Appraise15User Manual GB

Table of Contents
2 Fitting Software: Appraise 3

2.1 Patient Profile 7
2.1.1 Viewing Patient Profile 7
2.1.2 Modify Patient Profile 8
2.2 Selection Screen 9
2.3.1 What’s Connected? 15
2.3.2 Reconfigure 16
2.3 Fitting Screen 17
2.3.1 Linking and UnLinking 19
2.3.3 Feature Selection 20
2.3.4 Text Based Wizard 21
2.3.4.1 How to invoke Text Based Wizard 21
2.3.4.2 How to adjust the fitting data 22
2.3.4.3 How to search a solution for a problem 22
2.3.5 Vent Selection 23
2.3.6 Interplay 23
2.3.6.1 How to adjust the fitting data 24
2.3.7 End Session 25
2.3.7.1 Summary 26
2.3.7.2 Beeps 27
2.4 Tool Bar 28
2.5 Menu Bar 30
2.5.1 Patient Menu 30
2.3.2 Selection Menu 31
2.3.3 Fitting Menu 32
2.3.4 End Session Menu 33
2.6 Preferences Dialog 34
2.7 PC Requirements 35
2.8 Communication Setup 36
2.9 How to get into the Fitting Screen 36
2.9.1 Instrument Detection by the Fitting Software 37
2.9.2 Initial-fit 37
2.9.3 DFS Calibration 38
2.10 Save and Load Fitting Data 41
2.10.1 Save to NOAH 41
2.10.2 Read from NOAH 42
2.10.3 Reading Hearing Instrument 42
2.10.4 Program Hearing Instrument 43
3 Multimedia 45
3.1 Introduction 45
3.2 Speaker Setup 45
3.2.1 Setting Up the Speakers 46
3.2.2 Troubleshooting 47
3.3 Improving Room Acoustics 48
3.3.1 What are Acoustics and How they are important 48
3.3.2 How to Improve Room Acoustics 48
3.3.3 Other Improvements You Can Make 49
Appraise 1.0 User Reference Manual Page 1 of 70
3.3.4 Acoustical Panels 50
3.4 Sound level check 51
3.4.1 Setting the PC Volume Control 51
3.4.2 Setting Levels in INTERPLAY ™ 51
3.5 Using the Multimedia 52
3.5.1 Media Bar 52
3.5.2 Hearing loss Simulator 53
3.5.3 Sound shed 55
3.5.4 Selecting Sounds 56
3.5.5 INTERPLAY 57
4 Data Logging 63
4.1 Overview 63
4.1.1 Summary Screen 63
4.1.2 Data logged 64
4.2 Wizard 65
4.2.1 How to adjust the Data Logging data 66
4.3 Data-Graph view 66
2.3.5 Charts List 67
4.4 Data – Table view 68
4.4.1 Export 70
4.4.2 Print 70

2 Fitting Software: Appraise
This manual describes the usage of the fitting software, Appraise.
Fitting Software works in two modes:

• Programming mode
• Simulation mode
Simulation mode
In this mode Hearing aid need not be connected. This can be used for a
demonstration of the software.
Programming mode
In this mode Hearing aid should be connected. In this mode you can program
(tune) the Hearing aid to create fitting data and save the fitting data into the
Hearing aid. You can also load back the already stored fitting data from the
Hearing aid.
Once you have created patient detail and audiogram information into NOAH, you
can start the fitting software Appraise as follows:
Fig 2.1 NOAH Session Browser screen

1) Select the patient name in the client register of NOAH. For more information
see the NOAH help.
2) Double click on the patient name. Session Browser window as shown in Fig
2.1 will be displayed.
Session Browser window of Fig 2.1 can be evoked in an alternate way. After
doing Step 1, double click the Open session for the selected client icon
( ) on the NOAH tool bar of Fig 2.1 (The second icon from the left).
3) Click the Open Module Selection icon ( ) on the NOAH toolbar, shown
in Fig 2.1 (fourth icon from the left). The Module Selection window shown in
Fig 2.2 will appear.
The Module Selection window of Fig 2.2 can be reached in an alternate way.
Click the Open Fitting Module icon ( ), the fifth icon from the left on the
NOAH tool bar of Fig 2.1.
Figure 2.2 Module Selection window
The Module Selection window of Fig 2.2 will appear only for a freshly
registered (registered at the beginning of the NOAH session) client or for an
existing client with no saved session data (Appraise generated data like patient
profile data, screen selection data, fitting data etc).
For an existing client with saved session data, the screen of Fig 2.2 will not be

displayed when you click the Open Fitting Module icon( ) on the NOAH
tool bar. It will go directly to the screen of Fig 2.3.
However, for an existing client with saved session data, the screen of Fig 2.2
will be displayed when you click the Open Module Selection icon ( ) on
the NOAH toolbar, shown in Fig 2.1 (fourth icon from the left)..
4) Double-click the Appraise 1.0 button in Fig 2.2. The Fitting software will be
launched. While the software is getting loaded a screen as shown in Fig 2.3
will be displayed.
Fig 2.3 Launching Appraise
Once the fitting software is launched, a screen will be displayed. The appearance of
this screen depends on several factors. When no Hearing Instrument is connected to
the system and no audiogram data is entered into NOAH and if Selection Screen is the
choice for Default Start Screen (in the Edit/Preference window of Appraise screen in
Fig 2.4), a screen as shown in Fig 2.4 will be displayed. You will see the following in
the window:

Fig 2.4 The Appraise starting screen
• On top of the screen, below the NOAH tool bar, Appraise tool bar will be
displayed. This tool bar changes based on the screen you select by clicking the
tabs on the left-side of the screen. For more information see the tool bar
section which follows.
• To the left-side of the screen you will see the following tabs:
Patient – This screen displays the details of the patient and his
experience with the Hearing Instrument. You can change the hearing
experience of the patient also.
Selection – This screen helps you to select the instrument or to find

which instrument is connected to the system using the tool bar and the
buttons provided in the screen. You can do reconfiguration of the
instrument. The selection tab has other sub tabs enclosed in it as can be
seen in Fig 2.4. The Products sub tab is opened by default. When
another tab is selected, the selection tab will not show sub tabs as can
be seen in Fig 2.5. More details are covered under the section
Selection Screen (section 2.2)
Fitting – In this screen you can adjust the fitting data of the patient
based on his hearing capability. You can use the wizards like
adjustment wizard or text based wizard to configure the Hearing
Instrument. The fitting tab also has other sub tabs enclosed in it as can
be seen in Fig 2.10. When another tab is selected, the selection tab will
not show sub tabs as can be seen in Fig 2.4 and Fig 2.5. For more
details see section 2.4.
End Session – This is the last part in the configuration of hearing

instrument where you can save the fitting data, set the beeps and
control the volume level for different conditions.
• To the bottom you will see Multimedia bar which consists of the tools to
configure the patient’s instrument for various sounds and environments. See
Chapter 3 for more details on how to use the media bar.
• At the bottom of the window you will see a status bar which displays the client
name, session date, today’s date and user id.
2.1 Patient Profile

Patient Profile is the information of your registered client. The client data and
hearing aid experience details of the patient are displayed.
2.1.1 Viewing Patient Profile

Click the Patient tab on left side of the Appraise screen (Fig 2.4). The Patient
Profile screen as shown in Fig 2.5 will appear for a fresh client.
Fig 2.5 Patient Profile screen

The Patient Profile screen has the following sections.
• The Client data (NOAH) section displays the details about your patient
such as name, calculated age based on NOAH data and client number
based on the registration data.
• Hearing aid experience section displays the options shown in Table 2.1
where you can select the experience of your client using the Hearing
Instrument. In Fig 2.5 the First Time User radio button is selected by
default for a fresh client. This default selection is decided by the
setting in the Edit/Preference window of Appraise screen in Fig 2.4.
Table 2.1 Hearing Aid Experience option table

Option Description
First Time User The client is a first timer user of the
hearing aid
Experience – Linear The client has earlier used any linear
device
Experience – Non Linear The client has earlier used any non linear
device
2.1.2 Modify Patient Profile

You can change the Hearing Aid Experience for the session based on the patient’s
experience by selecting the appropriate radio button. After making changes to the
patient’s profile, you can save the patient’s details to NOAH session:
• Click Save Fitting icon ( )from the Appraise tool bar
Now, if you close Appraise and next time when the session starts with the same
client, the radio button selected at the time of the last save operation in the
previous session will be the selected radio button in the Patient Profile window of
the present session.
If you change the patient profile in the present session and try to save it by
clicking the Save Fitting icon ( ) from the Appraise tool bar, a dialog box as
shown in Fig 2.6 will appear.
Fig 2.7 The Appraise Host dialog box

• Click Add to add a new session for the patient, which will be the current
session.
• Click Update to update the current session with the modified data of the
patient
• Click Cancel: the changes will not be saved to NOAH
After changing the patient profile if you go to the Fitting Screen by pressing the
Fitting tab, Appraise Profile Questionnaire Data dialog box will be displayed as
shown in the Fig 2.8 below.
Fig 2.8 Appraise Profile Questionnaire Data dialog box
• Click Refit: performs the initial-fit and the fitting screen will be displayed
• Click Cancel: the changes are not saved and the fitting screen will be
displayed
2.2 Selection Screen

Fig 2.4 shows the Selection Screen. The Selection Screen displays a list of
hearing aid devices that are supported by Appraise. In this screen you can select
the hearing aid instruments connected to left and right ears.
The Selection Screen is reproduced again in Fig 2.9 for further explanation. Fig
2.9 is slightly different from Fig 2.4. Note the Tool Tip shown in Fig 2.9. The
Selection Screen consists of the following elements as shown in Fig 2.9.

