Is the Hearing Office software noah compatible? My experience with noah 3

• The Hearing Office software programs are not noah compatible. I don't foresee this changing until noah network stability and performance improves. I posted the most recent information about my experience with HIMSA at the bottom of this page.
  

My Experience

I work in a dispensing office, and have first hand experience using noah software. I can't comment on a stand alone version of the noah 3 software because we use a network version.. Last year, February 2002, I upgraded my office from noah 2 to noah 3 with a 3-6 seat license. I needed to add another workstation. Since you can no longer buy additional licenses of noah 2.x, I was forced to upgrade to noah 3. I had used noah 2. since the initial release in the 90's. For that time period, the program worked well. Given the many years since the original release of noah 2, which was never updated during this time, I felt that noah 3 had to be better. Also I was receiving those nice four color brochures from HIMSA telling me what an innovation noah 3 would be for my office. Guess again!

 

• The upgrade singlehandedly brought my office to a standstill! The version I was sent, 3.0.3, had been on the market for a year. It's now been over two years since noah 3 was released. Here's the list of problems we encountered:
  • The server software.
    • The server software is difficult to install. You can't just run the setup file. The installation requires editing system files. I just downloaded the 3.1b patch, 3/1/2003, and contrary to what HIMSA writes, the problem was not corrected.
    • For unknown reasons, the server stops responding. You don't know when this might happen. Sometimes we have no problems for a week. Other days we have multiple stops. Typically you must reboot the server and any workstations that use noah to restore function.
    • The server software is not run as a dedicated service. This means it is difficult to do backup and won't use system resources efficiently.
  • The compatibility screen is a pain in the butt.
    • Sometimes it gets buried under other screens and you can't find it. You know it is there because unless it is closed, you can't launch a module
    • Other times you close it accidentally before the module is closed. This will crash the workstation. To get back to work, you will need to restart the server computer and workstations/
  • The network version is slooooow--only slightly faster than a sneaker network!
  • The network client software installer is not intuitive
    • When installing noah software on the workstations, you must be very careful to close Noah 3 on any of your workstations. This is true for new installs as well as updates. If you don't and attempt to install the software on the next workstation, the installation will fail. You don't get a message explaining why it failed. Why can't the installer determine that another work station is using Noah? At the very minimum the software installer should do one of the following:
      • tell the user to close Noah on the workstation before it will allow the user to proceed with the installation. This message should identify which client is using Noah.
      • attempt to close Noah remotely on the open workstation
      • successfully install Noah on the current workstation and require a reboot to activate.
  • Hearing aid modules that worked in noah 2 are dysfunctional in noah 3.
    • We had no problems with the Starkey, Siemens, Phonak, and ReSound software in noah 2. When we upgraded to noah 3, these modules had problems. Subsequent 32 bit releases by these companies did not remedy the problems. I don't know about other hearing aid modules, but I doubt they fare any better.
    • You can't work with multiple modules at the same time.
    • Simple things that you take for granted, like recalling a previous session, don't always work.
    • How about going back to a previous binaural fitting sessions and only finding settings for one ear? This isn't a problem unless a hearing aid was lost and now you need to enter the old settings into the new aid but you can't retrieve the old settings!
    • Even though modules must be certified by HIMSA, there is no guarantee that they will work properly. When a module stops responding, you must reboot the workstation and the server. This will cause lots of disruption in your office. Hearing aid companies won't fix a problem with their module if they feel the problem is related to something that noah is or isn't doing. Read below about the lack of cooperation between anyone that tries to work with HIMSA.
  • The backup tool is awful!
    • The backup tool can't pause the noah service to backup files. You must physically close noah on every workstation. If you try to backup using the noah tool and a workstation is running noah, you get a generic message that the backup failed. That's better than nothing, but not ideal.
    • There is no scripting of the backup tool. You cannot set the backup tool to run unattended at a specific time. Someone must physically run the tool from a workstation. I believe the backup process should be automatic and done daily.
    • The noah backup tool cannot shutdown the noah service. If you could shut down the noah service in the evening, then you could use a backup application to backup the noah.mdb file. If the service is not shutdown, you run the risk that the file you wish to backup, noah.mdb, is open. If the file was open when the backup software ran, the backup will be corrupt and useless. The only way to be sure that your backup software will make a valid backup is to reboot/restart the computer at a specific time each night and then run the backup software. I have never had to do this with any server software!
