i am a new to the forum and new to hearing aids. i have purchased the phonak audeo mini 1X's but am dissapointed in the sound quality. i still have difficulty hearing whispers and soft speeking voices and feel other sounds are just amplified. i was assured these were the best aids on the market with clarity sound 2nd to none but my experience has been extremely dissapointing despite several adjustments. wot is the point of multi channel aids if they are programmed with the same 6 settings as standard lower priced products?? i wud appreciate any help offered on this matter as my confidence has reached an all time low

thanx for your help. i have had several adjustments over the past 3 mnths where the sound is either turned up or down but still cannot pick up quiet speaking ppl. i find myself asking 3 or 4 times to repeat what they said. as you can imagine its very frustrating. these aids have so many features and yet speach clarity is not being experienced. i hav contact my audi 3 times and am awaiting a return call to set up another appointment but wonder if a simpler aid would be just as benificial? as the set up is the same or am i better sticking to these?

thanx again for your advice djray. unfortunately my audiologist works from home so i have only telephone contact and email which i sent today. i have explained the problem and they have been turned up and down then the aids were taken away, on return they were reprogrammed with exactly the same problem. i have cookie bite loss and work in a busy indoor environment with lots of background noise which is fine but conversation still poses major problems. i will keep posting to inform urself and others of the outcome to my dilema. im so glad i found this site.

I used a Phonak, though a five year old model, until this week, so I cannot comment on yours. However in the replacement search I tried the top of the range Opticom, but found it no better than my Phonak Aerial, though much more expensive. I also briefly tried the current top Phonak, but again saw little or no improvement. I am now having a go with a Starkey S series, this is showing an improvement. Be careful there is a huge difference in the attitude of the suppliers, I have returned to Specsavers who give a 90 day test window, during which you can try another model and so on, with the ninety day trial restarting with each trial and a full refund given if still not satisfied. Whereas, the company from with whom I tried the Opticom, wanted to retain well over £500, luckily I could prove that the audiologist had promised a full refund.
 As others have said keep trying. Though you have to realise that, whereas spectacles restore you to good vision, hearing aids will never restore full hearing. Sad that, is it not?