Right now, I use occlusive Phonak power domes, and I use dome sizes to fit my ear canal sizes: small for the left and medium for the right. I plan to get occlusive molds. I noticed changing the Target Speech Enhancer setting from the default of 14 (moderate) to 16 (higher moderate) seems to improve the sound of my own voice even with occlusion, perhaps because the Speech Enhancer function (only available with the I90s) is picking up the external sound of my own voice and amplifying it enough to overcome the bone conduction booming/frequency-altering effect. I think in Harvey Dillon’s Hearing Aids book, 2nd Ed., it says one pathway only has to be ~2 dB 10 dB louder than another to predominate in CNS perception. (Thanks to @Bimodal_user: Existing Users: Rate Your Phonak Infinio Spheres - #12 by jim_lewis).
I voted that Spheric noise reduction is a simply WOW experience, and the Spheres are significantly better than my Omnias in other regards. Front Focus with the Omnias does enhance the sound of a voice right in front of you ~two-fold but still leaves a lot of the environmental din that the Spheres filter out.
Besides wearing an occlusive fit (which Phonak notes gives the optimum noise reduction), I recommend going to Adjust Program in the MyPhonak app and turning on the SPEECH option. That enhances speech frequencies and really makes speech stand out from any remaining noise. I haven’t yet checked to see if I can make that a default Spheric speech setting via Target.
On the reasons I think Spheres are significantly better than Omnias, Bluetooth streaming is much stronger when carrying my iPhone on a hip holster. With the Omnias, the BT signal might be broken up a bit by my swinging arm as I walked. Perhaps, too, since the Omnia sound is independently streamed to both ears, it’s harder for the BT signal to the left ear to make it past my arm and the front of my body. Carrying the phone on my right hip and having BT streamed inclusively to my right ear with the Spheres probably helps tremendously. It’s paradoxical, though, that in terms of reach distance, the ReSound TV Streamer 2 can stream a bit farther through my house than the Phonak TV Connector, but not by much. They both can penetrate several interior sheetrock walls.
My wife finds the Sphere microphone pickup of my voice in hands-free calling better than the Omnia’s, but that opinion is based on limited testing.
The Speech Enhancer function of the Spheres is great. It’s easy to understand my soft-spoken wife.
The streaming sound of the Spheres when the Car Stereo type is chosen in the R-Phonak Hearing Aid BT connection settings is far better than the Omnias with a deeper base and richer sound. This may be related to Phonak incorporating its Harman curves from Sonova Sennheiser brand headphones into the APD 3.0 fitting algorithm used in the Infinio line. Ditto for live surround music heard through the Sphere external microphones in my truck.
I trialed the Lumitys in early 2023 for about two weeks and thought AutoSense 5.0 changes were too abrupt and noticeable. My memory might not be that good, but I find AutoSense 6.0 changes with the Spheres smoother and less noticeable. I do feel that I hear more real-world sounds with my Omnias, and Phonak emphasizes producing a “calm,” processed environment. Maybe all that’s really happened is that my acceptance of the great Sphere noise processing has flipped my views on processed sound 180°.
As a footnote to @Bimodal_user’s comment on REM, I fitted myself via AudiogramDirect, which creates an audiogram via sounds each hearing aid plays into your ear while wearing them normally. AudiogramDirect differs from REM because it relies on the correct, untested functionality of the HAs you’re wearing, whereas REM machines have to be independently calibrated periodically, IIRC.
I’ve had REM performed several times in the six years I’ve worn HAs. YMMV. I’m probably unusually lucky, but my audiogram’s fit has always been right on the REM measurements, or I needed only a slight adjustment in just one ear at one frequency.