Hi, while I’m new here I’ve been on boards for years and I hope it’s ok if I jump right in with my questions. I’ve done a lot of reading here and elsewhere and haven’t found answers to these questions. I have a very professional audiologist and a relative is an audiologist. I’m looking at the Unitron, which is owned by the Dainish firm, Sonova Holdings. The latter also owns Phonak.
I’m told Unitron gives more bang for the buck in terms of features.
I’m also looking at the Zon on the recommendation of my relative audiologist. My audi called my relative who is 1,000 miles away, and we talked on the speaker phone. She wound up saying the unitron would be fine and not to worry about the water proofing issue. I didn’t get to ask her the question I’m asking here. She’s a long time audi with a nursing degree and works in her husband’s office. He’s an ENT. They don’t sell aids.
The question my audiologist couldn’t really answer is, given that an 8 channel Unitron costs $3,000 and a 16-channel $4,000, what is the marginal benefit of the 16 over the 8? What is the percentage improvement in performance, etc. Is it worth it. He says the 16-channel gives him the ability to tune the aid better.
Thoughts?