HI List Tool Tip
Place Holder for the Audiogram
Place Holder for the HI Image
Selection Tool Bar
Fig 2.9 The Selection Screen
• A Selection Tool Bar on the top-left corner
• Set of tabs on top of the screen. Each tab describes a family of products.
• A list box displaying the Products List that belong to the selected
family, describing the name and style of the instruments
• Highlighting the detected/selected instrument in the product list box. Fig

2.9 is for a situation where no HI is connected or selected and hence no
highlighting.
• A Tool Tip will be displayed when you place the mouse over the name
of the instrument in the list. The tool tip displays the product name, type
of the cable and whether the battery is required or not

• Place holder for HI image display. . Fig 2.9 is for a situation where no
HI is connected or selected and hence no image display.
• What’s Connected button in the middle of the screen
• Reconfigure buttons for left and right ears will be displayed only for
Canta Open or Canta7 instruments which are configurable
• Place holders for Audiogram of the left and right ears. Fig 2.9 is for a
situation where no Audiogram data is available.
The actual list of instruments supported depends on the current version of

Appraise. The instrument style describes the way it fits into the ear. Each
instrument has specific characteristics and features which will be seen through the
Fitting Screen.
• If the instrument is not selected

o System displays the Interton logo in the images place holder as
shown in Fig 2.9 above.
• If the instrument is selected

o The selected instrument will be highlighted in the product list box
as shown in Fig 2.10 below.
o By default the system displays an image of the connected Hearing

Instrument (HI) in the image place holder as shown in Fig 2.10
.
o When you click on the image of the Hearing Instrument, you will
see an image of the ear with the instrument fitted. If you click this
new image once again, the image of the HI will be displayed again.
o In Fig 2.10 you can see the image of the HI and the image of the
ear with the instrument fitting.

HI fitted into the ear Additional Information
Image of the HI
Fig 2.10 The selection screen with more information
o Click on the Additional Information icon on the top-right

corner of the image shown in Fig 2.10 above
o A screen as shown in Fig 2.11 will be displayed

Fig 2.11 The image of the ear and the HI enlarged
• If an audiogram was created, the Selection Screen appears with

audiogram graphs displayed in the Audiogram Place Holder as shown in
Fig 2.12

Audiogram for the right ear Audiogram for the left ear
Fig 2.12 Selection Screen with the Audiogram displayed in the Audiogram Place Holder
• If an audiogram is not yet created you will see that the Audiogram Place
Holder will be empty as shown in Fig 2.13 for the left ear.. Also look at
Fig 2.9 and Fig 2.10. An exclamation icon will be displayed over the
graph area. This icon shows a tool tip when mouse is placed over the icon.
The tool tip message is There is zero dB or no main points (250 or 500,
2K-4K)
• If the audiogram is created with an insufficient number of main points

than required, the system displays an exclamation icon over the graph area
as shown in Fig 2.13 for the right ear. The minimum required number of
main points is 3. The main points are 250 or 500, 1K, 2K and 4K. This
icon shows a tool tip when the mouse is placed over it as shown in Fig
2.13. The tool tip message is There are less than 3 main points: 250 or
500, 1K, 2K-4K. In Fig 2.13 there are only two main points 250 and 500.
Points 250 and 500 together are treated as one main point only. Effectively
in Fig 2.13 there is only one main point. An Audiogram created with
points 250, 500 and any one of the remaining main points will be an
invalid Audiogram.

Audiogram with insufficient No Audiogram data
number of main points
Fig 2.13 Selection Screen with no Audiogram graph and

Audiogram with insufficient number of main points
2.3.1 What’s Connected?

If you do not know the type of instrument that is actually connected, click on
What’s connected icon from the Selection toolbar or the button in the
middle of the screen.
Detecting device Instrument dialog box with a progress bar will be displayed
a. If the Hearing instrument is connected properly and is detected by your

fitting software
• The connected instrument will be highlighted in the Product List box..
b. If no Hearing Instrument is connected

• A dialog box with message No connected instruments found will be
displayed
• Click OK to close the dialog box
c. If both of the Hearing Instruments connected do not belong to same family

• A dialog box with message Connected products are not from the
same product family, please disconnect one will be displayed.
2.3.2 Reconfigure
Reconfiguration is the process of converting a device that belongs to an open
device family to another device in other related families or vice versa. For
example, to configure the device EV60 from Evoke family to the device EV60+
in Evoke family, perform the following steps:
• Connect the Canta Open device EV60 to Hi Pro

• Click What’s Connected button
• Connected device will be highlighted and Reconfigure button will be
displayed below the product list
• Click Reconfigure icon in the Selection Screen
• Instrument Reconfiguration dialog box shown in Fig 2.14 will be
displayed
Figure 2.14 The Instrument Reconfiguration dialog box
• Click Yes
• Instrument Reconfiguration dialog box shown in Fig 2.15 will be
displayed.
Figure 2.15 Instrument Reconfiguration dialog box
Now click on the What’s Connected button. You will see that the device
EV60+ under Evoke family is highlighted. This means the connected device,
Ev60 of Evoke family is now configured to the device EV60+ of Evoke
family. You can configure the devices from Ev60+ to EV60.
2.3 Fitting Screen
Fitting data of the connected Hearing Instrument can be configured from the
fitting screen. In the fitting screen you can configure the hearing instrument for
various environments. The wizards are provided to make adjustments to the fitting
data.
Click the Fitting tab. The Fitting screen will be displayed as shown in Fig 2.16 for
a newly registered client. Note that the Gain Adjustment sub tab is selected by
default. The Gain Adjustment sub tab will be the default selection whenever the
Fitting tab is selected for the first time in a session. The Fitting screen displays
the following:
• Fitting tool bar on the top-left corner of the screen
• The program tabs labeled Basic, Restaurant, Telecoil... etc. which are
supported by the connected device.
• Two graphs displaying targets and response of the left and right ears. The
target graph is in colors (red color for the right ear and blue color for the
left ear). The response graph is in dark color for both the ears.
There are two sets of graphs for each ear. The lower graph corresponds to
a sound intensity G80 and the upper graph corresponds to a sound
intensity G50.
• A Mute Right and Mute Left icons beside the respective graphs
• A Pie chart toggle button below the Mute Right and Mute Left buttons of
the respective instruments. This button appears only when a Matrix
instrument is connected and is loaded with some fitting data.
• Linking and Unlinking button in between the graphs
• A Calibrate button in the middle of the screen which can be used to

perform DFS calibration
• An Increase Selected Gain button and a Decrease Selected Gain button

in the middle of the screen
• Below the graphs you will see the tables of gains for two intensities (50dB
and 80dB).
• List of features supported by the connected instruments will be displayed

in between the gain tables
• An expanded Fitting tab with the following sub tabs

Gain Adjustment
Advanced Feature Setting
Fine-Tuning Guide
Physical Properties
Data Logging
Interplay
Fitting Tool Pie Toggle Mute Left Link/Unlink

Bar Button Icon button
Program tab
to display Decrease/Increase Gain Table
environments selected gain
Fig 2.16 The Fitting screen: Gain adjustment screen
Fitting data of the patient can be adjusted using the increase selected gain and
decrease selected gain buttons. As you make adjustments to the gains the
audiogram changes and you can see the same in the graphs. The gains can be
adjusted in the following ways:

