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Subject : Random Comments on Phonak Savia from other forums posted by jim on Wed May 25, 2005 5:54 am |
| I have just been fitted for evaluation new Savia behind the ear hearing aids and my first impressions are that they are great. I have been wearing Claros for almost four years, but recently, have found them to not be performing as I would like: a combination of hearing fluctuations and the aids just being too sluggish when it comes to adapting to listening circumstances. The savias have been configured to the settings which best reflect how I had the Claros. I notice huge improvements in clarity, and the automatic setting works superbly: no more clicking; the aids adjust very quickly within the automatic setting to differences in the environment. My Claros had a major weakness in that the right hearing aid seemed lazy: this is not the case with this new pair. The Savias are also much more comfortable: the aids fit more snugly behind the earlobe and they are lighter. I kept the same earmolds, as these fitted well and continue to sit snugly with the new aids. There will be some tweaking: for instance - the telephone is too loud and I get feedback. I also want a setting which gives me better direcdtionality, especially from behind, and I am sure that there will be other things to test out. Why is all of this so important: I am a blind person and the aids must provide me with a sense of space and orientation within that space. I need to hear the environment and on occasions, still be able to shut out the environment. Programming flexibility appeals to me enormously, and I wil be experimenting with different settings voer the next month. The savias are off to a very good start. Vaughan. Has anyone tried the new Phonak Savias? Any audiologists/ HA dispensers fitted anyone with them? I'm trying them out, and my audiologist has had a difficult time getting them programmed for me. I'm interested in your all of your experiences with them -- good and bad. Thanks, Lynn Lynn: I have a set of 311daz BTE that are just two weeks old. One of the two was sent back for a repair and I hope to have it back later this week. The remaining aide is working very nicely. I particularly like the automatic setting since the application of the sound compression is much more gentle than that which I had with my old Perseos 311daz. Also the sound in noise and ability to locate sound is very impressive. Lastly, the T-Coils are much stronger in this set than in the Perseos. As for the programming, if you audie is having difficulty programming these aides which have a whole new type of programming, suggest a call to Phonak where during normal business hours (CST) they have fully trained and very knowledgeable audies standing by to help. (It worked for me). Finally, before your next visit to the audiologist, go to the Phonak webite and look at some of their PDF files and movie files. Here's the link. _http://www.phonak.com/professional/productsp/instrumentsp/digitalp/savia-intro/\ saviaoverview.htm?active tab=Downloads_ (http://www.phonak.com/professional/productsp/instrumentsp/digitalp/savia-intro/\ saviaoverview.htm?activetab=Downloads) If you review the PDFs you will learn about all of the different type of environements that the programs (I believe there are 4 unless you have the FM adapt in which case there are 5) can be set to. Right now, I have one program in reserve which I intend to have set for listening to music (you can even choose the kind of music, classical, jazz, etc.). When you are armed with the information, take the printed Adobe PDF with you for your next adjustment and be a little asssertive about what you want. Russ Thanks, Russ. I have the 311 daz BTEs also. I've spent a good bit of time looking at the Phonak web site. Also, my audiologist took the online training and had the Phonak people on the phone during most of my last session with her. Maybe I'm just a difficult client. I do have the FM boots, Smartlink and TelCom. I really like the noise suppression of the Savias. They do a great job in noisy environments. I tried out the Widex Senso Divas, and the sound quality on them is great, but they do not have very good noise suppression. I tried the Savias for a couple of weeks in March when they first came out and returned them for the Divas. However, I decided at the end of my trial with the Divas to try the Savias again, especially since their rep is coming to town in June. I was very unhappy with the poor quality of noise suppression in the Divas. They actually seemed to amplify the background noise rather than suppress it. The Savias have so many great features, I just hope we can get them programmed right. May I ask about the nature of the repair problem you had? The first time I tried the Savias, we sent one of them back because it started squealing (not audible to my husband or my friend I had lunch with, but my audiologist said she could hear it). It wasn't quite the same as a feedback noise, but similar. It would come on and off, but I usually didn't hear it in quiet environments. When I got the Savias back last week, we spent a couple of hours programming them, and I couldn't tolerate the programming. She had suppressed too much of the low frequencies and over amplified the highs. I literally felt like my skin was crawling. I went back on Friday, and my regular audiologist was out of town. One of the others who was totally unfamiliar with them put on an old setting for me that had been the best of what I had tried before with the Savias. We noticed a little feedback noise in my left hearing aid and ran the feedback manager at the end. As soon as it was done, the left aid started the same squealing that had happened before. It makes me think there is a problem with the feedback manager on these aids, or perhaps something is triggering the problem if you run the feedback check at the end of a session rather than the beginning. The aid doesn't squeal when I have it in FM only. It just does it with the mics turned on. Lynn Lynn: I haven't had any problem with the feedback manager on the one aide that I have. In regards to the aide that is in the shop for repair, it lasted 5 hours before something went wrong with the auto program and all sound seemed very muffled or obscured. Strangly, the one beep setting of voice in noise still worked. That's all that I can give you at this time. Russ Brad, I have not yet been tested with the directional mics, but plan on having the Quick SIN and HINT test done as soon as I am totally settled with my new hearing aids. My otologist wants me to have these tests, as he feels that I am on my way toward CI candidacy. I have a steep ski slope loss. When I tried the Phonak Savias in March with the initial programming done on them, I went to a noisy meeting and noisy restaurant. I could tell a significant difference with the Savias and was able to understand people talking to me in spite of the noise. I was in much worse shape with the Divas in the noisy environment. This is just my personal observation and the reason I am again trying the Savias. I do have the Smartlink, and expect to make use of it when going out to dinner with a large group. Just the other night, my husband and I went to Ruby Tuesdays, and it was fairly noisy. My left aid is acting up, so I am turning it on and off. However, with it on, I was able to understand the waiter and my husband in spite of the background noise. There was a noticeable difference over having the Divas. At this time, my aids are still not programmed satisfactorily for me. I am going back to see my audiologist tomorrow and keeping my fingers crossed that we can work things out. I'm going to hang in with the Savias at least until the Phonak rep comes to town in June. If neither he nor my audiologist can get them programmed satisfactorily for me, I will probably have to re-order the Divas or try something else. Lynn Brad I've also got the 311 daz and the noise suppression and sound localizing ability in the "auto" setting has been very impressive. While I haven't had sound booth, scientific testing, I've had enough real world in the last two weeks with the aid to say that the technology has really come along and is no longer a tease but a real help. Russ |
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