My first ever hearing aids, also Phonak Lumity 70 R tips & tricks?

Hearing Aids
#1

In a few days I’m going to get my first hearing aids ever, the Phonak Audéo Lumity 70 R. I am an Android phone user (Samsung S22+). I’m excited.

I’m looking for tips as a first time HA user (what to expect, what might surprise me, what are some general things HA users know that I don’t yet, but that would help with day to day) and specifically tips/tricks re the Phonak Lumity I’m going to receive. I have been trying to keep up with the posts here.

I expect most of the benefit to come in the classroom this fall where I’ve had problems hearing students in the middle/back of the rooms. I have moderate (L) and moderate-severe (R) hearing loss.

Thank you.

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#2

Welcome to the club! My advice is patience. Wearing HA for first time takes a lot of time to adjust, both for HA and the brain. I even had ear infection after having my first HA , not fun. But when I was able to hear so many sounds I hadn’t heard for long time, all the efforts became worthwhile. Good luck!

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#3

Thanks, I’m definitely excited to experience it all. Also so more asking people to repeat themselves.

#4

@user718 Did you pick the Phonak Lumity for its ability for connections and voice in noisy environments? Why the 70 and not the 90. I ask, because I am looking at both the 70 and 90 now.

#5

It came down to price really between the two models. And Phonak, because in my limited research the last few months, in various forums and online reviews, it seemed like a respected brand and most likely to work with Android phones (I have a Samsung Galaxy S22+). The ability to recognize speech was very important, and it seems to have the tech optimized for that. However, given that these will be my first set of HAs you should take everything I write with a grain of salt.

If money wouldn’t have been an issue, I probably would have picked the 90, but both the 90 and 70 are considered their premium tier (not sure that’s their terminology or my audiologist’s). Hope that helps.

PS: Really would have preferred a battery powered model to rechargeable, but they don’t offer this for the Lumity series.

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#6

@user718 Yes, I fully understand. My research points in the same direction. These will also be my first aids. Though, 2 years ago, I did trial a set of aids for several weeks. The new sounds I heard was stunning. I returned them due to wearing masks and flicking the aids off on many occasions. Now, masks are a thing of the past…onwards…

I have been looking at the Specsavers Advance Elite and their Phonak/Signia branded range. The problem with the Advance range, is it is a lottery as to what make/model aid you actually get. I qualify for the HSP voucher, which helps financially. I too am an Android user, so do not want to fight with connections and use. It seems many aids are built for Apple connections, and Android phones are an after thought. Phonak seem to be the exception that allow multiple connections with various devices, including Android. I plan to keep mine for at least 5 years, assuming they last the pace.

I prefer the rechargeable Lumity version. After several weeks replacing those little batteries with tradie size hands and fingers, the rechargeable version will make things a lot easier.

Let us know how you go when you get them.

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#7

Hi :blush:I am also a first time HA user, different brand, and just got them this week.

The first day was amazing, I could hear so much more and I tried out different noise environments. Now I wear them almost all day, but by the evening I’m ready for a break from all the noise; it can become overwhelming on a mental level and my ears feel tired if that makes sense. I would say don’t be afraid to turn them down if you need to, and you might need to. I’m keeping them on a little longer each day until I can stand to wear them from when I get up to when I go to bed.

Also, if your ears get itchy I saw EarGene recommended on this forum and got some to have on hand. I’m glad I did, I’ve used it after my shower a couple of times and it helps. My ears seem to be adjusting to having the domes in and the itch is lessening.

Finally, it was suggested that I brush off the domes in the mornings after any wax has had a chance to dry out over night. It’s supposed to keep things cleaner as the wax is easier to remove and doesn’t tend to smear.

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#8

Good luck to you as well. And perhaps rechargeable will work out well for me, best way to find out I guess (esp since I didn’t have a choice).

I’m sure I’ll be back reporting on my experience here.

#9

Thanks for sharing your experience, I’m sure it’ll be somewhat overwhelming, but I agree, probably the best way to get used to them is to wear them as much as possible. Thanks for the tip re EarGene too, just in case and the daily maintenance on the domes, this will be all very new to me. I’m hoping my audiologist will talk to me about this all on Tuesday when I get the hearing aids.

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#10

I have Marvel M70 and Paradise P90. There are a few extra functions in the Paradise, but to me the most important element is getting your general fit right, and to try and reduce the feedback manager, from taking a chunk out of the gain in those important speech areas. Your hearing loss is similar to mine, and I’d recommend Custom Moulds (Slim-Tip, or Cshell), to reduce sound leakage.

I’ve just upgraded phones from S21 to S23+. The MyPhonak app works fine on both, although I only really use it to see what switched programme I’m in.

Good luck

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#11

Thanks … we haven’t discussed domes or molds at all, we sort of settled on the HA brand/model and various costs during my initial meeting after the audiogram. I’m going to get them on Tuesday, the meeting is scheduled for 1 1/2 hours, I’m guessing that may be part of the discussion, though I suppose she may also just want to start me out with the regular domes. I will keep your recommendation in mind.

Thanks about the reassuring message re phone, that makes me feel more confident since this was one of the reasons to pick Phonak. I read somewhere that the HAs need to reconnect with the app each time you use it rather than staying connected? Is that true? In one sense I could see how that might save some battery power, but on the other hand I could see how that delay might be annoying after a while.

I’m a bit of a tech nerd, so I’m looking forward to exploring all of the various settings and options, but probably will take my time to do it, I’m sure it’ll be overwhelming enough at the start.

#12

The App uses Low Energy Bluetooth. When fully installed, you’ll have 3 bluetooth connections. There’ll be 2 x LE connections, and One (usually R) standard bluetooth connections for calls & streaming.

The LE connections are for the App and probably auto switch off to save battery. So yes, when your phone screen times out, you generally have to reconnect. It doesn’t disconnect you from any programme you’d selected though.

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#13

Thanks - appreciate the additional information. I’ll be playing around with this soon.

I just downloaded the user guide an am reading it. I guess the charger doesn’t come with a power brick, I’m assuming my Samsung fast charger will be ok with this. Glad to see that this is USB-C too.

#14

Mine are disposable battery versions, so I haven’t seen the chargers, sorry

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#15

I think you may be able to use a powerbrick to attach to it

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#16

Yes, I think my phone battery bank should work for this too.

#17

I got the Lumity Life 90’s. I liked the better water proofing because even though 76, I golf and sail etc. The price was worth that for me. I have had them since April, and must say that I am very pleased with them. I bought them from ONLINE Hearing, and they were great and the price was very good as well. They set everything up for me and helped me whenever I needed assistance. Also, you have access to audiologist via phone for adjustments to the hearing aid on line. It does require that you send hearing test results from your local ENT to them. I have had zero issues with my Lumity Life 90’s. If you have specific questions, let me know. Be happy to try to answer them.

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#18

Thank you for sharing, I will take you up on your offer for future questions. The regular Lumity have IP68 rating, so I hope that’ll be fine for run and other sweaty exercise (though honestly, not sure I’ll wear them at those times, I’ll have to see, probably end up using them more as I get more comfortable with them and their care)

In anticipation I looked through the user manual and also downloaded the Android app on my phone already. Excited about getting them on Tuesday.

#19

@user718 How did you go with the Lumity 70 R

#20

Phonak released a new update for MyPhonak app. Now you can enable in the app , that the connection stay always active with the aids.

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