• You can make adjustments at one specific gain value
o Click a gain value in the table
o Click increase or decrease button
• You can make adjustments at a specific intensity

o Click on the left most value of the gain table
• You can make adjustment at all intensities

o Click All on the top-left corner of the gain table
2.3.1 Linking and UnLinking

The fitting data can be linked or unlinked. The link/unlink is a toggle button. If
you see the link/unlink button as shown in Fig 2.17, you are in the linking mode
and the gain changes will be reflected in both the Hearing Instruments.
Figure 2.17 In linking mode

If you see the link/unlink button as shown in figure 2.18, you are in the unlinking
mode and the gain changes will be applied to the selected Hearing Instrument
alone.
Figure 2.18 In unlinking mode
2.3.2 Programs and Environments

In the fitting screen you can configure the Hearing Instrument for different
programs and environments such as Basic, Restaurant, Telecoil…, etc. The
program tabs are provided on the top of the fitting screen as shown in Fig 2.19..
The program tabs that are actually displayed depend on the features available in
the connected Hearing Instrument.
Program Tab Virtual Program Tab
Fig 2.19 The program tabs

Types of tabs
Two types of tabs will be displayed as shown in Fig 2.19.
• Program tabs
• Virtual program tabs
Functionality of tabs
The following is the functionality of the program tabs:
• Tabs can be changed to different environments
o Click on the program tab
o Click on the down arrow head
o Environment list will be displayed
o Select the environment for the patient
• Tabs can be removed
o Click on the down arrow head
o Select Remove Program from the list
o A confirmation dialog box will be displayed
o Click OK, to remove the program
o Click Cancel, to retain the program
• Tabs can be copied to virtual programs

o Place the mouse pointer in the tab area, the mouse pointer
changes to the open hand.
o Press the left mouse button
o Drag the program to virtual program tab
2.3.3 Feature Selection

In the Fitting screen of Fig.2.16 the features of the connected device will be
displayed between the gain tables. To make changes to any of the features, follow
the steps below:
• Click on any of the features. The feature modification screen will be

displayed as shown in Fig 2.20 below. Note that the Advanced Feature
Settings sub tab is selected automatically.
• A drop down list box will be displayed against each feature
• Select the option from the list
• Click Close button on the top-right corner
The changes will be reflected in the graphs and in the gain tables below the
graphs.

Fig 2.20 Fitting screen: Advanced feature settings screen
The screen of Fig 2.20 can also be reached by selecting the Advanced Feature
Settings tab in the fitting screen of Fig 2.16.
2.3.4 Text Based Wizard

The wizard helps you to adjust the fitting data of the connected device. The
problems associated with certain common features like Comfort, Sound Quality
and Speech Intelligibility can be adjusted using this wizard. The wizard describes
the possible problems for a selected feature in textual form. Similarly some
suggested solutions for each of the possible problems will also be displayed in
textual form.
2.3.4.1 How to invoke Text Based Wizard

Click on the Fine –Tuning tab to the left-side of the fitting screen. The fitting
screen as shown in Fig 2.21 will be displayed with the following:
• Problem Category radio buttons
• A list of problems for the selected category
• A list of solutions for the selected problem
• A Search button
• An Apply button

Fig 2.21 Fitting screen: The Fine –Tuning screen
2.3.4.2 How to adjust the fitting data

• Click the radio button of the Category for which the fitting data has to be
adjusted.
• The problem list for the selected category will be displayed. Click icon
to scroll down and scroll up the list of the problems if needed.
• The solutions will be displayed in the Solution list box from where we can
make selections
• Click Apply, if the solution displayed is the selected problem.
2.3.4.3 How to search a solution for a problem

To search the list of problems follow the steps below:
• Click on the category radio button
• Enter the search criteria in the text box provided to the left of the search
button
• You can enter a word or a few words as search criteria
• Click on the Search button
• The problems satisfying the search criteria will be displayed
• Click the appropriate problem
• A list of solutions will be displayed in the Solution list box
• Select the suitable solution and click Apply button

2.3.5 Vent Selection
Click on Physical Properties tab on the left side of the Fitting screen to display
the Vent Selection screen (Fig 2.22). The Physical Properties tab appears for
devices belonging to several families. However it is operational only for the
devices that belong to Canta Open family.
Fig 2.22 Fitting screen: The Vent Selection screen
Select the option from the Vent drop down list box. You will see the respective
changes in the fitting graph and the gains.
2.3.6 Interplay
Interplay shown in Fig 2.23 offers 36 sounds, four sounds each in nine different
categories. You do not need to play all the sounds for a patient. You can choose
the sounds the patient is most likely to hear.
It is best to start by playing one or two in each category. If the patient reports that
they do not sound OK, you can play more sounds of that category. If you have
made adjustments for sounds in a particular category, select other sounds within
the same category to confirm that the adjustments are appropriate for other sounds
in the same category.
We recommend that you start by playing sounds in the Broadband category first.
It works best to complete testing with the Average sounds first, then move to the
Soft sounds, then test with the Loud sounds last. Within each loudness group,
test with broadband first, then low-frequency and then high-frequency.

Click the Interplay sub tab on the left-side of the Fitting screen. A screen as
shown in Fig 2.23 will be displayed.
Figure 2.23 Fitting screen: The Interplay screen
In the Matrix screen, the sound will be displayed under different categories as shown in
the figure above. The following will be displayed on the screen:
• Program tabs on the top of the screen

• Sound categories Soft, Average and Loud as column headings
• Different sounds Rain, Laughing etc. will be displayed
• Frequency tabs BroadBand, Low and High will be displayed
• Interplay will be displayed with all the combinations of the sound
attributes
• Under Display a toggle button is displayed, by default it is labeled as
Target. This can be used to toggle between the target and sound
• A list box with a list of sound categories
• A list box with a list of frequencies
• Loudness increment and decrement buttons with OK button
• Sound Quality increment and decrement buttons with OK button
• Two check boxes for selection of left and right instruments
2.3.6.1 How to adjust the fitting data

• Fit the Hearing Instrument to the patient’s ear
• Select the sound. The sound can be selected from the matrix or from the
adjustment box to the right side of the screen.
• To select the sound from matrix follow the steps below:
o Click the frequency tab of sound level for which the instrument has
to be configured
o Click on the sound under the matrix for the sound category the
instrument need to be configured
• To select the sound from the adjustments box follow the steps below:
o Select the sound category from the first list box
o Select the frequency level from the second list box
o As you select the sound level and frequency, in the sound matrix
the respective sound category and frequency gets selected,
displaying the related sounds
o Select the sound under sound matrix
• Select the check box of the respective instruments that need to be
configured at the selected sound level and frequency for the selected
sound
• Click on the Too soft or Too loud buttons to adjust the loudness of the
sound based on the patient’s response
• The target curves of the fitting data will change
• Click on OK button if the target curves are at the desired levels
• After making adjustments to the loudness appropriately, make adjustments
to the quality of the sound. Click on the Bassy or Tinny buttons based on
the patient’s response
• Click on OK button
• Click on the Target/Sound button to return to the sound matrix
Note: When you click on the sound under the matrix, in the sound library list box
of the media bar, the respective sound will be selected. Make adjustments for the
loudness before making adjustments for quality.
2.3.7 End Session

This screen displays the summary of the configuration information of the
connected Hearing Instrument. You can also save the fitting data to NOAH or
program the Hearing Instrument. Click on End Session tab to the left of the
fitting screen. A screen as shown in Fig.2.24 will be displayed. This screen has
the following tabs on the top:
• Summary
• Beeps
• VC Setting ( If VC option is available for Hearing instrument)

Fig 2.24 Fitting screen: End Session: Summary screen
2.3.7.1 Summary
Summary screen displays the configuration details for the session like the serial
number of the devices, program tab names on the fitting screen and two options to
save the data. It also displays Mute Left and Mute Right icons.
You can save the fitting data to NOAH or/and to the Hearing Instrument. To save
the fitting data:
• Select Hearing Instrument or NOAH or Both

• Click PROGRAM button
You can save the fitting data to the Hearing Instrument alone by clicking the
Program Hearing Instrument icon ( ) on the tool bar.
Smart Start radio button group box (see Fig 2.24) will appear for certain selected
devices. In the Smart Start radio button group, if the off radio button is selected,
the patient will start hearing immediately after fixing the Hearing Instrument in
the ear. If the on radio button is selected, the patient will start hearing after a
delay of 10 seconds.
From the end session the user can turn Data Logging on or off. If data logging is
enabled then after each fitting session the data can be continued or reset.
For certain devices, you can see the following drop down list boxes:
• Switch Functions – this is a shortcut switch to a program
• Direct Audio Input – this is for the instruments which has provision to
connect the external audio devices such as cell phones, walk-man etc.
• Volume Control – this allows you to control the volume adjustments of
the device, if it is off, the patient cannot make any volume adjustments at
the device.
2.3.7.2 Beeps
You can configure the beeps for the session. You can control the volume of the
beeps for different options like low battery, p1/p2 change etc. and save the fitting
data to NOAH or/and to the Hearing Instrument. The Beeps screen is shown in
Fig 2.25.
Fig 2.25 Fitting screen: End Session: Beeps screen
Depending upon the device selected/connected you will find different sets of
radio buttons on this screen.
To setup the volume of the beeps