    • I communicated the backup issue to HIMSA. They felt weekly backup was enough. They were not interested in addressing my concern and felt their tool was adequate. Some days my office is so busy that I couldn't afford to lose a day's worth of data much less a week's worth! Again, I believe the backup process should be automatic and done daily. Maybe that's why we never had problems with our noah 2 database becoming corrupted. When we had a crash, we deleted the crashed files and installed the backup files from a tape. As you'll read below, corruption of noah 2 data is one of the ways HIMSA gets users to upgrade to noah 3. Click here to see why I think daily back up is important
  • Technical support is terrible!
    • You cannot deal directly with HIMSA. There are only four of them in the US and they are not setup to do tech support with the consumer.
    • You must deal with the company that sold you the software, typically a hearing aid company. The hearing aid companies rely on HIMSA for their support. I found that the vendor's support from HIMSA was poor, which translated into my problems not getting resolved quickly.
    • There is a lot of finger pointing. HIMSA blames the hearing aid company's module, even though HIMSA certified the module. The hearing aid companies blame HIMSA because the noah 3 system doesn't work well. This is especially true since the hearing aid companies' stand alone version of the software works well either as a single installation or networked. No matter how much you may like the vendor that sold your software, if they can't get help from HIMSA your problems don't get solved. I tend to side with my vendor, but when there's a problem you're stuck with the patient in your office and unable to program the hearing aid.
  • After spending two months working with the installation, I moved the noah 3 server application to a separate computer. The program is by itself on another computer which I've nicknamed Lucifer!. The advantage to this was that I don't have to stop my office management program and reboot all the workstations when noah crashes. I just reboot the three that use noah! I've upgraded to noah 3.1b this year. While stability is a little better, we still have crashes and the above problems remain.
  • I don't feel this software is ready for general usage. I would recommend that you wait to use noah 3 until HIMSA get's it right! It will be interesting to see how HIMSA resolves these problems. For instance, will they require users to buy another upgrade to fix the problems? This question is further complicated by the fact that noah 2, because of its' age, does not run well on Win XP Pro. It is hard to buy a new computer today that doesn't not include XP as the operating system. I don't have an ax to grind with HIMSA, but I resent being a beta tester. I was never paid for the time I wasted on their software. I don't like buying expensive software that doesn't work well. When an organization had as many years to prepare a new program as HIMSA, the program should install easily and work well. If the Hearing Office software worked as poorly as noah, I wouldn't be using it and you would never see it!.
• There are a few reasons that you might want or be forced to upgrade or buy noah 3
  • If your noah 2.x database becomes corrupted beyond repair.
    • If you've been getting a lot of those error messages with the red hand, you may be forced to upgrade to noah 3. Eventually the noah 2 repair utilities fail to repair the database and the only way to recover your data is to upgrade to noah 3--how convenient for HIMSA! Again, this is why it is important to do a daily backup.
  • If you are buying noah for the first time.
    • HIMSA has stopped selling noah 2.x, so you will have to buy noah 3 if you need noah software. Read below on my tip to finding used copies of noah 2.
  • If you need to centralize your fittings.
    • If you are fitting lots of different brands of software, you probably need to use noah. If you fit mostly one or two brands, check with the vendor to see if they have a stand alone version of their software. If they do, maybe you won't need noah 3 at all. Some venders also have their own programming hardware so you can get around having to buy a hipro box as well. Not using noah 3 software and a hipro box will save you money and time! I have not experience with the new noah link, and I don't plan on spending any more money with HIMSA until they fit Noah 3.
  • If you have an existing noah 2 installation and want to add additional computers.
    • You can't buy new additional noah 2 copies anymore. You might try posting a WTB, want to buy, on some of the audiology and hearing aid bulletin boards for a used copy. Just make sure you buy a legal version that includes a serial number. If you buy a 2 version somebody upgraded, meaning they used the serial number to buy the noah 3 upgrade, they really can't sell you their old copy.
• So having read through the above, you decide that you need to use noah 3. If you are like most offices, you'll dedicate one computer to programming hearing aids and another to office management. Hearing Office users report that they reenter the first and last names of their patients in the noah database which is located in a fitting room on a dedicated computer. The remainder of their office management is done on a separate computer placed at the front desk. Contrary to what hearing aid manufacturers want you to believe, you don't need every piece of hardware in your office networked together through noah. I would never use noah software for anything but hearing aid programming.
• So you've read my bias, but you simply must network noah. Here's my advise:
  • Check the HIMSA site frequently for information. There is as much information on the HIMSA site as you will get from a hearing aid companies' tech support. The web site is open 24/7 and there are no long hold times! HIMSA is making some progress at improving stability.
  • GOOD LUCK!

