My new HAs | Oticon Spirit Zest C SP (Chili?)

Today I was fitted with two new HAs - Oticon Spirit Zest C SP* - which replace the Oticon Spirit 3 P* models I've been wearing for the last four years.

My hearing loss zigzags between 90-105dB across the frequencies in both ears. The new ones are most definitely more powerful and I've been hearing sounds today that I haven't heard before or for a long time. One example was the metal whirring noise of a bicycle chain as a cyclist whizzed past me. Another was a sweet wrapper being blown along the pavement creating a loud scraping sound. My footsteps sounded louder and when I walked over a utility cover on the ground I heard a hollow sound instead of the thud you get on solid ground. I also noticed that the HAs focus on sounds in front of me. When I was listening to a small water fountain, the tinkling of water faded away when I turned my back to it, but came back on when I turned back round again. This is a new feature for me.

The real test will be when I meet a stranger or am in a group situation as I always struggle to hear in these scenarios. I did spend some time this evening speaking to my wife in a noisy environment. I can lipread my wife very well and often do so without wearing my HAs, so I found the louder background noises distracting me. But I'm pleased to have (re-)discovered new sounds today.

As a British citizen I got these HAs for free on the NHS

I was very pleased to discover that Oticon have created an auxillary device called a ConnectLine Streamer which is basically a remote control with bluetooth & wireless functionality, so I can wirelessly connect my HAs with other devices. The list includes TV, computer, landline phone, mobile phone, a wireless mic and MP3 player. Unfortunately this isn't available on the NHS so I'll have to save up to buy one. I like my gadgets


[*It appears that these are NHS model names. Looking at the Oticon website, they look most like the Oticon Chili]

Congrats! Hope that you get the rest of the equipment soon.

congrats on the new HA's... wish mine would have been paid for by the government. You are hearing more sounds than I am... i watched a piece of paper blow by and couldn't hear a thing... I didn't actually realize that makes a sound. Now that I think about it... i guess everything must make some sort of noise. what is your speech discrimination like?

Pretty cool. I have wondered how the battery consumption goes on those super power with the size 13 battery.

Hope they work out well for you.

Very nice! I'm very interested in your experience with them, as I'll be trying out the same style on Wednesday. Have you tried listening to music yet, either on the radio or live music? That is one of the most important things for me.

You are lucky indeed to have them for free. If I decide to buy these, it will be several thousand dollars.

Also, have you tried them on the phone yet? How did that work out for you?

it is the Chilli and Lissa has that hearing aid.
BTW, I have the Safari/Chilli pedatric verison

AJWSmith said:

As a British citizen I got these HAs for free on the NHS

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They are not exactly free, we have to pay National Insurance payments to cover the cost of healthcare and also have high levels of taxes!

Even so, these HAs sound really great, I wish they were available in my area. Here in Birmingham the NHS only supplies Siemens so I'm still using Reflex DSPs which don't have bluetooth capability. I'd love to try bluetooth, even if I did have to pay for the streamer.

ash345 said:

what is your speech discrimination like?

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I've not tested the HAs in a group situation. Talking to several individuals so far, I notice that their voices are noticeable louder which helps as a couple of them are quietly spoken. However the background noises are louder too and I find this distracting.

Beach girl said:

Very nice! I'm very interested in your experience with them, as I'll be trying out the same style on Wednesday. Have you tried listening to music yet, either on the radio or live music? That is one of the most important things for me.

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I never listen to the radio, but have been listening to my MP3 collection. An interesting effect is that initially the singing voices were a bit tinny and different - one of my favourite songs I didn't like anymore as the male singer sounded so different, almost like a lady! But after a while, the voices changed back to "normal". I wonder if this is the brain compensating in a similar way it does for CI users?

Beach girl said:

Also, have you tried them on the phone yet? How did that work out for you?

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No, I've not tried them on the phone. Bit nervous as in the last year I've had to give up on the phone. I thought it was for good (I've now got a text relay phone). But I wonder if these new HAs will work? I don't want to raise my hopes...


Another feature I found out this morning it that the two HAs are remotely linked. If I change the program on one, the other automatically follows. Caught me by surprise! (I really should read the instruction manual...)

AJWSmith said:

Another feature I found out this morning it that the two HAs are remotely linked. If I change the program on one, the other automatically follows. Caught me by surprise! (I really should read the instruction manual...)

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Yeah, you know what they say - "If all else fails...read the manual!"

Or my hubby's version: "It's RTFM time..." (He inserts another word...)

Anyway, it all sounds good. Do you have or have you tried the Speech-in-Noise program? Maybe that would help mute the background noise.

AJWSmith said:

Another feature I found out this morning it that the two HAs are remotely linked. If I change the program on one, the other automatically follows. Caught me by surprise! (I really should read the instruction manual...)

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Or your audi should have explained them better to you. I have mine set up that way also (Phonak Naida IX UP), but I have the volume separate because of the idifferences in my hearing loss...this way I can up the volume on my worse ear w/o having to on the better ear if necessary.

