Longer period of observations

Thursday and Friday with SPrint: I was mostly at home experiencing the SPrint. I have also done some listening to the CD on the computer using the TV/HiFi cable. On the other hand, with the Personal Audio Cable connected to my Walkman CD, the sound is still too soft. I also was able to follow the news and talk shows with the combination of lipreading; that was something I could not do with hearing aids! I had music playing in the background while at home, and over time it sounded better. Ambient noise was bothersome, but by end of day Friday I was able to "tune it out" and focus on the sounds I wanted to hear.

Saturday through Monday with the BTE: Over the weekend I was mostly outside and around lots of people in noisy situations. Today I worked at home. Since I didn't need to use any of the features only present in the SPrint, I switched to the BTE. The convenience over the SPrint is considerable; no wires dangling around or the bulk of it against my side. I was amazed at how well I could understand people in noisy environments! Even on the dance floor, I could distinctly hear the voices of people over the loud background music, sometimes even more than my hearing friends. :-) The one drawback of the BTE was the noise of air against the microphone; it's really noticeable even walking in a quiet street with no breeze. Today when alone in the house I would switch occasionally to the higher mapping to build up my tolerance for the increased volume. With both programs, I no longer notice the computer fan noises.

With both the SPrint and BTE I do find that reducing the sensitivity to minimum helps with listening to the radio in the car and minimizes outside noise. I can enjoy music, but don't understand much when listening to talk radio.