Probably my last update on this subject unless someone has questions…
I’ve been wearing the Eargo 5 for 2+ weeks straight, daily, from around 6am to 10pm.
Battery- no problems, no running out of juice. I dont know if they have a “low battery” warning or not, if they do I have not hit that level yet. But I am thinking they do not.
Comfort- I was putting them in with the retaining “string” oriented downwards to the floor. I switched and now put them in but rotate them 90 degrees so that retention string is pointing towards the back of my head. This seems to allow me to put the Eargos in a little deeper, hide the retention string inside the ear lobe and they do not dislodge/move around as much. I tried the Large petals but reverted back to the Medium and with this 90degree rotation they are much much snugger. Eating, talking, etc they dont seem to move. yay
Charger- the built in battery so you can charge with out having to plug in is a game changer. And the charger is much slimmer/slicker looking than my Phonak P90 charging case. Very happy with this setup. Winner hands down.
Programs - I spend 99.9% of my time in the “normal” program. They have a “mask” program and some others. I’ve tried them to see how they act but didnt like them. They appear to just increase the amplication. It was annoying.
Volume and the Noise Filter- these don’t do much. I found somewhere that someone claimed the volume adjustments only allow 2db change per click and only 2 clicks up or down. They stated the change range was too small and I agree. You can’t really tell a difference. So they are almost useless. The Programs you can edit (like MyPhonak editing, but not as complete) and it saves those changes permanently. So I’ve adjusted the tone/bass/volume to my liking and each time the aids start they have those settings. The Noise Filter has Off, Low/Med/High settings. I can’t tell much of a difference. The manual says it offers up to 20 or 25db filter, but I can’t tell. I leave it OFF.
Audio quality- compared to my P90s these seem to be more of a ‘blunt’ instrument vs. a scalpel. If that makes sense. These do work for me and I am happy. But it is a different environment to get used to compared to P90s. These seem to amplify the entire spectrum some, but where you have loss they ampllfy that the most. Maybe they amplify everything a bit to overcome the fact you have something plugging your ear canals? So when i put them in it feels like everything has been turned up a notch in volume. Not necessarily bad. With my P90s it doesn’t feel like that, it feels like it is more specific to my high frequency loss ranges. I’m not sure which is better/worse, just different. If I didnt have the P90s I would have no idea. Its possible also the P90s are not programmed the best.
Tap control - it works but it is way harder to do it compared to the P90s. I have given up and dont change programs anyway.
Cons- no low battery warning. Limited function of volume (would like more steps and greater changes). No option to turn aids OFF - so when cleaning or drying etc, they are always on. They are either in charger being charged and OFF or once removed they always go ON. Option to disable Tap control- to avoid me changing programs by mistake.
Overall - if you want invisible and your loss is high frequency, these are great. I only switch to my P90s when I know or want to bluetooth stream or give my ears a break. You can not see these, my wife can’t see them standing next to me, she asks whether I’m wearing them or not. I’m not sure they are worth the retail price, considering you can get much better units for same or less (KS10, etc). I bought mine had a huge discount and am very satisfied. If the P90s are a ferrari or lamborghini of aids, these are like a mustang. Not the same league, but still pretty sporty!
Hope this helps someone out.