Hello!

I got my first hearing aid back in April and overall it's been great.

However I've noticed that when I have my aid on the second setting (which I was told was just the front directional microphone on), I find that I need to turn the volume right up to 4, and more irritatingly that it's Really Loud if I accidentally brush the aid itself - for example my hair sliding over it/readjusting my glasses. It seems to me that the back microphone is on, but I don't know exactly where the front and back microphones are! What I think is the 'back' microphone is the one just above the dial. Do you think the wrong microphone is coming on with my second setting???

Thanks!

Beth

If your second progam is the directional program, then what actually happens when you switch to it is that your rear microphone is swtiched ON. This is because then your hearing aid can then detect the time delay of sounds hitting the two microphones.
This tells the hearing aid which direction the sounds originate from. Once the hearing aid knows which direction the sound has come from, then it can work out which is the forward facing wanted sound and which sounds are just background noise.

In your normal program, only the one microphone is working so that means the hearing aid does not detect directionality, giving you Omni-Directional sound.

Now obviously it is slightly more comlicated than that, but this should give you a rough idea of whats happening and why your rear microphone is switched on in program two.

Thanks Fish - that does sound complicated! Is that just the programme then - is there anyway that I can get it to go louder (should I get it re-programmed?) and should I just put up with the really loud incidental noise of my hair brushing over it etc. I made an appointment to see my Audiologist in mid-July to go through the settings again, but if you think it's just the way it is, I might cancel the appointment...

Thanks so much for your help!

Do go back. The second programme should turn two microphones on but it also generally turns the overall amplification down in the lower frequencies which could be why you have to turn your volume up so much. The second programme can be adjusted seperately so you should be able to get a better sound on that second one without altering what is already working for you.

Not sure, but could this may be due to power? With the Baha, when the directional mic is activated it takes more power than the regular mic, so may need more volume to compromise.

(Using the issue with the Baha as a comparison that is)...

The apparent reduction in volume is mainly caused by Low-Frequecy roll-off in directional mic systems; though there may be other contributing factors.

Basically we get lots of loudness (amplitude) information from LF sounds - ever stood in-front of a bass speaker on a PA system? If you think about it, when this type of input is married to a HF bias presbyacusis, the overall effect is going to be less loud.
Now, the real question to ask: is speech less clear in bacground noise? The efficacy of the approach will be proven or otherwise by trying out the aid in a pub: the Lombard effect will ensure everybody is talking at a louder level - however the directionality should aid a listener 'looking directly at' a principal speaker within 5-6 feet.

Give it a try!

Ok, I'll go to the appointment, I think you're right willow that the volume could do with going up on the second setting...

And ok Celtic Hearing, I guess I'll just have to go to the pub to test out the directionality feature I've been using it more in lectures because it cuts out the sound of people shuffling around near me and I think the speaker is clearer - though the speaker does sound louder on the first setting.

Will let you know how I get on!

Going to Spain for 10 days though, so it might be a while before I'm back...

I went for my appointment this morning. I'm not sure how successful it was... The audiologist felt that the problem was that I was turning the volume up too high on the second setting. She has changed the power (?) on the first setting so it more closely matches my hearing loss and said that that should translate to better sound on the second setting.

But... now everything is just really loud! I've got problems with whistling with high noises again. On the first setting I've got the volume on less than 1... Typing on the computer is really loud. And on the second setting, it's still really loud if my hair brushes over it.

She was quite insistent that the back microphone was off during the second setting and that the sound I am hearing when my hair moves is just being transmitted from touching the hearing aid in general. It doesn't make sense to me because touching the hearing aid in the first setting makes hardly any sound at all.

I guess I'll see how I get on over the next few weeks but I feel a bit sad that I might have made things worse rather than better...

Sorry you had such a poor experience today.
Did your audiologist actually listen to the aid and the different programmes to check the microphones?
There really was no need to turn your whole aid up when you were happy with prog 1. Yes there will be a time where you can adjust to a volume increase with things like hearing your keyboard but I don't see why you should have to when you had got that setting right!
I think you should go back now. Ring the department tell them you want to complain about your appointment because you don't feel you were listened to and ask for an urgent appointment with someone else, don't suffer. If you don't get any help from the department contact the PALS Office at the hospital for help -they will try to mediate a rapid solution with the department for you.
If the second prog is directional it definitely has 2 mics working and your audiologist should know that much at least.
The first and second progs do not have to be linked together so they can change 2 and leave 1 alone, if they look at the frequency response of 2 they will see a low frequency reduction (called roll off) that is leading to your volume decrease and the can adjust that out.
They can load your previous aid settings from the software and start again from where you had it yesterday.
Seriously if someone had done that to you in my department this morning I would want to know about it and fix it.
Please don't just leave it - that's why NHS audiology gets a bad name, you do not have to be aggressive just assertive - the word complain usually triggers a reaction.