• You can select either Low Battery or P1/P2 Change
• Drag the volume slider to change the volume
• To demonstrate the beeps press the colored (red and blue) arrow buttons
2.4 Tool Bar

A bar with a set of buttons can be used to carry out the commands with a single
click. When you place the mouse pointer over the button you can see the
description of the button. You will find two tool bars displayed in the Appraise
window,
• Appraise tool bar: The tool bar consists of the buttons specific to fitting
software. The buttons are displayed based on the selection of the tab on
the left-side of the screen.
o Patient Tool bar: When you on the Patient tab, the tool bar
shown in Fig 2.26 will be displayed
Fig 2.26 The Patient Profile tool bar
o Selection Tool bar: when you click on the selection tab; the
tool bar shown in Fig 2.27 will be displayed.
Fig 2.27 The Selection tool bar
o Fitting Tool bar: when you click on the fitting tab; the tool bar
Fig 2.28 The Fitting tool bar
o End Session Tool bar: When you click on the End Session
tab; the tool bar shown in Fig 2.29 will be displayed
Fig 2.29 The End Session tool bar
Table 2.2 given below describes the buttons of Selection and Fitting tool bars.
You can see the description of the button by placing mouse pointer over the
button. The description gives you the functionality that you can perform with a
single click on the button.
Table 2.2 Tool bar button functionality
Save fitting
Print
Help
Undo
Redo
What’s connected
Hearing loss simulator

Interplay, setup
Connect
Read from NOAH
Read Hearing Instrument
Program Hearing Instrument

Recalculate Hearing Instrument
Auto Relate
DFS calibration
Launch Interton website

2.5 Menu Bar
Menu bar is the horizontal bar below the title bar of the Appraise window. A
Menu displays a list of commands.
Fig 2.30 Menu bar of Appraise software
The sub menu items under each menu depend on the screen you have selected.
Also the menu items will be enabled or disabled for the screen you have selected.
2.5.1 Patient Menu

When you click on the patient tab, the menu options will be the following:
File → Close Module
Appraise → Print
Interton Web
Appraise Help → About Appraise …
Edit → Undo
Redo
Reset
Preferences …
View → Language → English (US)
Couplers → N/A
Stimulus Type → N/A
Device → What’s Connected

Program
Read
Connect
Mute Left
Mute Right
Fitting → Target Rule → N/A

Recalculate Program
AutoRelate
USE UCL
Window → Status Bar

Cascade
Tile
1 Client Register
2 Session Browser
3 NOAHaud 3
4 Appraise
Help → NOAH Help → Help Topics

About NOAH …
2.3.2 Selection Menu

When you click on the Selection tab, the menu options will be the following:
Appraise → Print
Interton Web
Edit → Undo
Redo
Reset
Preferences …
Couplers → N/A

Program
Read
Connect
Mute Left
Mute Right

Recalculate Program
AutoRelate
USE UCL

Cascade
Tile
1 Client Register
2 Session Browser
3 NOAHaud 3
4 Appraise

About NOAH …

2.3.3 Fitting Menu
When you click on the Fitting tab, the menu options will be the following:
Appraise → Print
IntertonWeb
Edit → Undo
Redo
Reset
Preferences …
Couplers → Insertion Gain

2cc Coupler
OES Coupler
Stimulus Type → Pure Tone
Speech Weighted Noise

Program
Read
Connect
Mute Left
Mute Right
Fitting → Target Rule → DSL i/o Mod

Audigram+
NAL Modified
Recalculate Program
AutoRelate
USE UCL

Cascade
Tile
1 Client Register
2 Session Browser
3 NOAHaud 3
4 Appraise

About NOAH …
2.3.4 End Session Menu

When you click on the End Session tab, the menu options will be the following
Appraise → Print
Interton Web
Edit → Undo
Redo
Reset
Preferences …
Couplers → N/A

Program
Read
Connect
Mute Left
Mute Right

Recalculate Program
AutoRelate
USE UCL

Cascade
Tile
1 Client Register
2 Session Browser
3 NOAHaud 3
4 Appraise

About NOAH …

2.6 Preferences Dialog
To invoke the preferences dialog box, Click Edit→Preferences…. A dialog box
shown in Fig 2.31 with a set of tabs listed in Table 2.3 will be displayed.
Fig 2.31 The Preferences Dialog box
Table 2.3 Tabs available in the preferences dialog box
Tab Description
Defaults Displays the default settings
Programming Interface Displays the list of hardware interfaces
between instruments and the
application. The actual device present
being selected.
Multi Media Displays a list of names of the
Speakers that can be configured.
Web URL Displays the Interton Web URL with
the country code.
Click Defaults tab to set the default values of the following:
• Default Language
• Default Spec Sheet Standard
• Default Start Screen (When Connected)
• Default Start Screen (Not Connected)
• Default Coupler
• Default Experience
• Gain Toggles
• Hearing Instrument On Start (set using Check Box)
• Use UCL Data (set using Check Box)
• Mute Hearing Instrument when Fitting (set using Check Box)
Click Programming Interface. The following two options are displayed:
• Use Hi Pro
• Use NOAH Link
• Use MiniCom(SpeedLink)
Click Multi Media to configure the speakers, a drop down list displays all the
speakers supported by the Appraise system.
Click Web URL to display the Interton web site address. Default value of this
address depends upon the country selected at the time of Appraise Installation.
Interton website icon ( ). If Internet Explorer is running Interton web page
will be displayed.
2.7 PC Requirements
Hardware Requirements
The recommended hardware required to use Appraise2.1 is as follows:
• Pentium 4, 1 GHz or higher

• 512 MB or more RAM
• 2 GB or more Free Hard Disk Space
• CD/DVD Drive
• Sound Card (multimedia only): 16 bit, stereo, Microsoft DirectSound and
DirectSound 3D compatible, Speakers
• 1024x768 Screen resolutions
• Printer
The minimum hardware required to use Appraise2.1 is as follows:
• Pentium II, 300 MHz

• 64 MB RAM
• 200MB Free Hard Disk Space (350MB with multimedia)
• CD Drive
• Sound Card (multimedia only): 16 bit, stereo, Microsoft DirectSound and
DirectSound 3D compatible
• 800x600 Screen Resolution
Software Requirements
Appraise2.1 runs under Windows® 98SE, NT, 2000, or XP Professional.
2.8 Communication Setup

To communicate between Hearing Instruments and the Appraise fitting software,
a Programming Interface has to be connected. This is a hardware interface. You
can connect the Programming interface MiniCom using USB port and Hi Pro or
NOAH link to a COM port of the system running Appraise fitting software.
Connect the Hearing instruments to the respective ports available on Hi Pro.
Connect the left ear instrument to the left port and right ear instrument to the right
port. Hi Pro is the interface between the software and the Hearing Instrument.
To test the programming interface device:
• Click Edit → Preferences… A dialog box with tabs will be displayed

• Click Programming Interface tab
• Select the Hi Pro
• Click Check Hi Pro button
Hi Pro test page will be displayed with Test and Exit buttons. Click Test to test
the Hi Pro, test result will be displayed.
2.9 How to get into the Fitting Screen

Once a Hearing Instrument is selected or What’s Connected is done, you can go
to the fitting screen. Click on the Fitting Screen tab to the left. If no instrument is
selected then the dialog box shown Fig 2.32 will be displayed.
Fig 2.32 The dialog box displayed when Fitting tab is clicked
without selecting the instruments
• Click OK to close the dialog box

• Connect/select the instrument
• Click Fitting tab to get into the fitting screen
If the selected/connected instrument is capable of high frequency amplification a

dialog box shown in Fig 2.33 with a warning message will be displayed.

Fig 2.33 The dialog box displayed for instruments of
high frequency amplification capability
2.9.1 Instrument Detection by the Fitting Software

If the Hearing Instrument is connected and not detected by your fitting software, it
could be due to any of the following reasons:
a. Cables not connected properly

• Retry Programming mode dialog box with message Instruments have
not been detected. Check the cables and battery, if applicable will appear
as shown in Fig 2.34.
• Connect the instrument properly
• Click Retry Detect to detect the instrument.
• Click Continue in Simulation to work in simulation mode.
Fig 2.34 The dialog box displayed when the Instrument

is not detected by Fitting Software
2.9.2 Initial-fit
If this is a new session, initial-fit in progress dialog box with a progress bar shown
in Fig 2.35 will be displayed. During the initial-fit the Hearing Instrument will be
configure based on the audiogram created by the clinician.

