Analog vs. Digital Hearing Aid

E

Everglade85

New Member
Joined
Jul 14, 2009
Messages
122
Reaction score
0
Right now I am wearing a pair of Phonak analog hearing aids. I have worn analog hearing aids for my entire life.

In about two weeks, I will switch over to a pair of Siemens digital hearing aids.

Does anyone know if there is a significant improvement in switching over to digital hearing aids? I heard some people go back to analog.

Thanks.
 
Phi4sius has been there and he can offer great advice.

I switched to digitals(widex senso) in 1998 and I heard louder/more than the old analogs I had.
 
I wear one analog and one digital. I honestly can't tell the difference between the two other than that the digital one beeps at me (annoyingly LOL) when the battery is low. I have read so many people give good reviews about digital aids, however, that I wonder if I'm missing something. Maybe my audi needs to re-program mine.
 
Everglade - I wore a Canta 7 from GN Resound for five years. I don't think it ever was set correctly for my loss because I could never hear all of the high frequencies (I could never hear myself say the "sssss" sound). I think it ended up being busted for at least a year and a half but we never would have known about it or something until I put on my old analog and I could hear just fine with it. In fact, I don't ever remember hearing really well at all with that digital. I think I also remember, when I first got it, commenting on the fact that I didn't like it. I guess I just ended up getting used to it and "filling in the blanks" so to speak on many of the sounds I didn't hear.

I went back to analog and lo and behold it was a night and day difference. Everything sounded so natural and nearly perfect, with no programming involved.

I then got a second opinion from a new audie that said that due to my loss, digital would have never done anything for me anyways. Go figure. :hmm:
 
Phi4Sius said:
I then got a second opinion from a new audie that said that due to my loss, digital would have never done anything for me anyways. Go figure. :hmm:
Click to expand...

I wonder if that's what the deal is for me. Time for me to talk to my audi. What db loss are you at? I am at about 105.
 
AlleyCat- My left ear is profound and has been since I was around 4 years old (29 now). No hearing aid would ever help me in that ear - when I tried earlier this year I got only tactile (vibratory) responses. My right ear as of June this year starts at 70 dB @ 250 Hz, 70 dB @ 500 Hz, and goes down from there. However, my right ear loss *was* at 50 dB @ 250 Hz and down since I was around 4 years old.
 
Interesting! So it seems as if my hearing loss is worse. I did not purchase my digital one - it was paid for me - so when my audi recommended the one I got, it's what I have (Starkey DaVinci). Thanks for your info!
 
Analog will sound louder.. more amplified. Digital will sound more clearer and crisp. I use both myself. I get the best of both worlds.
 
deafdude1 said:
I switched to digitals(widex senso) in 1998 and I heard louder/more than the old analogs I had.
Click to expand...

I too switched to Widex in 2000 from 20 years on phonak analouge, it was brilliant HA up until in mid 2007 it started to break down and I needed new ones. Went to have Sienmens prisma... can't hear a thing! changed to Oticon... can't hear a thing. My deafness is profound.

Now is wearing untrion BE55 analouge, it's good for environmental sounds i was happy with it until i trialled the Phonak Nadia and could hear voices with it in my worst ear (120db loss). I am trying to see if i can get the Phonak Nadia on NHS, failing that I might purchase one privately if i can afford it (i am already a tax payer and should have one on NHS!)
 
overthepond said:
I too switched to Widex in 2000 from 20 years on phonak analouge, it was brilliant HA up until in mid 2007 it started to break down and I needed new ones. Went to have Sienmens prisma... can't hear a thing! changed to Oticon... can't hear a thing. My deafness is profound.

Now is wearing untrion BE55 analouge, it's good for environmental sounds i was happy with it until i trialled the Phonak Nadia and could hear voices with it in my worst ear (120db loss). I am trying to see if i can get the Phonak Nadia on NHS, failing that I might purchase one privately if i can afford it (i am already a tax payer and should have one on NHS!)
Click to expand...

