most don't have the knowledge he does. Much as hearing aids cost compared to what they cost to make somebody is making a bunch of $$$. I understand a lot of that cost is for service and warranty but if you still can't have a normal conversation without a lot of “whats.” …Whats the answer?
Doc Olsen, your clinic improved my quality of life beyond words!!! I’m so grateful to have found your channel. I too was experiencing this issues even spending exorbitant amt of money. I wish others that I know would trust my personal experience with the way you fit my Rx to my aides. TY from the bottom of my heart!! It’s changed my LIFE.