Fig 2.35 The Initial-Fit Progress dialog box
2.9.3 DFS Calibration

After the initial fitting is successfully completed, DFS calibration dialog box
Fig 2.36 The DFS calibration dialog box
• Click No, if you do not want to perform DFS calibration after initial-fit.
(DFS calibration can be performed in the Fitting screen anytime. In the
fitting screen click Calibrate to perform DFS calibration).
• Click on Yes, if you want to perform DFS calibration.
• When you click Yes, a dialog box as shown in Fig 2.37 will appear. In this
dialog box you can select the Hearing Instrument that needs DFS
calibration.
• The buttons will be enabled or disabled based on the ears in which
instruments are fitted. In Fig 2.37, only Right Ear button is enabled as the
instrument is fitted only in the right ear.

Fig 2.37 The dialog box to select the instrument for DFS calibration
• Click the button of the ear which needs DFS calibration. For example, in
Fig 2.37 the button with label Right Ear is enabled, so you can do DFS
calibration only to the instrument fitted in the right ear. Feedback
calibration dialog box shown in Fig 2.38 will be displayed
• Click Cancel if you do not want to perform DFS calibration for any of the
connected Hearing Instrument.
Fig 2.38 Feedback Calibration dialog box
During the DFS calibration a feedback sound will be produced by the Hearing
Instrument. To change the feedback calibration level click Cancel. A dialog box
as shown in Fig 2.39 will be displayed.
Fig 2.39 The dialog box that appears when DFS calibration is aborted
• Click Reduce Presentation Level to reduce the calibration level by 6dB

• Click Same Presentation Level for calibration at the default level
• Click Cancel to cancel the calibration feedback. If calibration exists, it
will be removed.
If the calibration fails, a dialog box as shown in Fig 2.40 will be displayed.
Fig 2.40 The dialog box that appears

when calibration fails
You can change the intensity and the time period for the feedback calibration.
• Click Retry to calibrate again

• Click Cancel to cancel the calibration
If the DFS calibration is done successfully, you will see a feed back curve as
shown in Fig 2.41

DFS calibration
feedback curve
Fig 2.41 DFS calibration result
2.10 Save and Load Fitting Data

You have to save the fitting data after making adjustments based on the patient’s
hearing capability. The fitting data can be saved either to NOAH or Hearing
Instrument or both. The data has to be read from NOAH and Hearing Instrument
to make the adjustments to the fitting data of the patient. The fitting data can be
saved either in the fitting screen or the end session screen. If you have not saved
the data, the system prompts you to save the data when you click the close button
of the application window.
Appraise tool bar provides the buttons for reading or saving the fitting data from
the NOAH and Hearing Instrument. When you click on the buttons an
information dialog box will be displayed with the instrument details. The
following gives you the description of the buttons and functionality that can be
performed when you click on the button:
2.10.1 Save to NOAH

To save the fitting data follow the steps below:
• Click Save Fitting from the selection tool bar or fitting tool bar
• In case if you are saving the data on to NOAH after making some changes,
update dialog box will be displayed
• Click Update to save the new data to NOAH
2.10.2 Read from NOAH

To read fitting data from NOAH:
• Click Read from NOAH from the selection tool bar or fitting tool bar
• The fitting data will be read from NOAH database
• If you have made any changes will be overridden by the data read from the
NOAH
2.10.3 Reading Hearing Instrument

To read fitting data from the connected Hearing Instrument:
• Click Read Hearing Instrument from the fitting tool bar

• The fitting data will read from the Hearing Instrument
• If you have made any changes will be overridden by the data read from the
Hearing Instrument.
• A dialog box shown in Fig 2.42 will be displayed with the audiograms and
buttons to select the instruments.

Fig 2.42 The dialog box to read data from the instrument
2.10.4 Program Hearing Instrument

• Click Program Instrument from the fitting tool bar
• The hearing instrument will be programmed with the current fitting data, the
previous data will be deleted
• Program Instrument Information dialog box shown in Fig 2.43 will be
displayed with the connected instrument details

Fig 2.43 The Program instrument Information dialog box
• Click on the respective button to program the instrument.

• Save to Hearing Instrument dialog shown in figure 2-42 will be displayed with
a progress bar showing the saving in progress.
Fig 2.44 The Save to Hearing Instrument dialog box

3 Multimedia
3.1 Introduction
Interplay is a multi-media environment used to fit hearing instruments. It is
incorporated into the Appraise fitting software. Interplay can be used during
practically every stage of the fitting process from demonstration to fine-tuning,
providing sophisticated tools to assist the practitioner in addressing patient concerns.
Interplay creates a highly accurate virtual sound environment through the use of
Dolby™ Pro-Logic recordings and a high-quality surround-sound speaker system.
Extensive libraries of individual sound effects are included to create real-world
hearing experiences.
The sound stimuli used in Interplay vary from individual environmental sounds, to
speech alone, to speech mixed with different sounds. The presentation levels of the
sounds have a wide range, simulating levels that occur in the real world. The sound
levels have been adjusted to appropriate levels relative to the calibration noise.
All of the surround-sound files were recorded on location using a special surround
microphone to ensure accuracy. The sounds in these scenarios play from all of the
Interplay speakers, simulating the true dimensions of real-life sound. The following
sections are covered in this chapter:
• Speaker Setup
• Improving Room Acoustics
• Sound Level Check
• Using Multi Media
3.2 Speaker Setup

Your Interplay system is equipped with a state-of-the-art, digital surround-sound
speaker system that will play sounds with a high degree of realism and accuracy. It is
important to set up the Interplay ™ speaker system according to the instructions in this
chapter, as well as to follow the guidelines for improving room acoustics that are
found in section 3.3.
When set up properly, your Interplay ™ speakers will help your patients experience
sound in new and exciting ways. The following topics are included in this section:
• Setting Up the Speakers

• Troubleshooting

3.2.1 Setting Up the Speakers
Determining the Speaker Positions
The front satellite speakers must be set up in as close to an equilateral triangle with the
listener (the sweets pot) as possible, as shown in Fig 3.1 and Fig 3.2, where the side
length of the equilateral triangle is approximately 1 meter (or 3.3 feet). The center
speaker is placed at an equal distance between the two front speakers and at 1 meter
away from the listener. The rear speakers are placed slightly behind the patient’s
listening position. Speakers should be placed as close to seated ear level height as
possible.
The front speakers will normally sit on a desk on each side of the computer monitor.
The center speaker can simply be placed below or on the top of the monitor. The rear
speakers are placed on the stands provided with your INTERPLAY installation kit.
Use two bolts to fix a Logitech Z5500 rear speaker on the top plate.
Center speaker –
(above or below
monitor) Subwoofer
(under desk)
Third party
Hearing care
practitioner
Left front
speaker Right front
speaker
Rear channel
speaker (L) on Rear channel
stand or wall at Patient speaker (R) on
seated ear stand or wall at
level seated ear level
Fig 3.1 The speaker positions with respect to the patient

Center speaker –
(above or below
monitor)
Left front speaker Right front speaker
Third party
Subwoofer
(under desk)
Hearing care
practitioner
Rear channel speaker Rear channel speaker (R)

(L) on stand or wall at Patient on stand or wall at seated
seated ear level ear level
Fig 3.2 The speaker positions with respect to the patient
Warning! This system produces some sounds at high levels. Please ensure that all
people in the room maintain a distance of at least two (2) feet from any loudspeaker.
Connecting the Speakers
After determining the optimal speaker positions, follow the instructions in the speaker
manufacturer’s assembly instructions document to connect the speakers, digital
control center and other components.
Note: only one green cable, which connects the outlet to speaker of the sound card at
your computer and the inlet to the front speakers of the Control Center, is needed, and
since the surround sounds in INTERPLAY ™ are all Dolby Pro Logic encoded.
3.2.2 Troubleshooting
Use the following suggestions for troubleshooting problems with your INTERPLAY
™
system.
No Sound Comes Out of the Speakers
If there is no sound from either the PC or INTERPLAY ™, Insure the PC sound card is
working correctly. Use an alternate source to feed the speaker system audio such as a

walkman or another PC or laptop.
Speakers Are Not Working (no sound when you perform the test above)
• Check the power supply connections