You can hear with a hearing aid with 120db of hearing loss? WOW! That's a pretty darn powerful hearing aid!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
jasin said:
You can hear with a hearing aid with 120db of hearing loss? WOW! That's a pretty darn powerful hearing aid!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Click to expand...

I believe her hearing loss is actually 100db at 250Hz but slopes down to 120db at 1000Hz or 2000Hz, don't remember. You have a current audiogram?

I have 115db loss at 1000Hz, yet hear 40db aided in that frequency(75db of gain) I have the gains maxed except for the lowest frequencies(can't get better than 0db or itll overamplify and I hear constant white noise.)

If she gets the same HA as I, she will hear environmental sounds and voices, albet alot less good/loud than me. That's why she got a CI in one ear, her other is for sound direction. She can't afford $50,000 for bilaterals.
 
Runs and checks my audiogram, last tested was 18 months ago... it had been dropping for while... hence can't hear much with current Aid... I don't even know if it's on or off!!

Ah,

Left ear 110 at 250
115 at 1000
120 at 2000
 
overthepond said:
Runs and checks my audiogram, last tested was 18 months ago... it had been dropping for while... hence can't hear much with current Aid... I don't even know if it's on or off!!

Ah,

Left ear 110 at 250
115 at 1000
120 at 2000
Click to expand...


Phi4sius had the exact same hearing in his dead ear, his response was vibrotactile(feeling vibrations) if you hear any actual sounds, what are they like? Could it be possible you have no residual hearing in that ear today? Neither of my ears have residual hearing by 2000Hz. At 1500Hz I hear at only 60db aided and it never gets louder than a faint whisper. I don't have enough residual hearing(1500Hz cutoff) to tell if transposition is even on or off. Going to find out if my audiologist can reprogram the cutoff down to 750Hz or so.
 
I wore analogs from age 2 up until I went into 9th grade. in 9th grade, I got my first digital hearing aid and I was happy with it. Got my 2nd digital hearing aid a month before I graduated from high school (May 2004), and it has more volume and power than the last digital. Tried Phonak's Naida for 3 months last year, and it just didn't work out for me so I went back to my digital Supero (from phonak, the one I've had since May 2004).

Everyone's different when it comes to digitals though. I definitely prefer the digital over analogs, just more volume and clarity. But some people just prefer the analogs. All you can do is give the new ones a try and see how you like them. :)
 
At the moment I am using Spirit 3 Superpower by Oticon. Since they provided me with a new HA but the same HA I am hearing a lot more with my HA and It is digital, before I hated digitals but now they seem okay



My right ear unaided is

90 at 250hz
90/100 at 500hz
110 at 1000hz
115 at 2000hz
NR 120 at 4000hz
 
Thanks everyone for the input.

Can someone explain what better clarity is? Is it the ability to distinguish words better?
 
Better clarity is clearer in sounds ie identify sounds better. Depend on person's deafness words would be clearer too.
 
Getting the Oticon Hit Pros

I'm getting Oticon Hit Pros courtesy of the state of Ohio next week, also always used analogs up till now.
 
Last edited:
I had wore analogue ha upto age 14, now wearing digital one.it is Phonak product, Savia Arts. Its pretty good. though the sound is like artificial to me, but i can hear the speech much better than before!! I can catch few conversation even on tv too!!
okay...
my right ear..

95 at 250hz
105 at 500hz
105 at 1000hz
90 at 2000hz and at 4000hz

but my let ear is worst than right ear especially, at 2000hz and 4000hz is lower then above value...

can you say how much of my ear has hearing loss from the above number?
 
Everglade85 said:
Right now I am wearing a pair of Phonak analog hearing aids. I have worn analog hearing aids for my entire life.

In about two weeks, I will switch over to a pair of Siemens digital hearing aids.

Does anyone know if there is a significant improvement in switching over to digital hearing aids? I heard some people go back to analog.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

grew up with analog and wearing digital now. I'm wearing Starkey's Davinci BTE HAs.
after putting in the digital hearing aids:
started hearing sounds I've forgotten about because i had heard them in years. Also started hearing things I've never heard before.

it is a very signifigant improvement.
 
Back
Top