Siemens Octiv S Owner's manual

Information about your
h aring aid

2
Contents
Introduction ............................................................................ 4
Types of hearing loss .............................................................. 6
Hearing aids ............................................................................ 8
Frequently asked questions ................................................ 10
Getting started with your hearing aids .............................. 14
Ear mould hearing aids ........................................................ 20
LifeTip hearing aids .............................................................. 26
Communication tactics ........................................................ 30
The patient journey .............................................................. 32
General notes on safety ...................................................... 34

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What to do if the aid stops working .................................. 36
Repair service and batteries ................................................ 38
Battery collection service .................................................... 40
Sources of further information ............................................ 42

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Introduction
Congratulations on getting your hearing aid(s),
the first step towards better hearing. There is
no doubt that, with practice, it will make a real
difference towards your quality of life.
Pl as tak th tim to r ad this guid as it will h lp you to g t
th b st out of your n w digital h aring aid. It will r mind you
of what your audiologist xplain d at your fitting appointm nt,
and also contains xtra information about how to us and look
aft r your aid.
You will also find tips that you can us to mak it asi r to
und rstand what oth r p opl ar saying. Th r is also contact
information for us ful organisations and support s rvic s.
If you hav any difficulti s that ar not solv d by this guid ,
your local audiology s rvic is th r to h lp you.

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All h aring aids suppli d by th NHS
ar highly advanc d, digital aids. Your
h aring aid has b n programm d
l ctronically to tak into account your
individual r quir m nts. This b gins
with your audiologist p rforming a
h aring ass ssm nt.
Your new hearing aid

6
Types of hearing loss
250 500 1000125
0
2000 4000 8000
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
110
120
FREQUENCY IN CYCLES PER SECOND (Hz)
HEARING LEVELS IN DECIBELS (Db)
Mild
Moderate
Moderately-severe
Severe
Profound
Audiogram of familiar sounds
Please note:
People often ave earing
t res olds spanning two or
more of t ese classes of
earing loss in different
pitc es / ears.

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May hav difficulty following sp ch, sp cially in noisy situations. This
typ of loss is oft n notic d by family first rath r than th pati nt.
Oft n has difficulty following sp ch and miss s oth r qui t nois s.
Amplification is v ry succ ssful for this loss, but th pati nt also n ds
to us good h aring tactics.
Unabl to h ar sp ch v n in qui t surroundings and may not h ar
g n ral nois s such as traffic unl ss th y ar loud. Amplificatio n is v ry
succ ssful for this loss, but th pati nt also n ds to us good h aring
tactics. Lip-r ading class s could b n fit p opl with this h aring l v l.
Unabl to h ar most sounds unl ss th y ar v ry loud. Amplification is
oft n us ful, but th pati nt will also n d to r ly on good h aring
tactics. Lip-r ading class s would also b us ful for p opl with this
h aring loss. Pati nts in this cat gory may also us sign languag
and watch sign assist d programm s.
Will n d to w ar appropriat amplification t chnology ( .g. h aring aids,
cochl ar implant, FM) in ord r to h ar conv rsational sp ch.
Mild
Moderate
Moderately severe
Severe
Profound

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Hearing aids
If your h aring is suitabl , you will b off r d digital h aring
aids. This m ans that th y ar programm d with a comput r
to a pr scription suitabl for your loss.
Eit er an Ear Mould or
LifeTip as been prescribed
for you, depending on your
earing loss.*
Ear Mould LifeTip™
Octiv™M/M+ Octiv™S/S+ Octiv™SP+Octiv™HP/HP+
Your hearing aid(s) may look like one of these:

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A h aring aid cannot giv you p rf ct h aring but th y should
h lp you to h ar v ryday sounds lik clocks ticking, birds
singing, tc.
Th aid(s) should also mak sp ch a bit cl ar r for you, so you
don’t hav to list n as hard. It should h lp you h ar wh n
p opl ar sp aking to you and giv you mor confid nc .
In noisy plac s th background nois will still b th r as it is for
som on who has normal h aring. You will probably find that it
is h lpful to watch p opl ’s fac s in noisy plac s lik high str ts
and r staurants.
You may still find it difficult to follow what p opl ar saying
and, if both ars ar impair d, w aring two aids may h lp you
to focus b tt r on what you want to list n to.

10
Frequently asked questions
Will I have normal hearing with hearing aids in?
No, th h aring aids can only work with th h aring that you hav
l ft. It will sound strang to start off with, but with p rs v ranc it
will sound mor natural. It should tak th strain out of list ning
though.
Will my own voice change by wearing hearing aids?
It is v ry common that your own voic may sound slightly diff r nt
to what you ar us d to h aring, this is b caus you hav b n us d
to h aring your own voic with a h aring loss. Wh n th aid is
initially fitt d th sound of your own voic can sound a littl strang
as it is now b ing amplifi d. Your own voic may app ar a littl
qui t r to oth rs.
What if I don’t like the sound of my own voice?
To start with, your voic may sound unfamiliar to you but aft r 2-6
w ks this should subsid with r gular us of th h aring aids. For
som pati nts this may tak long r than 2-6 w ks.
Is there anything else that could help, as well as
a hearing aid?
Y s, additional quipm nt for th t l vision, t l phon and doorb ll
is availabl . Pl as ask th Audiology D partm nt for advic .