A final note about networking and noah 3
I have two servers and six workstations in our office. I couldn't run my office without a network. We've never had problems networking the Hearing Office software. I'm not against networking, but most audiologists and hearing aid dispensers are ill prepared for the the task of setting up and maintaining a local area network. Networking is not for the faint of heart! Most are also not prepared for the expense of paying someone else to do it. I think that most audiologists and dispensers simply want their computers to work. Kinda like turning on a light when you go into a dark room. You just expect the light to come on when you flip the switch. I am sad to say that when it comes to computer technology and networking, it's just not that simple. Using the noah software makes this process more difficult. Think twice before investing time and money in making your office "noah compatibility"

Update April 8, 2004

This year I attended the AAA conference in Salt Lake. While at the conference, I took time to stop at the HIMSA booth. First the good and then the bad news.

Good News

• Noah Link
  • This is the new wireless hardware interface that HIMSA has been very excited about. I was pleased to learn that to the new hardware attempts to decrease the number of cables dispensers need to program hearing aids. I am so tired of trying to keep up with the different types of cables needed to program Starkey's and Resound's aids. However, none of your old programming cables will not work with Noah link and you will need to get new cables--I am not sure why this was done. I was told there were seven different types of cables for the current group of hearing aid companies that support Noah link. I wonder whether we will really see any change in the number of cable as different hearing aid companies adopt the new hardware?. Seven cables seems like a for the few companies that are compliant today.
• New Backup Software coming
  • I could not get details, but something other than the present manual system is coming. I still can't believe that this wasn't a priority with the initial release of the program. Hopefully, we will get something with a user friendly interface that we can script to work automatically.

Bad News

• Noah Performance
  • I asked the question about whether they were working on improving performance of the program. The HIMSA representative that I spoke to took off on how they were constantly introducing updates and felt that reliability had improved. I reminded him that my question was about performance and agreed that reliability had improved. He then lectured me on the good job HIMSA was doing selling NOAH 3 in the US. He never answered my question about performance. I continue to feel that the program runs very slowly and needs a major speed boost. I will acknowledge that we are experiencing fewer crashes with each patch, but reliability still needs more work!
• Noah Tech Support
  • If you go to the HIMSA site frequently to check for updates, you will notice that they interrogate you each time by asking you name, address, phone number, etc . . . when you try to get to the download area. I hate having to input this information each time just to check for an update. In addition, you really can't find out the benefits of a particular update.
    • HIMSA knows who every user of their software is in the world because of the aggressive license process. Why can't they take the initiative to contact users when they post an update? It seems like a simple thing, but it would save us time. In the announcement, they should also include information about what problems were addressed and how the update will benefit users.
  • I questioned the HIMSA representative about the changes in 3.1e patch to 3.1.2. He was unable to provide me with details about what was different. He did instruct me to go the the www.noah3.com site for more information. I told him that was previously done, but there was not specific information posted. He then became upset and and told me to check with the vendor where I purchased Noah 3. Incidentally, I did this previously but the vendor did not know what the differences were between the two version--another example of how the HIMSA doesn't support their vendors! The only thing that is clear about 3.1.2 is that the installed base of NT users should not apply the update.

The HIMSA group, I counted four at the show, continues to be hostile. They will not answer my email, and refer me to the vendor where I purchased their software. They want to provide some support, as evidenced by their download section, but they don't want to provide personal contact. They won't post a list of know problems, nor will they post a list of problems that they are working on. When I provided a personal appearance, I did not fare any better. I feel like they are most interested in selling new hardware and software at the shows, and not interested in visiting with their customers. Recently they sent me a questionnaire about their program--they had no trouble sending this to my email address. The questionnaire is long, and you don't know what they are doing with the information. Hopefully the informaton will be used to improve the program.

I get no satisfaction out of bashing HIMSA, but consumers who take enough time to research HIMSA should find out how they treat their customers. All that I am trying to do it is help them improve their software--a program that was released before it was ready for consumers.

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