Q: starkey halo

Thanks everyone for the feedback! I'm glad I found this community. It looks like the Halo is better choice than Linx. I remembered someone stated that he or she sent the audiogram to Starkey, they reviewed it, and then made the recommendation. Plus this person flew to MN for the fitting. Is this a better route than going to my local Audi?

I  would say find a good local audilogist and cultivate the relationship. As you get used to the Halos there are many tuning adjustments that can be made to customize your Halo's to fit your hearing preferences. For me it was not a set and forget setup but more of slow progression to optimize the devices.

I think you are referring to my post.

I sent my audiogram to Starkey, after being told I should look into cochlear implants, and then drove from Kansas City to Minnesota for the aids.

I left home on Thursday drove the 8 hours to Eden Prairie, had an 11 am appt at Starkey on Friday. Left Starkey late afternoon with my aids. Stayed overnight, went to Mall of America, a very noisy place, went into different noise level places. Went back to Starkey Saturday morning, had them make some minor adjustments to the programming and drove home.

I can go to my local audi if I need adjustment, however, I haven't needed to.

That was my third to Eden Prairie, I also went there for my Wi aids. When I originally got them, I had a basic remote that let me change between 3 preset programs. I went back 2 years later for a software update and got the surf link remote, that was my first introduction to streaming. The sound quality was okay, but not great, I still really couldn't hear well enough to have what I call a sucessful conversation on my cell phone. I still have the Wi aids, great back up if I have to send the Halos in for repair.

When the Halos had been out for awhile I went back to Starkey to be fitted for them. Starkey doesn't advertise that they dispense aids so as not to compete with their vendors. But their center for hearing excellence has the finest trained staff that are experts in their products. They conduct their own hearing exam, and have people that design the aids specifically to your audiogram. Then adjust them using the most sophisticated computer system available. For me, I feel like it's my best chance of getting the optimum hearing experience from my aids. I think the decision to go to them is correlated with the severity of your loss. The Head Audi that actually does the fine tuning while your wearing your aids is amazing. She was a pedatrician, when her child was born hearing impaired, she left her practice and became an audi. She has been with Starkey for years, I believe her son is now an adult. They can do things there that your audi just doesn't have the equipment to do.

I wear custom molds vs domes or buds, when I got my Wi aids, Bill Austin, the owner actually made my molds and discussed programming with Suma (the audi) I felt like I was in a vacuum when they first put them on me, so they took them back to the lab and vented the molds right there. They knew exactly what needed to be done and do it immediately. Had I gotten the aids from my local audi, who I love, have gone to her for over 30 years, she would have had to send the aids back to Starkey to have that done. I have had the most positive experience each time I have gone there. Everyone on staff I encountered was excellent. It was such an amazing experience to have people that understood what I deal with on a daily basis.

This forum has been such a tremendous help, to find people that are dealing with the same issues.

Hey guys

I understand the updated Trulink app has been released.  I am using it, and all works well so far.  There are some streaming options which I like; such as the option to automatically move to a different programme when the phone rings, and also to either completely mute, or lower the HA mic volume when the call arrives.  This is definitely a step forward as far as I am concerned.  Similar options are available for streaming audio.

I know not all of you use Trulink, but I'd be interested in some feedback from those that do.

Also, I understand iOS 8.2 beta is available to developers.  I have decided not to install this until it becomes public, as my Halos are working well as they are with 8.1.1.

Cheers

Mike.

Thanx Mike, My TruLink was updated and I didn't even know it.

I have found one issue with it....If you select an Automatic Memory, it's forcing me to create a new name, even if I try to back out or cancel. Only closing out the app and reloading will get me back to main screen. I'll give Starkey a call...

I downloaded as well.  Streamed most of the evening and it worked great.  No problem switching from iPhone to iPad either.  These were features I was hoping for as some times when I took a phone call I had to ask them to hold on while I switched over the program.  Great stuff.

Change of subject since everyone on this forum is so nice and helpful.  Does anyone have trouble using Shazam while connected to their Halo's?  Every time I turn on Shazam it doesn't start recording and then says I am not connected to a network.  Wi-fi and LTE are both connected.  Last night after I took off the Halo's it appeared to start working.  Just curious if anyone else is experiencing this.

I had the Starkey Halo i90s on trial from the speech and hearing center at my local university.  I fell in love with them.  They are so much better than the original (economy) Starkeys I started off with.  I liked them so much I decided after the two week trial that I would try the Halo i110s to see if I noticed any difference.  I believe I do but it is minimal. 

Has anyone else compared the two?

