Are Phonak Paradise + CROS old technology now?

Hearing Aids
#1

I am on looking to get a new set of hearing aids. It will be my first CROS and first BTE hearing aid after always having ITC/ITE.

I think the Phonak Paradise + CROS seem the best fit for what I want. However Phonak have released the Lumity which are the same price currently so it is hard to justify the older Paradise model. The problem is that they don’t do the Lumity with a CROS or replaceable battery option.

From experience does anyone think that Phonak will get the Lumity working with the CROS? If yes what sort of release date would we be talking as an estimate? I was speaking to one audiologist a few months back and they said that Phonak would release a CROS with Phonak Virto Paradise in late 2023 so I am not sure if I should wait or if there is any truth in it.

Have also tried to speak with Phonak direct and they give no info of what they have in store for what is coming out next for a CROS.

My other option would be to go for the recently released Oticon Real 1s with CROS but only concern with that is the bluetooth connection not being as good as the Phonaks. I am an Android user and wouldn’t want to go over to Apple.

Can anyone recommend any other CROS hearing aids which have been recently released, have good bluetooth that can be used with Android and preferably come with a replaceable battery?

#2

@TBOX I don’t think there will be a lumity cros for awhile and I don’t think that the lumity will do a battery version as I think they are going the route of rechargeable but others maybe able to help you more on that front

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#3

I have Phonak Audeo Paradise P90 R’s, but without CROS. I’ve used them since September about a year and a half ago.
I have a wonderful audiologist. He is still listening to me and setting them up…my issues are understanding words in noisy environments. I live in the flightpath as aircraft approach on final about every minute or so.
My thought…I use automatic. It takes about 10 seconds for the hearing aids to change programs. Until then I may not hear well…
In the house i get very focused on listening/watching the news. tv is on my left… I get criticized for ignoring my wife. Specially when I use the tv adapter.
I’ve read everything I could about the Lumity hearing aids. They came out when my hearing aids were still new to me…
I don’t need CROS, so I have no experience there.

I don’t know how long it takes for my directional mikes to work. Noise on the left? how long does it take for the hearing aids to identify that, and swing to hear from the left.

I finally like the APP. I got my audiologists attention one time when I arrived early. By the time my appointment started, I had set up a custom program and saved it. Without that program I couldn’t hear his assistant seated about 8 feet away. I adjusted and selected clarity, reduced background noise, and tightend the speech recognition area to a version in front of me. When I showed him what I did he made real changes in my setup. I could tell his assistant was talking on the phone and understood what she said.

I want my hearing aids to work better. I want to hear better. I wouldn’t buy the Paradise hearing aids now if it were my choice. I want the latest version of the best hearing aids.

Hope this helps.
DaveL
Toronto

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#4

Thanks for the replies.

I’ve only ever worn a hearing aid on my left. As you can see from my audiogram my right won’t benefit from HA.

I really struggle when somebody is talking on my right even if they are sitting right next to me. So really need to sort that out.

The CIC/ITCs I have had only had a single microphone. Do dual microphones do better with sound coming from other directions?

#5

I wish I had the knowledge and skill to help.

I used to wear one in my left ear because I could only afford to buy one. I bought a Widex in the ear hearing aid. In a noisy restaurant i could hear a conversation 50 yards behind me; I couldn’t hear a person across a small table. Back then I had a friend with a cochlear implant. He told me he was always dizzy and might fall with only one hearing aid

I hope and trust that the helpful knowledgable people here will step up and help you.

DaveL

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#6

I think the Phonak Paradise + CROS is a good choice for you. The Oticon can work with Android phones but you need to make sure you have a compatible phone. One nicety of the Phonak Bluetooth is that can connect with other devices (like computers). It looks like the Paradise+CROS comes with a 13 battery so you should have decent battery life. I wouldn’t worry about not having the “latest” technology.

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#7

Thanks for the replies so far. Having looked further into this the CROS compatible Paradise units were released in 2019. To me that is very old. I will most likely go ahead and trial the Oticon Real 1s + CROS and live with the streaming issues (if any).

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#8

Hi, i’ve just ordered my more1s after evaluating them for some weeks. I dislike the way Apple acts, so i’m stuck to Android.
I’m using a Samsung Note10 - and needed quite some nerve until i learned how to work around the bluetooth-issues, but now it works (more or less) good.
Some little hints (they work for the Samsung - i don’t know how other phones behave):

  • Modern smartpones have ASHA ( Audio Streaming for Hearing Aid) support, what must eventually first be enabled.
  • Although HAs today are mostly radio-coupled , they act more like two seperate devices than one stereo. So there may be no problem to connect one ear, but the other may be still unreachable - and you can loose one connection but continue streaming with the other. In my case i have “2 devices connected” shown under the bluetooth-symbol if all is Ok - and only one Name if only one ear is found.
  • Have the Oticon ON App installed - even if you don’t use it, for me it helped to get both HAs connected. It’s a little bit odd: pairing with OticonON and pairing bluetooth are two different things. If you have OticonON running, bluetooth enabled and your mores in pairing-mode you have to confirm at least 4 times, that you want to pair your HAs.
    And maybe you have to pair them too with the bluetooth control panel.
    Then you will have no need to pair them again, even if they keep annoying you.
    (Except: if you have trouble with OticonCompanion or get a replacement)
  • if you see both HAs in the OticonON, you can connect them with the bluetooth-control and get “2 devices connected”. Then streaming works until you get out of reach of your phone. If you loose one HA, disconnect the HAs in the bluetooth-control, switch to OticonON and have it find them again - then reconnect them and they will work again.
  • OticonCompanion will work too, but there you also should plan a little time until it works.
    Hint: do not rely on RemoteCare for the first time. Try to establish your first RemoteCare-session while you are with your audi.

