Questions about Oticon Phonak RIC and BTE...

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Natalie Howard

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Hello-my 12 yr old son has bilateral severe sensorineural hearing loss. He currently has Phonak naida q90 UP. They work really well except short out frequently from sweat even with ear gear and sweat bands. It's time for new set. We are demo-ing Oticon OPN 1 miniRTE. He thought he loved them at first because he could sync music from his phone however he can't hear people with them. It's only day 2 so maybe his brain hasn't adjusted. Also he is using a soft power dome because we haven't purchased so it's not custom. His audiologist said he needs a hard power done but she is hesitant to fit active children with it due to probable ear canal injury. My questions:
1) does anyone use a hard RIC dome and how do you like it?
2) should he try the OPN BTE because the have more power?
3) How long does it take to adjust?
4) any other hearing aids options??

His most recent unaided audiogram is
250 r-50, l-55, 500 r-80, l-85, 1000 r-90, l-90, 2000 r-80, l-80, 3000 r-70, l-75, 4000 r-75, l-70, 6000 r-75, l-65, 8000 r-70, l-75
Thanks!
Natalie
 
If he's used to BTE HAs why doesn't he trial the Oticon OPN 13PP?
 
NaidaUP said:
If he's used to BTE HAs why doesn't he trial the Oticon OPN 13PP?
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I think we may do that next but his audiologist thought that he might be embarrassed in middle school with the bigger hearing aids. I was hoping the RIC would be a clearer sound than the BTE but he says the sound is "blurry".
 
Natalie Howard said:
I think we may do that next but his audiologist thought that he might be embarrassed in middle school with the bigger hearing aids. I was hoping the RIC would be a clearer sound than the BTE but he says the sound is "blurry".
Click to expand...
Is he mainstreamed? I get it. I remember being that age when I was super self conscious about aids. Instead of worrying about how self conscious he might feel being the only dhh kid in middle school, why not look into Oklahoma School for the Deaf,http://www.osd.k12.ok.us/ (it might not appear great on paper or you might have heard it's not the best school. However most deaf schools do tend to have some strongly academic kids. The outreach can be good, and they can give you hints, advice, local resources etc)
a dhh regional program or even MSSD (http://www3.gallaudet.edu/mssd.html in Washington DC so he could be one among many dhh kids? I mean I know this is kind of an out of the blue sky suggestion. However middle school is a nightmare, even for hearing kids, and middle school is even worse for ANYONE who is different! I think the audi means well but NOBODY really notices the BTE. It's not like it's a body worn hearing aid or FM device....Lots of the "cosmetic improvements" tend to mean a trade off in actual hearing improvement, and also seem to be targeted towards Super Self Conscious Old People.....and of course they are more expensive so the audi makes more money! Stick with a BTE!!! They're more powerful so he can hear more.
 
If he's used to the Phonak sound and the Niada Q90 UP's have worked well for him, why switch? I have Oticon HA's and their ability to resist moisture isn't to good: I just had one replaced because of moisture problems. Niada's are great HA's and in the hands of someone who really knows how to set them up, are hard to beat.
 
Natalie Howard said:
3) How long does it take to adjust?
Click to expand...

It might take up to 30 days (most audios allow for 30 day trials) for him to adjust to it. I know that growing up whenever I switched to a new hearing aid I had a period of adjustment where the sound wasn't what I expected... could be "blurred", muffled, 'tinny' etc.. and didn't sound natural..uh as natural as it can be when you're deaf...:P. After maybe 2-3 weeks it does get "better"... Not perfect or 90% or whatever but workable enough...
 
Natalie Howard said:
I think we may do that next but his audiologist thought that he might be embarrassed in middle school with the bigger hearing aids. I was hoping the RIC would be a clearer sound than the BTE but he says the sound is "blurry".
Click to expand...
FECK it, BTEs are cool now that they go tiny too! (Oticon is good too)

if he's used to the Naidas, he should check out the Naida V UPs, they have seriously gone classy. *Sky V also has UP model too*
 
I use the oticon opn BTE, I love them. I'm at severe to profound. I use the skeleton ear molds.
 
I'm an oddball... I'd rather have bigger BTEs than the tiny ones I've had for the last 10 years. Not a fan of size 13 batteries- I'm not old by any stretch.. not super young either, but handling those little suckers are a pain. And to think there's even tinier.

Right up there with trying to handle nano SIM cards... maddening I tell ya!
 
DeafDucky said:
I'm an oddball... I'd rather have bigger BTEs than the tiny ones I've had for the last 10 years. Not a fan of size 13 batteries- I'm not old by any stretch.. not super young either, but handling those little suckers are a pain. And to think there's even tinier.

Right up there with trying to handle nano SIM cards... maddening I tell ya!
Click to expand...

At least if you stay with the same phone you don't have to keep handing SIM cards as often as HA batteries.
 
Jane B. said:
At least if you stay with the same phone you don't have to keep handing SIM cards as often as HA batteries.
Click to expand...

Well... yeah..... With a SIM card I'd only have to handle it ONCE. Teeny batteries I have to deal with at least 3-4 times a MONTH. Big difference there. And I was comparing the SIZE of the two things.. not how often I have to deal with the silly suckers.

I'd rather be handling SIM cards than size 13 batteries.
 
DeafDucky said:
I'm an oddball... I'd rather have bigger BTEs than the tiny ones I've had for the last 10 years. Not a fan of size 13 batteries- I'm not old by any stretch.. not super young either, but handling those little suckers are a pain. And to think there's even tinier.

Right up there with trying to handle nano SIM cards... maddening I tell ya!
Click to expand...

I guess I am an oddball too because I prefer big BTE's with a 675 battery. The little ones seem less durable and are harder to work with. I don't know why so many people want their hearing aids to be tiny and invisible. I like that mine are visible.
 
I like the bigger ones but I went 13 BTE because I had so many batteries for it already.
 
Natalie Howard said:
Hello-my 12 yr old son has bilateral severe sensorineural hearing loss. He currently has Phonak naida q90 UP. They work really well except short out frequently from sweat even with ear gear and sweat bands. It's time for new set. We are demo-ing Oticon OPN 1 miniRTE. He thought he loved them at first because he could sync music from his phone however he can't hear people with them. It's only day 2 so maybe his brain hasn't adjusted. Also he is using a soft power dome because we haven't purchased so it's not custom. His audiologist said he needs a hard power done but she is hesitant to fit active children with it due to probable ear canal injury. My questions:
1) does anyone use a hard RIC dome and how do you like it?
2) should he try the OPN BTE because the have more power?
3) How long does it take to adjust?
4) any other hearing aids options??

His most recent unaided audiogram is
250 r-50, l-55, 500 r-80, l-85, 1000 r-90, l-90, 2000 r-80, l-80, 3000 r-70, l-75, 4000 r-75, l-70, 6000 r-75, l-65, 8000 r-70, l-75
Thanks!
Natalie
Click to expand...

Hello! My Baby was diagnosed deaf and got HAs two months ago. We had a super young and hip audiologist who recommended the Phonak aids, although she said Oticon was good too. Phonak’s warranty is great and apparently the technology is really targeted for a pediatric user whereas oticon retrofits an adult aid. anyway, we’re using the Sky V aid and we LOVE it. It’s also compatible to stream through an iPhone (although you might have to buy an extra accessory though).
 
not only that, but Oticon has hearing aids made for kids too (I thought these were cool after I turned 16) *had a pair of purple Safari 600 Ps til one crap on me*
 
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