Sandi Arcus is a Dispensing Audiologist in Nevada. Born with single-sided deafness (SSD), she as always had a passion for helping others who are hard of hearing. She started her career in Pennsylvania as an audiologist in a busy ENT office, then in private practice. She currently works at an audiology clinic in Henderson, NV. Sandi holds a Master of Science degree in Audiology from Bloomsburg University, is a Fellow with the American Academy of Audiology, and holds a Certificate of Clinical Competency from the American Speech-Language Hearing Association.
As both an expert in hearing health and someone with first-hand experience in hearing loss, Sandi kindly offered to share her initial thoughts (and a couple of homemade videos) from her trial of Oticon Medical’s Ponto 4 bone anchored hearing system (BAHS).
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I did the initial setup myself, because I’m really picky and odd about my programming. My first impression was that the Ponto 4 sounded the closest to my normal hearing ear as any other hearing aid or BAHS has come close to. I was impressed but not surprised — if Oticon Medical releases a new processor, I know it won’t be good… it will be great!
Streaming phone calls and music with ease
I placed a call while streaming to the Ponto 4 and the person on the receiving end was impressed with the clarity. On my side, I was able to hear the speaker without issues. Streaming music was pretty impressive as well. It wasn’t tinny or hollow-sounding.
Ponto 4 passes the wind and noise test
I like to “beat up” my processor — push it to the limits — so I next planned to be a passenger in my car (Ponto side toward driver) with the windows down and music on. I don’t typically have the windows down when driving because I can’t hear (and it messes up my hair) so I knew this would really allow me to test the Ponto 4 out.
These videos don’t quite do it justice. I had the air conditioning blasting and the radio on pretty loud. My daughter and husband said they couldn’t hear each other or me, but I heard them.
Kudos Oticon Medical — you did it again!
I could never have heard either my husband or daughter in that noisy car without the Ponto 4. Knowing how OPN™ technology works helped me figure out the biggest difference: I still knew the noise was there. It wasn’t distorted. There wasn’t a sudden mic change that was audible. However, my brain knew that speech was what I needed to hear. Speech stood out naturally without strain and without compromise.
My one word for Ponto 4? Awesome!
Click here to learn more about the Ponto 4 from Oticon Medical.
I just received my Ponto 4 last week. I’m hearing clicking/popping noises when people talk and it’s very distracting. Have you experienced this? Also, I’m noticing all voices echo much more than my Ponto 3. I’m curious about your opinion on this since you’re both a Ponto user and a audiology professional. I’m still fairly new to the digital world…been using my analog conduction aid for 36 years. I wasn’t sure if this extreme amount of echo is normal or can be corrected through the programming.
Hello, Kristin. This is a response from Oticon Medical. It sounds like your device could use fine-tuning by your audiologist, as it shouldn’t be echoing the way you describe. We suggest you contact them and have the programming adjusted. If you need further assistance, please feel free to contact Customer Service at Call: 1-888-277-8014 (M-F 8:00am – 7:00pm EST) or by email at: [email protected]. We wish you all the best!