I’ve been wearing Resound Canta 7 hearing aids for three years now and I have nothing but praise to give them. However, I am in the market to check out the latest technology available in digital hearing aids and I’ll be trying out many different brands. Its usually an obsessive and vapid practice to check on the latest technology when it comes to computers, cameras, ipods, e.t.c. Its often the case that one can be perfectly satisfied with a first generation ipod or a tv that’s several years older. Steve Jobs would tell us otherwise. When it comes to hearing technology I feel differently- because they provide such a massive quality of life difference – I try the newest thing every three or so years to see if a tangible difference can be made with the “ latest cutting edge, smartest hearing aid ever!”.
There are several new (at-least in their honed conception) concepts that I’m very excited to try. One of those is called “transpositioning”. That’s a mouthful for those who don’t speak in esoteric scientific tongues. The gist of it: the hearing aid can take the higher frequencies, those that I don’t hear as well as lower ones, and shift them down an octave so that they are available to me.
For me- that’s the 2,000-8,000 hertz zone inhabited by “shhh” “chhh” sounds in speech and the twittering of little birds. Its quite exciting that those sounds could be accessible to me at a lower octave! I’m sure the experience will be disorienting and the sounds will seem artificial and distorted. However, this will be a learning process to get used to this new aural experience that I will gladly take on. I will probably take the bird book- to try this out. This technology will have its strengths in speech perception and nature sounds. I am doubting that I would want this for music- which I already enjoy better without the hearing aid (in most cases but not all). Transpositioning is carries the most potential for those that have solid low frequency sound perception and weaker high frequency hearing. I’m sure the audiologist will be buzzing about this more in the future- after the next large meeting on April 15th where the manufacturers will announce what’s new.
Beyond this- I’m also keen on the increasing ability for the hearing aids to communicate with each other. This goes to the heart of a typical sensorineural disortions- poor sound direction sense. When hearing aids can communicate with each other- they can potentially delay sound to one ear, giving he listener a keener sense of where the sounds are coming from. Typical of my sensorineural loss- I have poor sound direction sense. This is a perfect example of where the flexibility of hearing technology can approach the nuanced range of perceptual distortions that occur in the hearing impaired.
Beyond this- I’m happy to see that I’ll have ever increasing bands of frequency decibel control- getting a more accurate response to my hearing loss, improved microphones, smaller behind the ear cases (I use the inside the ear canal ones with my loss), and open fittings.
I am not completely thrilled to see the advent of more “automation”. Even though the typical consumer is asking for exactly this- I want want more control! I want to be able to tinker with my own hearing aid and I want third party add-ons. I want to be able to tell my hearing aid, in real time, exactly what I want it to do. I think a lot of these things would just increase the size of the hearing aid- so instead they could be moved to a “wand” that I keep in my pocket with volume controls, directional microphone controls, e.t.c.
Sometimes I have real doubts about hearing aids and their ability to “fix” my hearing. It seems that they cannot possibly do that. However, where the little chips inside the hearing aids can shine is flexibility. With flexibility we can take on the different sorts of distortions that go on the hearing impaired ear- directional sense, tone resolution, e.t.c. Transpositioning and inter hearing aid communication are perfect examples of this. I’m glad to see them.
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26. February 2008 at 9:20 pm
I must have left too many ? on your email for you to answer. Hopefully you have found a good audiologist w/whom to work. If you do not know about Phonak or Oticon hearing aids (some w/FM receivers and blue tooth capability to use with a wireless transmitter to put next to people/situations you have trouble hearing, I would highly recommend you check these out. Of concern to me were your listings for hearing planet and destiny . . do you understand how those companies really work? Anyway, the Resound Canta’s were THE BEST when they came out; I have fit a ton of them personally. I think you will be happy with the new tech developments since then. Also, a couple of manufacturers have “mini” power BTE’s . . tiny BTES (comparable to small open fits, but with more power). VERY lightweight. And of course hearing aids can’t FIX your hearing . .but the new technology CAN enable you to resolve some of the old problems, to hear better in a LOT of situations and to connect to an array of OTHER devices. Please let me know how it goes. The best hearing aid on the market in the hands of a person who doesn’t know how to program it won’t give you its best!!
26. February 2008 at 9:24 pm
P>S> Be sure and ask about remote controls, which are available to give you more control. And smart link, easy link, and my link, as well!! (don’t know if you have this information or not, trying to be helpful!!)
29. February 2008 at 1:51 am
The Inteo’s Audibility Extender tech looks very cool. I have a severe loss in the high frequencies and currently wear a pair of Starkey Destinys, which are OK but they lack cool features like this.
I’m looking to get some new aids in the next year so I have started to look at features of the current leading tech – thing is, it is very difficult to get past the marketing spiel to find out what each aid can really do.
1. March 2008 at 5:04 am
Steve, I am an audiologist fitting hearing aids for over twenty years .. I am well versed inthe fitting features of the various manufacturers vs manufacturing hype . .same features are called different things by different companies . .if I can help, let me know
2. March 2008 at 10:38 am
Steve,
I find the marketing incredibly annoying myself- Inteo’s ad says:
“new Inteo achieves the highest precision and accuracy in sound reproduction”
- of course they do ! That’s the same slick, empty rhetoric that you might hear coming out of George Bush’s speech writers.
However, it could be the case that Inteo’s are great and that when I put them in my ear and put aside all the advertising claims I discover a good hearing aid. I think a great audiologist will have their own biases as to what the best technology is but they are most concerned with the patients point of view.
My advice would be to just ignore the hype and try them all and make your own opinion about what features are really working for you or not. Also- I think you might find the latest noise cancellation to be more to your liking..I know you find it hard to go from analog to digital– but digital really does have some great tools that I find works the best in the end.
20. March 2008 at 7:39 am
I bought 2 top of the line in the canal aids from miracle ear in Sept. ( they were supposed to be cic, but they had to put them in the 1/2 shell, they told me they were to powerful for the cic shell) all they do is feedback every time I listen to music, it is almost impossible to use the phone with them.I tried to get them to let me trade them in and get the open end ones, but they tell me I have had these to long. I have hardly worn them, I can’t wear them they feed back to much and make me neverous. I have a pair of cic that I have worn for over 5 years and can use the phone with them without any trouble. They are in the process of sending them back today. Is this the only solution, is there anything else I can do? I also contacted the manufactor about this myself. I have tried to talk with the manager of these miracle ears and he want return my call. The consumer person called me back. I feel like they are just humoring me. I have to go to a nother city which is about a 45 mile drive. I bought the aids in my town but did not get any service, I was coming back every week and finally the lady at this store told me she could not do anything else. everytime I go to take them back when I leave and get out into the real world I am so disappointed I just want to cry. I have never had an experience like this one in all my life. This is a night mare.
Any ideas to get a solution to my problem?
Brenda
20. March 2008 at 10:45 am
Brenda- First of all, you don’t deserve this lousy experience. It sounds like your dealing with some very incompetent and/or manipulative customer service and audiology. I am going to forward your comment to a very trustworthy audiologist. But I have a few questions for you first.
Which Miracle Ear Place did your orginally deal with? What model of hearing aids were you wearing and what were the ones you bought?
David