• Check the speaker connections to the subwoofer.
• Check the control cable connection.
• If there is still no sound, call the support number shown in the speaker
manufacturer’s assembly instructions.
• No PC Sound Coming Out of the Speakers
• Confirm that the speakers are working with the preceding speaker test.
• Check the connection from the output of the sound card to the control panel.
3.3 Improving Room Acoustics

3.3.1 What are Acoustics and How they are important
Acoustics is the science of how sound behaves in a room. In addition to the room’s
dimensions, many other factors influence how the INTERPLAY . ™ speakers and the
room will interact. It is important to control that interaction; otherwise, sounds will be
heard differently depending on the fitting environment in which they are presented.
Factors that can affect speaker-room interaction include:
• Shape of the room

• Materials used to construct the room
• Floor coverings
• Furniture
• Presence of posts or columns
• Presence or absence of windows
• Presence or absence of background noise
While you may not have the luxury of constructing a perfect space for your
INTERPLAY. ™ system, there are many things you can do to greatly improve the
room’s acoustical properties. Improving the room’s acoustics will minimize the
amount of reflection reaching your patient’s ears, providing a truer, more accurate
listening experience.
3.3.2 How to Improve Room Acoustics

Perhaps the most important factor in a room’s acoustical profile is its dimensions, or
more accurately, the ratio of its dimensions. For example, a cube-shaped room, 8 feet
long by 8 feet wide by 8 feet tall (ratio 1 x 1 x 1), is the worst-case scenario, because it
creates excess resonance, not unlike the effect you might hear if you sing in the
shower. The next worst case is a room with dimensions that are even multipliers of
one another or common multiples, for example, 16 feet long by 8 feet wide by 8 feet
tall (ratio 2 x 1 x 1).
In the event that you must work with such a difficult room, there are things you can do
to improve on its drawbacks. In the case of a large room, you may be able to subdivide
the room to create a room of smaller and more appropriate dimensions. In the case of a
cube-shaped room, you may be able to lower the ceiling and build onto one or two
walls to improve the room’s dimensions.
Table 3.1 below shows some optimal room dimensions and their associated ratios. If
at all possible, try to correct the room dimensions to proportions similar to those
shown below.
Table 2.1 Optimum room dimensions for better acoustics
Room Room Dimensions Dimension

Size (assumes 8-feet ceiling height) Ratios
Small 9 ft. 9 in. long by 7 ft. wide 1.39 x 1.14 x 1
Medium 11 ft. 9 in. long by 9 ft. 2 in. wide 1.47 x 1.17 x 1

13 ft. long by 9 ft. wide 1.6 x 1.125 x 1
Large 16 ft. 7 in. long by 11 ft. 6 in. wide 2.10 x 1.45 x 1
3.3.3 Other Improvements You Can Make

Once you have finalized the room dimensions, you can begin to make other acoustical
improvements. Here are some suggestions.
• Ceiling Materials
If the ceiling is constructed of plaster or drywall, you may want to install
acoustical tile over the ceiling surface to minimize sound reflections from the
ceiling.
• Floor Coverings
If the room is not already carpeted, add a thick carpet with padding
underneath. If you can’t add thick carpeting, at the very least install some
office-grade carpeting or a room rug to minimize the reflection of sound off a
hard floor.
• Furniture
When selecting seating furniture, look for padded furniture with wood frames.
Desks and tables should be constructed of wood or wood-based products such
as particleboard and laminates. Try to avoid using metal furniture, as it reflects
more sound.

When positioning the patient’s seat, do not locate it beside a window, as glass
can be very reflective of sound. Ideally, the patient seat should be located near
the center of the room.
• Window Coverings
If your INTERPLAY . ™ room has windows, purchase some heavy draperies
that can be kept closed. Draperies are preferable to blinds or shades.
• Artwork
If you wish to display artwork in the INTERPLAY . ™ room, try to choose soft
fiber-based pieces rather than pieces framed with glass or plastic. As with
windows, hard-surfaced artwork will tend to reflect sound.
• Adding Acoustical Treatment

Many rooms will be improved by the addition of strategically placed
acoustical panels to absorb reflected sound. Guidance for placing acoustical
panels follows later in this chapter.
• Cylindrical Bass Absorbers

Some rooms may benefit from the installation of cylindrical bass absorbers in
all corners of the room. That is because corners create “traps” that distort and
impede the movement of sound. An example of a cylindrical bass absorber is
shown in Fig3.3.
Cylindrical bass
absorber centered
at seated ear level
Fig 3.3 Cylindrical bass absorber
3.3.4 Acoustical Panels

You may want to examine the room for sound reflection points. To do this, you will
need a 12-inch square mirror tile, some chalk in a color that contrasts with the color of
the room walls, and someone who can sit in the patient chair while you walk around
the room with the mirror to locate potential reflection points.
Here’s how to perform and respond to the “mirror test.”
• Have someone sit in the patient’s seat. Take the mirror and chalk and stand
directly in front of the “patient” at the wall.
• Hold the mirror up flat against the wall at the “patient’s” eye level and walk
very slowly along the wall. Instruct the “patient” to tell you when he or she
sees any of the INTERPLAY ™ speakers reflected in the mirror. At any point
where the “patient” sees a reflection of a speaker, mark the wall with the
chalk.
• When you reach a corner, have the “patient” turn to face the center of that wall
and repeat steps 2-4.
• Install acoustical panels to cover the ear-level area between the first and last
chalk mark on each wall.
3.4 Sound level check

In order to use your INTERPLAY ™ system effectively, you need to know how
to modify the output volume and check the sound levels for the system. The
following topics are included in this section:
• Setting the PC Volume Control

• Setting Levels in INTERPLAY ™
3.4.1 Setting the PC Volume Control

Locate the PC Volume control icon (such as the one shown below) in the
Windows® task bar and left-click on it.
If you do not see such an icon in the taskbar, select the Windows® Start button
and proceed as follows:
• Under Programs, select the Accessories menu
• Select either Multimedia or Entertainment (whichever is available on your
system)
• Select Volume Control
• Once you have located and started the Volume Control, a Master Volume
Control Panel window displays.
• With your mouse, move the slider controls for Volume and Wave all the way
to the top
Note: if the sound files are distorted or computer sounds are too loud, lower the
master volume control to a maximum of ¾ of the way to the top.
• If you are unable to achieve equal output from the right and left speakers by
changing their physical placement, you can adjust the output balance using the
balance control shown in figure.
• Click on the close in the upper right-hand corner of the Master volume Control
Panel window to close the window.
3.4.2 Setting Levels in INTERPLAY ™

To set the sound levels in the INTERPLAY ™ you click the calibration tool (
) from the selection screen. The screen shown in Fig 3.4 will be displayed.
Follow the instructions given.
Fig 3.4 The quick setup dialog box
Note: Once levels are set, you should not need to reset them during the day.
However, you should check the levels at the start of each day.
3.5 Using the Multimedia

In this section, multimedia tools and their usage is described. The following
topics are included in this section:
• Media Bar
• Hearing loss Simulator
• Sound Shed
• INTERPLAY
3.5.1 Media Bar

The Media Bar is located at the bottom of the INTERPLAY ™ window shown in
Fig 3.5. The media bar provides the tools to configure the patient’s Hearing
Instrument for different environments and sounds.
Fig 3.5 The multimedia tool bar

The following table (table 3.2) gives you the description of the tools on the Media
Bar:
Table 3.2 Description of multimedia tools
Category Search
Sound library
INTERPLAY
Sound shed
Similar sounds
Sound information
Play sound
Stop sound
Loop the selected sound
3.5.2 Hearing loss Simulator

Before using the Hearing Loss Simulator, ask the patient to change seat with a family
member or a friend who will be experiencing the simulation. Explain to both parties
that you will be playing a simulation of how the patient’s hearing loss affects the
perception of everyday sounds. To use the Hearing Loss Simulator, click the Hearing
Loss Simulator button ( ) from the Selection Toolbar. The Hearing Loss Simulator
screen as shown in Fig 3.6 will appear.

Fig 3.6 Hearing loss Simulator screen
To use the Hearing Loss Simulator, do the following:
• Select the ear with the better hearing at the bottom left-hand corner of the
screen.
• Choose the selection to be played and explain what will be heard.
• Choose Normal to play the selection as a person with normal hearing would
hear it.
• Then, choose Simulated to play the selection as it sounds with the patient’s
hearing loss in the currently selected ear.
• Explain that the moving green graphic on the right-hand side of the screen
shows the sound levels across the frequency range. The higher the green bars
go, the louder the sounds are. The red lines represent the average of the peaks
the top line being the average of the normal sounds, and the lower line being
the average of the filtered sounds.
• Select Pause to momentarily stop the sound from playing.
• Select Stop to finish playing the selected sound.