I am also trying to decide which setting to have saved in my app.  I currently have Normal, Car, Television and Crowd.  I intended to get Music instead of Crowd.  I wonder if Auditorium would be better than Television.

Can anyone make recommendations or tell me more about the different choices? 

I also know how to save places in the SoundSpace but I have a hard time knowing whether I need less/more base/treble.  Any pointers on that?

I'm certain I will be purchasing these but I'm still trying to figure out the best settings for me.

The relationship with your audiologist is the most important component of the equation to me. Being able to find a common ground to communicate about adjusting the settings makes for a better experience. Being a first time user my brain needed time to adjust and then adjustments were worthwhile. Apparently some users find their first setting to be all they need but mine has been a slow progression to better and better.

For me the television setting my audilogist and I chose  made the difference in enjoying TV  sports again.

Now you have me wondering.  They seem great when I first put them in but I'm wondering if it could be even better.

Do you find that you use the SoundSpace to make adjustments?

I do not use Soundspace that much but I love the tech. Having an engaged audiologist has made this a pleasant experience. I was fearful of disappointment and the first audiologist I interviewed did not send signals of being very "customer friendly". I think you always believe it could be better but the communication with a pro you trust helps your confidence in making adjustments. And their willingness to keep helping make adjustments is a big plus.

I returned my 90's for 110's...HUGE difference in noise reduction. 20db vs. 8db

wind reduction alone was worth the extra money (I drive a convertible)

I have Normal, crowd, car, and streaming.

I still haven't gotten crowds worked out right, though

From what my audiologist said, I don't think crowds is supposed to do much more than provide comfort.  I don't think it helps much with hearing speech, does it?

I'm having difficulty deciding which presets to select and I need to decide before I go back for my next appt.

The presets are pretty personal to your lifestyle. But the good news is that they can be changed and experimented with ( given a friendly and helpful audiologist- I have unlimited visits). Normal, restaurant and television make the most difference for me. Soundspace helps for streaming music and telephone calls. I think trying different settings is more useful than guessing based on our advice.

Sandra,

Be sure you have the newest TruLink upgrade. If you click the gear, it brings up settings - they expanded the options there. Originally you could  auto mute the mic when streaming. Which was great to completely cut ambient sound, however when on a call I couldn't hear myself very well. Now you have the option of muting or low mic. The low mic setting cuts most of the background noise, but allows my voice to sound more natural while quieting background noise which inproves clarity for me.

As far as the different settings and what you should use where. You can create settings in soundspace, with or without geo tagging. For example, I have several settings that I made when in different noise level locations, I named them accordingly. You can manually switch to the user settings anytime. They show up under the 4 presets on the remote tab. I have one I use if there are a lot of low humming sounds, like from fans or motors running. I have I use if there is loud background music etc. I have one that is geo tagged for the Walmart I go to all the time, it is geo tagged, switches automatically when I go there. But I use the Walmart setting in other large stores, I just switch to it manually. When I go into a place where the normal setting is not comfortable, I simply switch between the various setting until I find the one that is most comfortable. Sometimes the trick for me is adjusting the volume differently for my left and right ear. I have better speech recognition in my right ear, so these aids were programmed to address that. The audi set adjustments made the decibels for speech stronger in my right ear then in my left, which really helped enhance speech quality, with old aids, the sound my left ear heard, was basically masking what the right ear could distinguish. That is a benefit of dealing with an expert audi that totally understands the capabilities of the programming for these aids. Starkey developed new technology the past year that allows more precise adjustment then ever before. My hearing actually changes from day to day due to barometric changes, I have days where I lose 30-40% of the little bit I have on a "good" day, on those days I have to turn the volume way up, the intial normal setting was done so I have room to turn the volume up on bad days. Make sure the audi programmed settings don't have the user volume adjustment maxed out. so you have room to increase volume if needed. As in anything new, it takes some time getting used to. For someone that once had normal hearing, I would think your brain would adjust more rapidly to the re-introduction of sounds that you are now missing without aids. For someone, like myself, that never had normal hearing the brain will take longer to recognize what or where a sound is. I am hearing things with these aids I have never heard. I Frequently have to ask what some noises are, or where they are coming from. Going into really noisy enviroments is still a bit overwhelming a times, sensory overload. When that I happens I turn my aids down to a more comfortable level, and might use the microphone streaming feature to hear the person I talking to.

A coupld tips I was given might help others, in a noisy restaurant, sit in corner with your back to the wall if possible, or sit in a booth it will help cut down on the nosie your aids pick up.

Shazam is also no longer working for me when using the Halo's.