I just got my Phonak Cros

[mk]

I was fitted with the Phonak Cros on Wednesday for my 90 day trial. As soon as I put them on the sound felt more "stereo". I was at a meeting  and I was better able to hear the person sitting on my right. As I expected from posts here, it is not useful in very noisy situations (like a room full of very loud kids when I went to pick up my son from his camp!). It just amplifies the noise.
I found that only the lowest settings are comfortable for me, otherwise it picks up even the slightest sounds, like the movement of my hair when walking. I was wondering if I could ask the audiologist to reprogram it by removing the loudest settings thus providing more options in the lowest range.
Also I find it very annoying that to turn them off I need to remove them and open the battery case. is there another way to turn them off? Is it possible to program them so that that little switch on the aid functions as an "on -off" switch?. I have the Audeo Smart model.

Marianna

[arizonajack]

I have the same Phonak setup as you do. Unfortunately, there is only one way to shut them off and that is to slightly click open the battery compartment. I've had mine since March.

Did you get the MyPilot remote control with yours.

I have it and it has several programs that help make adjustments under various circumstances as well as the volume control. I got read tired real fast having reach up and poke the buttons to adjust the volume.

With the remote I can change settings whenever I need to and it looks like I'm texting like everybody else.

[mk]

It is annoying not to be able to turn it on and off. I hope they will fix that in future models. There were a couple of noisy situations were I would have liked to just turn them off, while still wearing them.

I got the "pilotOne" remote. I don't know if it is the same as yours. It does have volume control (two big buttons with (+) and (-), as well as two other smaller buttons. Indeed it is really convenient to be able to change the volume without having to reach to the aids. Thanks again for mentioning the remote in the other thread.
 The audiologist said that the two other buttons are for programming, but they only work with other aids ... but from what you are saying you do have programs. I wonder if she just got lazy and didn't do it. What kinds of programs do you have? I will be back in a couple of weeks for my follow up appointment and I will ask her.

I found that any volume setting above the mid-point results in rustling sounds and distortion. So I have been using the lowest or second lowest volume only. Was this your experience too? can they reprogram to capture the lower volume range only?

Marianna

[arizonajack]

It is annoying not to be able to turn it on and off.

I've gotten used to opening and closing them while I'm wearing them. Practice. It gets easy after a while.

I hope they will fix that in future models.

Distant future maybe.

There were a couple of noisy situations were I would have liked to just turn them off, while still wearing them.   

I know. Restaurants are annoying when there's a lot of background noise. Usually I can switch programs and make it a little better but I find that keeping the Cros ear on the side where all the noise is coming from I can turn off the Cros and mute the background noise a little better.

I got the "pilotOne" remote. I don't know if it is the same as yours. It does have volume control (two big buttons with (+) and (-), as well as two other smaller buttons. Indeed it is really convenient to be able to change the volume without having to reach to the aids. Thanks again for mentioning the remote in the other thread.
 The audiologist said that the two other buttons are for programming, but they only work with other aids ... but from what you are saying you do have programs. I wonder if she just got lazy and didn't do it. What kinds of programs do you have? I will be back in a couple of weeks for my follow up appointment and I will ask her.

The PilotOne manual alludes to hearing programs controlled by the little button below the minus button. The Phonak website and manuals don't, however, describe the programs.

http://www.phonak.com/us/b2c/en/products/accessories/pilot-one/overview.html

I have the MyPilot remote. It has a viewing screen where I can see what programs I'm switching to.

http://www.phonak.com/us/b2c/en/products/accessories/mypilot/overview.html

When I went to my audiologist to pick up the remote I saw that she had several programs listed on her computer. I had her program my aids with all of them.

They are:

Automatic - Which is supposed to automatically adjust to conditions. It really doesn't.
Speech in Noise - Slight improvement in restaurants and other noisy environments.
Comfort in Noise - Barely noticeable difference between this setting and Speech in Noise.
Echo Block - Found this comment on the internet "Echo block operates by identifying a reverberant "tail" in the acoustic signal. It is highly unlikely that this algorithm will function well in a small reverberant space or when speech is the primary signal. It is reasonable; however, to expect that this process could improve comfort for some signals in large reverberant spaces such as auditoriums or gymnasiums." Haven't had an opportunity to put it to the test.
Music - No idea how that works yet.

I found that any volume setting above the mid-point results in rustling sounds and distortion. So I have been using the lowest or second lowest volume only. Was this your experience too? can they reprogram to capture the lower volume range only?

Yes, I get the rustling and distortion at higher volume. It helps to have several programs to switch between depending on the circumstances. I seem to recall that my audiologist was able to make adjustments to reduce the distortion when I first got the aids and had only the one program.

[mk]

I've gotten used to opening and closing them while I'm wearing them. Practice. It gets easy after a while.

Thanks for the detailed answer. Just to clarify, do you open the battery cover while still wearing them? I was afraid that the batteries may fall off if I do it.
I have an appointment on Thursday, so I will ask about the volume readjustment and the programs.

Marianna

[arizonajack]

I've gotten used to opening and closing them while I'm wearing them. Practice. It gets easy after a while.

Thanks for the detailed answer. Just to clarify, do you open the battery cover while still wearing them? I was afraid that the batteries may fall off if I do it.

Yes, I do open the battery cover while wearing them. The first click that you feel opens the cover ever so slightly to sever the electrical connection to the batter. The first click is a detent that holds the cover in place in the slightly open position. Then it takes a little effort and another click to open the battery cover all the way. These aren't clicks that you hear, they are clicks that you feel with your finger tip. It helps to have a bit of a fingernail for opening the cover.

I typically wear the hearing aids when I go out and expect to be around people but I don't need them for driving. If I'm out and about for a few hours they'll get about 20 minutes total use and the rest of the time they are off.

I have an appointment on Thursday, so I will ask about the volume readjustment and the programs.

I'm pretty sure that the Phonak software that's on your audiologist's computer has all the programs that I described.

[james e]

How much did it cost?

[mk]

The cost varies significantly depending on the supplier. The cost for mine was $2150 Canadian, out of which I get $500 from the Provincial Health plan, so I paid $1650. I think that I am also eligible for another $500 from my  benefit plan. Costs quoted might be different depending on what is covered (i.e. some plans cover battery supplies for 3 years) etc. There are some detailed recent threads on the topic of cost.

On another note, I visited the audiologist today. She managed to eliminate the rustling sound and the distortion entirely. Now the sound feels much more natural. She installed two of the programs, the "comfort in noise" and the "music". She said that they really don't make much difference. She also said that the "speech in noise" is done automatically, as the Cros shuts off automatically one of the receivers if it detects noise. I am not sure if I understood this well.
The bad news is that I think that she adjusted the volume too low now, and I am afraid that it won't be loud enough when I need it. I will be travelling for the next few weeks, so I will have to wait and see how it works, and perhaps readjust for the volume.
 
Marianna

[arizonajack]

On another note, I visited the audiologist today. She managed to eliminate the rustling sound and the distortion entirely. Now the sound feels much more natural. She installed two of the programs, the "comfort in noise" and the "music". She said that they really don't make much difference. She also said that the "speech in noise" is done automatically, as the Cros shuts off automatically one of the receivers if it detects noise. I am not sure if I understood this well.

Not sure I understand it or buy into it as I still haven't found the magic adjustment for noisy restaurants. The Phonak website is no help about the programming so I'm looking for information elsewhere. I'll let you know what I find.