Volusiano, thank you for the very clear explanation of the difference between the Opn More and the Phillips Hearlink background noise suppression technologies and how each brand employs artificial intelligence.
I would appreciate if you could share the link to the white paper you referred to in your explanation so I can give it to my audiologist.
Vigetan, thank you for your suggestion. Once the new KS-10 comes out, I will do another trial of both the Phillips Hearlink and the KS-10. My audiologist has offered to set the background setting to each parameter throughout the trial and can now do it remotely instead of me having to visit in person.
@runner: I like this. Itās one of the most concise statements on hearing aid brands that I have seen.
@hpres: Because of the number of Oticon technical white papers on their site, I havenāt āOneboxedā individuals ā¦ itās easy to navigate their download site.
I canāt help you with the Philips technical stuff, unfortunately.
Good luck.
I suspect this is the Phillips whitepaper: https://wdh01.azureedge.net/-/media/hearing-solutions/pdf/global/white-papers/ph_hl_wp_next_generation_20-h2_uk.pdf?la=en&rev=9313&hash=6E4EE44D06F0E2D5210F21BB5B871769
apologies for asking a ānewbieā question here, Iām considering getting my first paid of aids, have been putting it off for years. Costco hearing aids are perfect price range but Iāve heard they are older models made by bigger brands? Are connectivity on these reliable?
The Costco models may or may not be the latest model, but they are still quite current. I think many would question if the connectivity on ANY hearing aid is reliable. Costcoās are no better or worse. Your hearing loss should be able to be helped by any of the brands that Costco carries. Connectivity is a little tricky because people mean different things. Thereās streaming from a cell phone. Thereās streaming from other devices like computers. Thereās an app that allows some control over the hearing aid. Not every phone is compatible. Some are compatible with the app, but not streaming. Sometimes even the HA fitters arenāt clear.
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@MDB already gave you the link for the Phillips Hearlink 9030 whitepaper.
If you want the MoreSound Intelligence whitepaper (that I referred to) for comparison with the Phillips Hearlink 9030 whitepaper, hereās that link: https://wdh01.azureedge.net/-/media/oticon/main/pdf/master/whitepaper/69674uk_tech_paper_moresound_intelligence.pdf?la=en&rev=3F19&hash=B5DB11DE0F46CCEF6E2409805F73A672
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ah thank you for the reply! I just thought connectivity as in being able to stream from my phone and TV, didnāt know thereāre all these types. Just wondering do these Phillips HAs allow for phone streaming and android connections?
They are āMade for iPhoneā and they are āASHAā compatible which means they will basically work with Pixel 3 and later and Samsung S10 and later phones. If you want wider Android compatibility youāll need the KS9 or Phonak Brio 4 models or youāll need another device to go carry along with your hearing aids.
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VOLUSIANO and MDB
Thanks for the links to both white papers.
In my observations of the new Phillips Hearlinks, I failed to mention there was no difficulty connecting to my iPhone 10 with iOS 14.4.1 or iPad Air 4 and actually connected faster than my KS-8s. Just like my KS-8s, the auto handoff feature of both Appleās mfi or the LE Bluetooth standard did not work but turning off streaming on the device not in use overcomes that glitch.
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Iāve observed the MFI auto handoff feature work only 1 time between my iPhone 7 Plus and iPad for my OPN 1, and thatās probably by random chance. Most of the times it doesnāt work. And yes, thatās common knowledge that you can pair your MFI hearing aids with multiple iOS devices and just turn off BT on the unused device guarantees that you get proper MFI connection with the chosen device.
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I donāt normally give reviews, but this is something you should know if you are a musician and you need a hearing aid. Costcoās Jabra hearing aids are pretty special. I initially bought a pair of Philips aids, but they interpreted my cello sounds as feedback, and gave a very fast, annoying vibrato/tremolo to every note I heard being played. I would have had to play my cello without the aids. I did a lot of research, and was going to return to Costco with a list of adjustments that I wanted; I doubt that the Philips could even be calibrated the way needed. Then I found out by the research (see link below) that the Jabra hearing aids incorporate technology from their parent company, Resound. They have a special āmusic modeā that is more than just tweaking the settingsāit accomplishes all that I had wanted. This includes: an increase in the peak decibel limiting level to 106dB (since music is unlike speech), wide dynamic range compression, lower compression ratios, more accurate cancelling of feedback, omnidirectional sound pickup, noise controls turned to āoff.ā If you play a musical instrument, these are the ones to get! The speech mode is, in my opinion, just as good as the Philips, and you get more control of how you want it to sound. There is also a setting for noisy situations, such as conversations in restaurants. Costco was very good about exchanging my Philips aids for the Jabra ones.
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Which Jabra aids did you buy? Did you compare the preset music modes in each? Did you try Widex which some musicians seem to like?
Jabra Enhance Pro 20. I did try the preset music mode in Philips but it is not at all the same; it produced the impossible to bear tremolo effect. The Jabras have differences in their capabilities, not just calibration differences. The Jabras incorporate the changes in the research paper I listed, which refers to the research of Dr. Chasik and others. No, I did not try the Widex. They are much, much more expensive than what Costco offers, and Costcoās Jabras (which are made by Resound) solve all my problems. I have severe to profound hearing loss in the most crucial frequencies of my cello, and yet these hearing aids allow me to now play and hear the overtones which were previously lopped off on the input of most other hearing aids. And no tremolo effect. Try them. Costco gives a 6 month free trial during which they can be returned. (I have no connection to Costco except as a satisfied customer).
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That pdf is an interesting read. Music is a big part of my life and it is important for me to get the best out of a music program. I am being fitted with philips 9040ās next week, I had read many people having positive experiences with the way they handle music however there seems to be occasional mention of the vibrato effect. If I run into similar problems I will have a go at the jabras.
The researcher I meant to refer to is Dr. Marshall Chasin. You can find his research online about on music and hearing aids, but the article I have cited sums up the important points. Higher decibel input, lower compression ratios, wider frequency range, and a specific feedback programs that does not interpret musical tones as feedback. I rarely endorse products, but it took me a long time to find this research. And the Jabras have made such a difference for me, that I thought it was important to share my experience as a musician and save time for others who may be experiencing similar problems.
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This is always a good place to start for those of you having trouble with your music.
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Iām surprised to hear this. 106 dB input dynamic range is not that impressive. I googled the input dynamic range for hearing aids and the ReSound LiNX Quattro is said to have 116 dB SPL. I know Oticon has 113 dB SPL. Phonak probably has the same 113 dB SPL as well, IIRC.
I have Philips 9040s (my first HAs and just got them in December so quite new to all this) and hated them for music when I just used the general program - had that vibrato effect youāre talking about whenever listening to a sustained note, and a lot of suppression where there shouldnāt have been. Getting the audiologist to install the Philips music program (they call it āhifi musicā) and then also fiddling about with the equalizer settings in the phone app was a game-changer for me.
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