3.5.3 Sound shed
Sound shed allows you to choose between the most common speech and
verification environments in the INTERPLAY ™ system without the distractions
of the fitting screen and provides pictures to support the sound files.
• Place the Hearing instrument in the patient’s ear.

• Click sound shed icon from the multimedia bar at the bottom
• The screen shown in Fig 3.7 appears
Fig 3.7 The sound shed screen
• Click Thumb nail

• Respective sound file will be selected in the sound library of the
multimedia bar
• Click Play
If the patient could not hear the sound properly, you have to make adjustments to
the fitting data, so that the patient can hear the sound properly.

3.5.4 Selecting Sounds
INTERPLAY ™ has a wide variety of sounds to play for patients, and you may
be unsure about which ones to use and when to use them. When selecting the
sounds to use, keep the following points in mind:
• You do not need to play all the selections – this would be too time-
consuming and too overwhelming for the patient.
• There are a variety of selections in order to have enough sounds for
several visits and to have enough to “individualize” the INTERPLAY ™
testing.
It is important to know personal information about the patient as well as about

their hearing loss so that you can select the most appropriate sounds. Keep in
mind:
• Who does the patient listen to the most? Select speech that is similar to
that person’s voice. For example, if it is their husband/father/brother,
select Male Continuous Disclosure. If it is their wife/mother/sister, select
Female Continuous Disclosure.
• If the patient reports having problems hearing young children, select one
of the speech files with children, e.g. Soccer Story.
• If the patient has a very mild hearing loss or normal hearing in the low
frequencies with a high frequency loss, select a children’s speech file, as
these are the most difficult selections to hear because they have more
high-frequency sounds. Summer Refreshments is also good for these
patients due to the high-frequency sounds in it.
• If the patient has very poor word recognition, use the Birds & Stream
and/or the Thunder & Rain sound files to demonstrate aided benefit. The
Birds & Stream sound file is most appropriate for high-frequency losses
and the Thunder & Rain sound file is most appropriate for low-frequency
losses.
• If the patient enjoys music, be sure to play the music sound file selection
at some point. There is a wide range of music selections to help fit any
type of music lover.
• In selecting Verification Environments, let the patient help decide which
ones are most applicable for their lifestyle. You only need to play 1-3
environments per visit, depending on the needs of the patient and the
allowable time.
You can configure your patient’s Hearing Instrument for different sounds or
frequencies and intensities. On the Multimedia bar at the bottom of the screen you
are provided with a sound library. Follow the steps below to configure the
sounds:

• Place the hearing instrument in the patient’s ear.
• Click Category Search icon from the multi media bar at the
bottom
• Category search window will be displayed
• You can select a category or frequency and intensity
• Sound library list will be populated with the sounds of selected category or
frequency and intensity
• Click Similar Sounds from the multimedia bar

• Related sounds window with a list of sounds of the selected category or
frequency and intensity will be displayed
• Select the sound
• Select the sound to which the instrument has to be configured
• Click Play
If the patient could not hear the sound properly, go to the fitting screen and make
adjustments to the fitting data until patient hears the sound played properly.
3.5.5 INTERPLAY
INTERPLAY allows you to select specific environment categories based on your
patient’s needs. To access INTERPLAY:
• Click the INTERPLAY icon at the right side of the INTERPLAY ™

sound library
When INTERPLAY is successfully started, the screen shown in Fig 3.8 will appear.
Each picture represents a sound environment category.

Fig 3.8 The INTERPLAY main screen
Let’s take a look at how INTERPLAY works. During an initial fit, INTERPLAY can be used
to counsel on real world settings. From INTERPLAY main screen shown in Fig 3.8, select the
interactive file best suited for a clinician’s purpose. For example, if the clinician wants to
demonstrate the benefit of amplification, then the “birds and stream” or “thunder and rain”
files would be used. Fig 3.9 and Fig 3.10)

Fig 3.9 The birds and stream environment

Fig 3.10 The Thunder and Rain environment
The Thunder & Rain and Birds and Stream selections contain individual sounds that
vary in intensity. The closest thunder bolt or bird is the loudest; the farthest thunder
bolt or bird is the softest (See Fig 3.9 and Fig 3.10). To demonstrate the benefit of
amplification, the clinician would see how many birds the patient heard without
hearing aids and then how many birds he heard with hearing aids. These two
interactive files are excellent to use with children.
The Automobile displays various loudness levels noted inside an automobile. The
diverse selection of environmental car sounds offers the clinician several ways to
demonstrate aided benefit and counsel on the effects that different signals have on one
in another (e.g. if the radio is playing, a hearing-impaired patient may not hear the turn
signal). To activate a sound, simply place the cursor over the desired signal and click.
The sounds presented vary in intensity, frequency, and duration as in real-life.
Although different loudness levels are present in this scenario, if the clinician finds an
overall issue with loudness, the sound matrix should be used to set loudness levels.
The Automobile Environment screen is shown in Fig 3.11.
Fig 3.11 The automobile environment
Demonstrating Signal-to-Noise Ratio

The Signal-to-Noise Ratio (S/N Ratio) file, allows you to demonstrate various S/N
Ratio settings. Oftentimes, the major complaint of a hearing aid user is not being able
to understand speech in the presence of background noise. This environment was
designed to allow the clinician to demonstrate different S/N Ratios; set realistic
expectations for different S/N Ratios; and demonstrate the advantages of directional
microphone (DM)/assistive device (AD) technology.
In terms of counseling, S/N Ratio can be used by playing speech only and then slowly
making the background noise worse (e.g. from +10 to +5 to 0). Directional
microphone and assistive device technology can be demonstrated by having the
patient listen to the sound stimuli with and without the DM and AD technology. There
are three different couples represented. Different S/N Ratios can be selected for two of
the sound files. The third sound file, the Italian restaurant, has a stationary SNR of
approximately +7dB.
To activate the sound selection, choose the desired file by pressing on one of the
thumbnails at the bottom left corner. Choose your desired S/N Ratio by selecting the
appropriate level of background noise (“10” = +10SNR, “5” = +5dBSNR, “0” =
0dBSNR, and “off” means that no background noise will be present) and then press
Play. The Signal-to-Noise Ratio environment screen is shown in Fig 3.12.

Select the first picture
to adjust for close-up
conversation; the Click to
second picture to play Click to Choose o or 5
adjust for mid- Sound stop or 10
distance
conversation; and the
Sound
third picture (food) to
Fig 3.12
adjust for ambient
sound.
Fig 3.12 Signal-to-noise-ratio environment screen
Depending on the degree of the hearing loss and the patient’s SNR loss, you can
choose between the different signals to noise levels. There are different scenarios in
this environment, for which the speech level is constant but the noise level can be
changed.
Closing INTERPLAY.
• To close the INTERPLAY. Screen and return to the INTERPLAY Main
screen, click icon from the top left-hand corner of any INTERPLAY
screen.
• Or, you can click on the icon X at the top right-hand corner of the screen.

4 Data Logging
4.1 Overview
The Data Logging tool is to display data logged in the HI in a highly interactive
visual presentation that is easy to comprehend and to adjust the HI accordingly.
The Data Logging Wizard will help to step through the observations. Data
Logging tool is similar to the Text based Wizard.
Launched from the Data Logging tab (left-side) on the Fitting Screen, the data can
be viewed in chart or curve form. In addition, there is a wizard that will interpret
the data and make recommendations that can be applied to the fitting.
There is also a simple Summary screen that can be viewed from the fitting screen
(The Gain Adjustment screen). This screen displays a simple view of the most
important Data Logging items.
To use the Data Logging tools, the clinician must have Appraise2.1 (C3) or later,
a computer that meets or exceeds minimum requirements, and a Aspire HI.
4.1.1 Summary Screen

The Summary screen displays a simple view of the most important Data Logging
items such as following:
• Total Hours (sum of P1+P2+P3)
• Use Time – Hours per Day (format: xx.x ) = (Total Hours)/(Days since
Reset/Bum)
• Use Time – Hours per Program (pie chart: %)
To view the summary screens follow the steps below:

• Click on the Fitting tab on the left-side of the screen
• The fitting chart will be displayed by default
• A pie button will be displayed beside the fitting chart
• Click on the pie button, a screen shown in Fig 4.1 will be displayed
• The fitting chart will be toggled with the fitting curves as we click the pie
button.

