RE: Digital hearing aid question

[Guest guest]

The boots for the Claro Microlink FM are not the same as the boots for the other

Phonak Microlink FM (which are the Picoforte boots). Also the Claros are very

expensive (2800 for each aid, and 1025 for each boot). That being said, Patty

has had her Claros with the FM for about 3 months and it is the best $$ I have

ever spent. Her speech recognition in really noisy environments has gone from

melt-down (where she would just put her head down on the table at restaurants

and turn her hearing aids off) to complete participation. I can also talk to

her in the back of the car now. The booth tests back this up, and she is doing

better in the classroom too. Her loss is a little different than 's

(25-40 in her better ear, 35-80 in her worse) but I don't think that should

matter. The fitting program is *extremely* sophisticated and it only took two

tries to nail it, even though this was the first time the audie had fit the

Claros. I highly recommend them.

Sheri

[Guest guest]

This must be why our audiologist commented that she usually sees immediate

results in the kids she has been programming. They can tell her right away

if they like the digital aids or not (no getting used to them).

Can anyone explain what the difference is between the two Oticon digital

aids- the Adapto and the DigiFocus? Is one just a newer version?

Re: Digital hearing aid question

>> The fitting program is *extremely* sophisticated and it only took

two tries to nail it, even though this was the first time the audie had fit

the Claros. I highly recommend them.

Sheri

[Guest guest]

<<Can anyone explain what the difference is between the two Oticon digital

aids- the Adapto and the DigiFocus? Is one just a newer version?>>

When I saw your message tonight, I wasn't familiar with the Adaptos and so I

went to the Oticon site and read up on them. Apparently, they are VERY new as

my son was fitted just over a year ago with Digifocus II's and they were the

" top of the line " at the time. The Adaptos sound very interesting from what I

read although I'm not sure my son would receive more benefit at his age (5.7).

It sounds like the Adaptos need a lot more " input " from the wearer during the

initial fitting and does not have a good enough grasp of language to be

much help at this time. Your daughter though, at age 9 and with experience,

would probably have that ability.

' loss is a sloping one...30-70 dB on the right and 45-90+ on the left

although it is progressive. We have been EXTREMELY pleased with the Digifocus

II's for the year and three months that he has worn them. They are easily and

quickly programmed by the audiologist (after the initial fitting which was about

40 minutes) and they are also tough as nails, having been dropped an

embarrassing number of times and " slammed " against walls at least twice when

fell while playing. (No damage.) We have the compact size BTE's and they

are hardly noticeable behind the ears--although this is not a problem for

who would rather they be bright blue. (I'm talking it over with Dad...they DO

come in that color but would definitely clash with his current bright green

earmolds. LOL!)

Our FM system from Microlink has been " on order " since June. The school

district is paying for it and so they insisted on ordering themselves. (This

resulted in three shipments of the wrong style equipment...maybe this month?) I

can't give you more info, then, on FM use with these aids but, as I said, we're

very pleased. Even without the FM, I am amazed at what can pick up...even

in the back seat of the car with the radio on he can converse with me with only

occasional clarification.

Carol

[Guest guest]

My son is wearing the Claro 311 with the integrated FM link. they are a

tremendous improvement for him and he now wears them all day. Without the

Claro SD scores are in the 50 to 60 % range and with them he is in the

80-90% range. He does much better in noisy situations but they are still not

perfect. The aid has been very reliable but we have had trouble with the FM-

however, we think that was a fluke and the benifits we get from it are great.

Phonak has also been great about fixing and replacing it. witll use it

to watch TV, while in the car, and all day ast school and to do his

homework. He will even wear it for practice when he is having a poor hearing

day. He has a fluctuating loss with Deaf right ear and a severe to profound

loss in his left as his baseline - He is considering a CI but feels the sound

from the Claro is good and does well with it. Of course every situation is

different. also has the watch pilot which allows him to control the

aid from a watch remote. This was important to him since he is a middle

school youngster.