And at last: in your “1½-ear” case MoreSound Booster may work or not also with streaming. For me, it does.

Good luck!

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#9

I too am waiting for news of the CROS model in the Lumity range. If you do a Google search for “Phonak CROS L-R” you will find some regulatory documents that suggest that one is definitely under development. But don’t expect Sonova to reveal any advance information about anticipated release, since publicly-quoted companies are so constrained in their sharing of information.

Here are a few bread crumbs that might or might not lead you (like me) to wait a few months rather than go with the P series versions. The Paradise range was introduced in mid-August 2020, and the CROS model precisely a year later. The Lumity range debuted in mid-August 2022.

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#11

I’ve had computer trouble (fixed now) I haven’t been able to get on. I’m sorry I didn’t see your message.

As a 76 year old, still working. I’ve used hearing aids for about 20 years. I have been successful claiming my hearing loss due to exposure to noise (working in construction; I get schools built). There are pluses and minuses with that.

I’m the first patient my audiologist has fitted with Paradise P90 hearing aids. I can’t readily switch audiologists, and setup has taken a long time. He cares a lot.

I believe the Lumity hearing aids are a real improvement based on your comments. I shall be allowed new hearing aids in about 3 years…there likely will be even better hearing aids then.

I really appreciate your knowledge and responses to me here.

Dave Lynch

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#12

The Phonak MFA (Made for All) bluetooth technology may be more power-consuming as compared to AHSA protocol (which uses Bluetooth Low Energy). There are quite a lot of complaints about intermittently loosing bluetooth connection for Sonova aids (Phonak, Kirland 10).
I am not sure any improvement on Lumity but if it can connect to ordinary bluetooth devices, then I think it is not employing the bluetooth low-energy protocol.

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#13

I am caught in the middle of the situation which is discussed. I currently use the Costco KS-10 version of the Phonak Paradise 90. During the two years I have used it I have had a noticeable decline in word understanding. My nearby ENT Clinic has a technician to clean the wax out of the canal. They also require that I have a hearing test every two years in order to keep coming back for canal cleaning. The last time I had one of the senior ENT doctors remove the ear wax. He wears hearing aids too. Since it is the Stanford University ear clinic in Palo Alto, I believe that they are probably as up jo date as any. I have had him a few times more in the past and he knows that I get my hearing aids from Costco. For the first time, he told me that he thought I should go to their audiologists because my hearing had decreased dramatically. I followed his advice and an audiologist told me that she believed that I would do better with a BICROS with Paradise 70. She said that they could not connect a BICROS to the Costco version. We also spoke about the newer Lumity models without the BICROS.

I made an appointment with her and she will let me try the Lumity aids for a few weeks and then the Paradise BICROS set. I told her I was uncomfortable with the latter since I already had the Paradise set and need more. I brought up the question about a Lumity BICROS combo but she told me it does not exist, but could. I contact headquarters directly and they answered me that they do not have the Lumity mode, but admitted that the technology to pair it with a BICROS aid takes a while, maybe two or three years after a new model release. They didn’t say they would have one under study, although they didn’t say that would not develop one.

So, I am going to try thr Lumity 90 aids to see if their claims of clearer hearing or better word recognition is true and then I’ll try the Paradise BICROS version. If that is better than the Lumity I plan to hold off investing in either to see if Phonak does introduce the Lumity combo. I’ve been deaf for more than 60 years, I think I’ll wait a bit longer before deciding.

Oh and if the Lumity alone is really all I need, I will get them. As I told her when she told me that using any BICROS combo will shut off all sound to my worse ear, which still has some positive hearing range. I told her it would be like amputating a weaker arm and placing all on the good arm.

Thanks for letting me share some ideas.

Ed

#14

Have you ruled out cochlear implant candidacy before giving up on that ear completely and moving to a biCROS?

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#15

I have given thought to it, but I decided to wait and try other hearing aids.

#16

Maybe your delay is based on fear. If you were to read the comments of those who have had a cochlear implant installed, many of them say that they should have done it sooner, that the sound was much clearer and that their ear has now become dominant because it understands better, etc. Do not be afraid, talk to the doctors who they know more about it.

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#17

If you do reconsider cochlear, at Stanford I recommend you consult Dr Konstantina Stankovic, the department chair, who was my otologist at Massachusetts Eye & Ear Hospital. I wasn’t a cochlear patient, but she was a good and responsive doctor with very impressive credentials.

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#18

Expect a new Lumity CROS L-R in August – you heard it here first!

#19

Nice to hear about Lumity CROS L-R in August. I have however had my audiologist Bi-Cros recommended as a possible solution for profound loss in right ear and declining word recognition in my left. I can’t fathom having an implant in my head …shades of the film “the President’s Analyst”…

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