Fitting chart Fitting chart/ fitting graphs
toggle button
Fig 4.1 The Summary screen
The summary screen displays the following:

• Pie charts for left and right Hearing Instruments respectively (in this case
only for the right)
• Pie chart is a summary of all the configured programs
• Each sector of pie chart gives the percentage of usage of each program
• Below the pie chart, fitting data will be displayed in tabular form
• Features of the Hearing Instrument are displayed between the fitting
tables.
4.1.2 Data logged

The following data is logged in Aspire devices:
• Use time after each time device is switched on
• Number of times program is changed
• Number of times device is turned on
• Total use time
• Use time per program
• Time that soft switching turns on directionality for each program where
soft switching is active

• Mean and standard deviation of sound input level for each program
(except telecoil and DAI programs)
• Mean and standard deviation of volume control change in program 1 for
each environment (only last 10 hours of use)
• Mean and standard deviation of volume control change in program 1 for
the following intervals of use time (0-10, 10-20, 20-40, 40-80, 80-160,
160-320, 320+)
• Hours of use in each environment for each program
4.2 Wizard
As mentioned earlier Wizard is launched by clicking the Data Logging tab in the
fitting screen. The wizard will interpret the data and make observations and
recommendations for the patient’s fitting. Fig 4.2 shows the wizard screen.
Fig 4.2 The Wizard screen
You will see the following in the wizard screen:
• The top half of the screen will display a chart of the data that is relevant to
a particular observation.
• The bottom half of the screen will list any observation (left) and the
solution(s) to these observations.

• For information on the charts, the user can press the Question mark icon
next to the charts.
• Link/Unlink button in the middle of the screen
• A Label which displays the current program the patient is listening. In the
figure it displays “Patient is listening to P1" as the selected program is
Basic which is P1
• Below the label a toggle button Fitting Curves/ ADL charts will be
displayed, which you can use to toggle between the charts and the fitting
curves.
4.2.1 How to adjust the Data Logging data

• Select the problem from the Observations list box
• A list of solutions will be displayed for the selected problem in the
Solutions list box
• Select the solution
• Click on the Apply button
4.3 Data-Graph view

This view will show the data logged in graphical format. On the top half of the
screen is the primary chart – Use Time per Program. The bottom half of the
screen is the secondary chart. The secondary chart can be changed with the drop
down menu.
To view the Data Logging data in the Graphical view, click on the Charts tab of
the Data Logging screen. A screen shown in Fig 4.3 will be displayed.

Fig 4.3 The graph view screen
The view displays the following:

• Total hours the programs are used
• Hours per day
• Pie charts of the programs
• Drop down menu with a list of Data Logging items
• Bar charts of the left and right Hearing Instruments
2.3.5 Charts List

Data Logging data can be viewed in the form of following charts:
Use Time – Total Hours
For a first fitting, the number of hours the hearing instrument has been
switched on since the fitting. For an existing fitting, the number of hours
the hearing instrument has been switched on since the last time data was
reset.
Use Time – Per Program

The number hours each program has been used.
Use Time – Per Environment

The number of hours the hearing instrument has been used in each of five
different listening environments.

Use Time – Hours Per Use
The number of times the hearing instrument was switched on for different
amounts of time. This data tells you how long the patient tends to wear the
hearing instrument at a time. For example, if the chart shows a value of 7
for the “+10hour” interval, it means that the hearing instrument was used 7
times for at least 10 hours.
VC - Change Per Program

The average volume control adjustment made by the user for each
program
VC – Change Per Environment

The average volume control adjustment made by the user in each of five
types of listening environments.
VC – Change Over Time

The average volume control adjustments made by the user in Program 1
over the time since data logging was started. This data reveals whether the
user tends to use the volume control more, less or the same over time.
Sound Level
The average level of input to the hearing instrument for each program.
Use Time – SoftSwitch

The percentage of time that the hearing instrument automatically switched
to directional mode. This chart only shows data for programs with
SoftSwitching active
Use Time – Hours Per Use

The number of times the hearing instrument was switched on for different
amounts of time. This data tell you how long the patient tends to wear the
hearing instrument at a time.
4.4 Data – Table view

In this view the Data Logging data will be displayed in tabular form. Data
Logging data for different programs is represented in the tables as shown in the
figure below.
To view tabular data, click on the Table tab in the Data Logging screen. A screen
as shown in Fig 4.4 will be displayed.

Fig 4.4 The Table View screen
The following data will be displayed in the tabular screen:

• Use Time for different programs of left and right Instruments Table
• Use Time – Hours Per Use for different programs of left and right
instruments Table
• Sound Level for different programs of left and right instruments Table
• Use Time for different environments for different programs of the left and
right instruments Table
• Use Time of Soft Switch in percentage (%) for different programs of left
and right instruments Table
• Program changes of left and right instruments Table
• Number of times the instrument used Table
• Export, Print and Next buttons are displayed
• Click on the print button to print the Data Logging tabular data
• Click on the next button to go to the next screen. A screen as

shown in Fig 4.5 will be displayed

Fig 4.5 The table view screen
The following data will be displayed in the tabular screen:

• Use Time Per Program of left and right instruments Table
• VC change Per Program of left and right instruments Table
• VC adjustments/ environments of left and right instruments Table
• VC Change Over Time of left and right instrument Table
• VC Change Per Environment of left and right instruments Table
• Export, Print and Previous buttons will be displayed
4.4.1 Export
• Click on the Export button at the bottom of the screen, below the
tables. The data will be exported to a *.csv file
4.4.2 Print
• Click on the button at the bottom of the screen, below the tables to
print the screen

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Table of Contents

2 Fitting Software: Appraise 3

Appraise 1.0 User Reference Manual Page 2 of 70

Fitting Software works in two modes:

Fig 2.1 NOAH Session Browser screen

Appraise 1.0 User Reference Manual Page 3 of 70

Figure 2.2 Module Selection window

Appraise 1.0 User Reference Manual Page 4 of 70

Fig 2.3 Launching Appraise

Appraise 1.0 User Reference Manual Page 5 of 70

Selection – This screen helps you to select the instrument or to find

End Session – This is the last part in the configuration of hearing

2.1 Patient Profile

2.1.1 Viewing Patient Profile

Fig 2.5 Patient Profile screen

Table 2.1 Hearing Aid Experience option table

2.1.2 Modify Patient Profile

• Click Save Fitting icon ( )from the Appraise tool bar

Fig 2.7 The Appraise Host dialog box

Fig 2.8 Appraise Profile Questionnaire Data dialog box

2.2 Selection Screen

Appraise 1.0 User Reference Manual Page 9 of 70

Place Holder for the HI Image

Selection Tool Bar

Fig 2.9 The Selection Screen

• A Selection Tool Bar on the top-left corner

• Highlighting the detected/selected instrument in the product list box. Fig

Appraise 1.0 User Reference Manual Page 10 of 70

• What’s Connected button in the middle of the screen

The actual list of instruments supported depends on the current version of

• If the instrument is not selected

• If the instrument is selected

o By default the system displays an image of the connected Hearing

Appraise 1.0 User Reference Manual Page 11 of 70

Fig 2.10 The selection screen with more information

o Click on the Additional Information icon on the top-right

Appraise 1.0 User Reference Manual Page 12 of 70

• If an audiogram was created, the Selection Screen appears with

Appraise 1.0 User Reference Manual Page 13 of 70

• If the audiogram is created with an insufficient number of main points

Appraise 1.0 User Reference Manual Page 14 of 70

Fig 2.13 Selection Screen with no Audiogram graph and

2.3.1 What’s Connected?

a. If the Hearing instrument is connected properly and is detected by your

b. If no Hearing Instrument is connected

c. If both of the Hearing Instruments connected do not belong to same family

Appraise 1.0 User Reference Manual Page 15 of 70

• Connect the Canta Open device EV60 to Hi Pro

Figure 2.14 The Instrument Reconfiguration dialog box

Figure 2.15 Instrument Reconfiguration dialog box

• Fitting tool bar on the top-left corner of the screen

• Linking and Unlinking button in between the graphs

• A Calibrate button in the middle of the screen which can be used to

• An Increase Selected Gain button and a Decrease Selected Gain button

• List of features supported by the connected instruments will be displayed

• An expanded Fitting tab with the following sub tabs

Fitting Tool Pie Toggle Mute Left Link/Unlink

Fig 2.16 The Fitting screen: Gain adjustment screen

Appraise 1.0 User Reference Manual Page 18 of 70

• You can make adjustments at a specific intensity

• You can make adjustment at all intensities

2.3.1 Linking and UnLinking

Figure 2.17 In linking mode

Figure 2.18 In unlinking mode