It all depends on what you are trying to do. Because of battery/power limit that are part of hearing aids. Bluetooth is too power hungry to work directly with aids. BTLe will overcome that but that is in the future for Android etc. The BTLe is part of BT 5. That has to happen in other devices with the proper hardware in them.
Don’t the existing Android HA control apps need BLE to talk to the HA’s?
They us UHF sound. Your dog may hear it. 
The ReSound Android app doesn’t work when Bluetooth is turned off. Also it uses 2-way communication with the aids, which I thought ultrasound can’t do.
Trialing Phoak Brio 3 R C having swapped from Kirkland 8’s. So far, very happy with them. Only have three stock programs installed, how many programs can they accommodate ?
1 Like
I’ve wondered about this too. Apart from custom molds, the unit manufacturing costs of today’s hearing aids, I suspect, are actually quite low. It might cost more money to recondition returned aids than it would to replace them with new, unsold stock.
they destroy them for several reasons, not the least of which is keep prices high by limiting options in the used market.
1 Like
I suspect there are two reasons unrelated to controlling prices on the used market. First, there is the potential legal liability if someone claimed to have gotten an infection from a used hearing aid. Second, if you look at the hearing aids there is no easy way to disassemble them. It is easier to just replace them. I had mine repaired twice under warranty and both times it was obvious they gave me a new unit.
1 Like
I have the version 2 and I love them.best that I have ever had. I am sure that your version is better. They should have given you a music program for more realistic sound since they have a system that changes frequencies that you cannot hear into ones that you can (which normally distorts music)They also have a option that shares the sounds from the other ears I use this with my zoom program. I can lift my cell phone to be close to one of the mics and then can hear the phone in both ears. Try a different audie and ask for one that specializes in the brio.
Just discovered this forum today and wanted to respond. I am 40 years old and have worn hearing aids since the age of about 1 or 2.
I purchased/received Costco Phonak Brio 3 hearing aids at the beginning of August and have so far not been impressed. I have had 2 adjustments since receiving the hearing aids. I saw someone post the following and am glad because I thought I was going crazy…“AutoSense programs on the Brio 3 and they are always changing and can’t make there mind up on which one to stick too.”
I got my last adjustment yesterday and the hearing aids ware better but I can still detect a change every so slightly today.
I am trying to role with these new hearing aids because by purchasing them at Costco I saved $3,000.
Am I being crazy? Are a lot of other people experiencing the fact that the AutoSense works on it’s own?
Which model Brio 3? The Phoak Brio 3 R C has advanced Phonak technology using the new SWORD chip. The regular Brio3 is older technology which is the same technology as the Brio 2 except for cosmetic changes and software changes for SoundRecover 2 (which you may or may not use). See this thread;
Brio 3 Processor.
I had the new Brio3 RC and traded them in for the Resound Forte. The difference for me was night and day. The Resound’s are more natural sounding and the phone app is fantastic.
You have a 181 day return option at Costco. So, no need to panic. Might want to take Dannystroup’s suggestion and try the Resounds. Different strokes for different folks. Phonaks have been great for me, but they may not be the best choice for you.
Unlike our American friends, we in Canada only have a 90 day trial with Costco.
That sounds very much like my experience. The automatic program is supposed to adapt to the environment. Maybe I need an adjustment, but I found that they overcompensated for my left side, which has very poor hearing. I’d much prefer something stable that I can tweak as required.
Yes, the Autosense thing just goes nuts when there is a lot going on in the environment. Say there is loud air handling equipment around, and people carrying on a conversation. When someone speaks it lowers the background and focuses on the speech. Then there is a pause and it raises the background. Then person 2 speaks and in 10 seconds it has made 6 changes, and it is obvious these changes are taking place.
I don’t care. When I can sit at a table with 5 other people, in a loud restaurant, and the normal hearing people are straining, and I catch every word? It can do it however it wants to, and I will just keep smiling. No previous generation hearing aids have been able to do this for me.
Maybe all current generation HAs can do this, but I’m probably not going to find out, unless things suddenly go bad.
1 Like
whats Smart mic? I have K8 hearing aids and would like to have ph calls streamed directly to my aids also to be able to listen to some teaching apps like while out walking. I there anything for that?
Thanks
Blanche
Talk to your Costco fitter. If you don’t have an iphone then an extra intermediate device is your only choice.
Thanks for sharing. What’s new version for it?
WOW. I bought it and it is not good at all