Demant introduces Philips HearLink hearing aids

Press Releases
#46

We just updated our story here Costco to Sell Philips Hearing Aids - From $1,249.99 with a response from Demant:

How are Open Sound Navigator and Speech Guard different from SoundMap and SoundTie?

OpenSound Navigator and Speech Guard are features only provided in Oticon products (Opn, Opn S, Opn Play). Their respective role is to help patient understanding speech in noise and making sounds audible. This goal is addressed by Phillips HearLink in a different manner. While Oticon and Philips products both offer innovative technologies for these key patients-needs, they do it following a different approach. OpenSound Navigator has a unique three stage processing in noisy environments with an Analysis, Balance and Noise Removal. The goal is to allow for significantly improved performance in noisy situations without creating the unnaturally narrow listening window created by beam forming. SoundMap Noise Control uses a more conventional approach with a Directionality and Noise Reduction, but here using a twin-microphone to estimate noise more accurately. On the amplification side, Speech Guard uses a linear gain window to optimally preserve small changes in level (speech modulations), while, SoundMap amplification integrates a noise estimate that controls compression ratio to better preserve speech information in noisy environments. SoundTie is the name of the connectivity solution of Philips HearLink. It shares the core transmission technologies (2.4GHz Blutooth low energy, Near-Field Magnetic Induction) with other products of the Demant group, including Oticon.

Is there anything in the Philips aids that would provide something similar to the OpenSound Optimizer feature found in the Opn S?

Demant has developed and patented a core technology to detect and control feedback in a much faster way than conventional technology, and which does not make use of conventional frequency shift and gain reduction. This core technology is applied in both Philips and Oticon products to provide state of art/ market leading feedback control.

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Philips HearLink 9030 observations (new Costco aid by Demant)
#47

Thank you very much! The mention of Opn Play caught my eye so I looked it up. It’s their pediatric version.

#48

So now I don’t see any purpose for this product.

Demant now offers the Oticon Opn, and now 3 differently named but very similar 2nd tier products under “B” brands…

#49

I suspect it’s “purpose” is to provide a separate brand to sell through Costco.

#50

The OpenSound Navigator is the heart of the OPN, so it is now pretty official that the Phillips Hearlink is not really the OPN. It is most likely the Sonic Enchant product then. I don’t really know much about Bernafon but there’s a possibility that Bernafon and Sonic share the underlying technologies as well.

It’s entirely understandable that the OpenSound Optimizer (the feedback prevention technology) can be separated out and used independently from the OpenSound Navigator technology. So I’m not surprised that William Demant implements this technology on the Phillips Hearlink.

Similar with the Lithium Ion rechargeable technology, it can easily be adapted by any of these sister brands. Having the same rechargeable technology on the OPN S and now on the Phillips Hearlink doesn’t mean that the Hearlink is the same as the OPN S.

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#51

“I suspect it’s “purpose” is to provide a separate brand to sell through Costco.”

Redundant. They now have Costco covered via both Philips and Bernafon.

#52

That’s incorrect. They’ve dropped Bernafon.

#53

How many channel it has or channel free operation? Compare to opn s 64

#54

If Demant was not successful selling Bernafon through Costco then I don’t see why they will fare better with Philips.

Resound succeeds both in and out of Costco because the basic hearing experience of their de-featured and later released Costco product is the same as their flagship product. Demant is not offering the same basic hearing experience as the OPN through Costco, so I don’t see the appeal.

#55

HearLink does not seem to closely match a specific model name-brand hearing aid? So (imo), maybe you would be buying a pig in a poke :face_with_raised_eyebrow:

#56

It’s all speculation at this point, but maybe Demant plans to put some effort into marketing. Now that they’ve got a clearly differentiated product that’s not directly competing with their private audis, maybe they feel they have more freedom to market.

#57

Found more spec sheets Information for professionals about Philips HearLink hearing aids

#58

Do we have any info on who will be selling these besides Costco? Must be somebody as they have a full set of levels and I’m guessing Costco will only sell the most advanced level.

#59

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It’s formally in Costco canada and till now they don’t have the enough details for programming or software. They took out Bernafon and said this “could” be replacement of it

#60

My fitter said Philips is Bernafon with a couple changes. Looks like Costco might be selling Philips over the counter aids when the time comes.

#61

Does anyone know if the Oticon domes and wax traps will fit the Philips Mini-rite?

#62

I got my Philips hearing aids (MiniRITE 312’s) yesterday, and have confirmed that their domes and wax traps are DIFFERENT than my old Oticon Agil Pros.

I’ll post a review of my new Philips HAs after I’ve had them for a little while.

#63

The miniRite model uses different receivers then the old Agil model, your Philips miniRite receivers would be the same ones used by Oticon OPN and any other manufactured by Demant.

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#64

Can you ask demant to update their answer to this question based on their latest technology?

#65

The spec sheet for the Philips Hearlink 9030 MiniRITE aids almost perfectly matches the Bernafon Alpha 9 MiniRITE aids. The peak gain is lower, there is more harmonic distortion, there are less channels and the quality is less than the Oticon Opn S main line. That’s about as close of a comparison as you can get from a bird’s eye view. Personally, working with the Philips Hearlink 9030s, the streaming quality is identical to the Oticon Opn S platform I had worked with prior, but there is a slight discernable difference as a hearing aid wearer and dispenser myself in quality of sound. From an overall perspective (subjective) from inside Costco, the quality is top-notch but Oticon’s main line Opn S platform is still better (subjective).

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