Thanks for the detailed answers. It does really help giving me a much better idea of how well the Sphere mode works. Thanks again!
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Maybe one final question for you Jordan. You’ve clarified before that the Sphere feature is most effective if you use a closed dome or custom mold and not an open dome, which makes full sense. I wonder if somebody is using a bass dome with a small single or double vent, how much less effective it might become? Judging from your audiogram, you’re probably already accustomed to, and also probably benefit the most, from wearing a non-vented fitting dome or custom mold. So it’s probably not a fair question to ask you if you don’t normally wear a vented fitting in the first place. But if you’re aware of some information that Phonak or your HCP might have and might have shared with you on this, it’d be great to get some kind of quantification about the level of effectiveness on this if some kind of vent is introduced into the fitting.
Or maybe a better question is whether the Phonak proprietary active vent type is compatible with the Sphere so that you can have a slightly open fitting normally, and when AutoSense enters the Sphere mode for you, it’ll also close up the vent on the Active-vent fitting? That would be the ultimate combination in my opinion, especially for folks with only high frequency ski slope
hearing loss who can benefit from the vents.
Also, I remember that you found it working much better for you when you upgraded to a more powerful receiver as well? Is it specifically about the Sphere feature working better for you with the more powerful receivers, or is that just in general for overall sounds with a more powerful receiver?
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My experience is that the Sphere AI program works best with a very closed fitting. Open fittings are designed to allow people with a mild loss to have some natural sound to pass into the ear through the open fitting. This is great for stuff you want to hear but it also allows noise to enter the ear and this really interferes with speech recognition.
My audiologist started with M (Medium) Receivers on the Sphere with double domes which is what I was using with Lumity. I immediately noticed issues with speech clarity and music sounded stinky. We were able to determine that there was some issue with the new M Receivers and Sphere. They didn’t seem to have the same headroom after REM testing that the M Receivers had on Lumity. This was causing extreme compression which was interfering with speech clarity and music. We were not sure if it was the M Receivers or the way the fitting algorithm (in Target?) was setting up the Sphere’s when matched with the M Receivers. My audiologist decided to swap out the M Receivers for Power Receivers and all my problems went away and the Sphere’s now sounded equivalent or slightly better than Lumity. I will say that the P Receivers are physically larger than the M Receivers in your ear canal and this has definitely increased the occlusion in conjunction with the double domes. My personal theory is:
- The extra headroom of the P Receivers has lowered the compression dramatically and this has improved clarity across all programs
- The extra occlusion (from the larger P Receivers blocking more of my ear canal) has improved the performance of the new Spheric AI noice program.
Phonak’s Activent Receivers might be the perfect way to go if they work with Sphere. People with mild to medium losses will get all the benefits of an open fitting along with all the noise reduction benefits of a closed fitting and the Spheric AI program. Sounds like the perfect combination.
For those who already are using closed fittings or custom molds, the Sphere’s will give you a huge improvement in noise. As I have always said, the best approach is to work with a really good audiologist who will allow you a decent trial period and is prepared to do REM testing with multiple rounds of adjustment. As others have stated (including me), it took 3-4 rounds of adjustments to get the Sphere’s working really well and I’m not convinced that someone who mail ordered the Sphere’s and self fitted them at home will end up with the same outcomes.
Just my opinion…
Jordan
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I did a quick search on Google AI and it says that the Sphere is compatible with the ActiveVent receivers. I wonder if there are Sphere wearers here who have normal hearing on the low end with a ski slope loss that are using ActiveVent receivers on their Sphere? If yes, I’d love to hear your thoughts on this combination.
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Keep in mind that the Activent Receivers have the same fitting range as the M receivers, not the power receivers.
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People who need Power receivers are more likely able to tolerate a more occlusive fit.
I have M receivers. In quiet situations, being in a user-defined Calm program sounds much better to me than going with AutoSense (which also on the Program Options tab, bottom center, shows I’m in Calm mode, too). My only thought is that when in AutoSense mode, maybe there’s a whole lot of AutoSense processing/evaluation that’s muddling things up a bit more than just being in a fixed Calm program. I’m wearing totally occlusive cShells and the Sphere sound is marvelous, IMHO, even with M receivers. Perhaps the M vs. P receivers really only applies in your particular case for something about your hearing or your fitting?
True, I was referring to the Phonak’s published fitting ranges.