If you don't get used to the tinny sound, go back and have them make the necessary adjustment. I recently got new ear molds (but had to return for a remake) and it affected the bass sounds so I had to get used to my voice again (it had the barrel effect). Must have adjusted pretty quickly as I can't remember when I stopped having the barrel effect.

The Streamer (when you can afford it) might make talking on the phone a possibility for you if the HAs don't.

hey, same hearing aid

Beach girl said:

Anyway, it all sounds good. Do you have or have you tried the Speech-in-Noise program? Maybe that would help mute the background noise.

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It's my understanding that I'm using the Speech-in-Noise program (I still haven't RTFM). And my previous HAs had a program designed to reduce background noise when listening to speech. The reality is that they don't do it very well!!! What I have noticed with these HAs is that they amplify speech from a distance, so today I could hear voices of two people sitting 10m away. The person I could lipread I was able to hear actual words, but I couldn't make out the words of the other person who had their back to me. I've never been able to overhear a conversation from that distance, though my lipreading skills were needed as well as my HAs.

as you know dude, the streamer has bluetooth so you need that hooked up to your phone

I have no idea what programs are installed in my hearing aid, they didn't go into all that but it seems to be one of the best hearing aids iv had I think.

Lissa said:

I have no idea what programs are installed in my hearing aid, they didn't go into all that but it seems to be one of the best hearing aids iv had I think.

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acutally this hearing aid has 4 programs, same with mine

AJWSmith said:

I also noticed that the HAs focus on sounds in front of me. When I was listening to a small water fountain, the tinkling of water faded away when I turned my back to it, but came back on when I turned back round again. This is a new feature for me.

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This sounds just like the speech-in-noise (directional microphone) programme on my HAs. Do you also have a programme for omni directional sound which enables you to hear sound from all around you?

I find that the directional microphone programme is good for focusing on speech in a noisy environment, but I have to be really careful using it outside because it completely cuts out traffic noise etc., as well as other sounds from the side or behind me.

I am testing these things out right this minute. So far: mixed results. I tried the streamer in the office and HATED it. The volume was very loud but I wasn't getting clarity enough to understand what was being said. Ouch!

Drove home. The warning beeps in the car sounded more low-pitched and less like beeps than like "doooonngs." (Our car beeps at EVERYTHING - when we come close to another car, when the doors open, all sorts of stuff.) My husband spoke to me quietly in the car, and I could hear and understand him better than usual at a softer volume (according to him).

We have the TV on right now. CNN was much easier to understand: I found I was listening more and paying attention to the speaker's face, and just glancing at the CCs to confirm what was being said, instead of relying almost entirely on CCs.

Turned to the HGTV channel, and the woman's voice was so annoying we only watched about 5 minutes of it. So I'm not sure if that's an improvement or not! (According to my husband, anything that cuts down on HGTV watching is an improvement, so there's that opinion...)

We're going out to lunch right now so I can see how I like this with noises around me. At the moment there is only the one program on them, but I'll go back to the office mid-afternoon and he's going to put in at least a music program, and I hope the Speech-in-Noise program too.

So - jury is still out, but I can see some differences that seem better.

Beach girl said:

I am testing these things out right this minute. So far: mixed results. I tried the streamer in the office and HATED it. The volume was very loud but I wasn't getting clarity enough to understand what was being said. Ouch!

Drove home. The warning beeps in the car sounded more low-pitched and less like beeps than like "doooonngs." (Our car beeps at EVERYTHING - when we come close to another car, when the doors open, all sorts of stuff.) My husband spoke to me quietly in the car, and I could hear and understand him better than usual at a softer volume (according to him).

We have the TV on right now. CNN was much easier to understand: I found I was listening more and paying attention to the speaker's face, and just glancing at the CCs to confirm what was being said, instead of relying almost entirely on CCs.

Turned to the HGTV channel, and the woman's voice was so annoying we only watched about 5 minutes of it. So I'm not sure if that's an improvement or not! (According to my husband, anything that cuts down on HGTV watching is an improvement, so there's that opinion...)

We're going out to lunch right now so I can see how I like this with noises around me. At the moment there is only the one program on them, but I'll go back to the office mid-afternoon and he's going to put in at least a music program, and I hope the Speech-in-Noise program too.

So - jury is still out, but I can see some differences that seem better.

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if the volume is loud, try turning it down.

It was turned down to 1, and it was still too loud.

I took careful notes of how things sounded (folding a paper bag, my dogs' squeaky toys, running water in the kitchen, watching TV for a little bit, noise around us in the restaurant where we went for lunch, noise in the car, like the a.c. and husband talking). Then went back mid-afternoon and had them re-adjusted. (I posted about this in frankiesmom's thread a little bit.)

He turned the volume down a little and tweaked the settings for a couple frequencies. SO much better now. He put in, at my request, a speech-in-noise program, a music program, and the telecoil. He said that in his experience, most people don't really use or like the additional programs. I have no idea why that would be, and certainly was not my experience with the Phonaks, but that's what he said.

Anyway, so far, so good. I wish I could do a head-to-head comparison with the Phonak Naidas, but his office doesn't sell Phonaks.

well for me in fact, I love the additional programs Oticon has for me, program 1 isn't too loud for me, it's in a softspot where I can hear people in the background noise.