I think you need either slimtips or c.shells. You aren’t getting the high frequency gains you need. In Target, slimtips and c.shells allow some higher gains over domes (at least they do with Marvel and Paradise)
Peter
To correct: Bluetooth is always on, or cannot use APP. However I was not using the phone and any of the Bluetooth functions. I initially didn’t know, but since I found the hearing aids sound very loud and weird, I checked the APP and found they were at Bluetooth program. Now every time after I charged my aids, I checked the APP and it’s at Bluetooth Streaming. I have to manually switch to Automatic.
You have to be careful. These folks are quoting in Canadian dollars which is 1 CAD to 0.73 USD. So in USD, is closer to $4,800.
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I ordered a set of i90 Spheres from directhearing.com today (not yet shipped). More on that later.
I will see my audiologist about custom molds. I plan on DIY beyond that via in situ audiograms (I know the “REM is the gold standard” bit). A la carte with an audiologist if needed. I’ve always worn silicone molds before with my Resound HAs, which’ve been very comfortable. Searching on the Internet, though, I found advice that said that although silicone molds can be more comfortable, they’re less durable, often don’t fit the ear canal as snugly as hard acrylic molds, and the material provides less occlusion to sound transmission than hard acrylic. I want good occlusion, which is better for Spheric noise reduction in tough situations.
Would any provider like @Neville or @Um_bongo care to offer an opinion on silicone vs. hard acrylic? Looking in Target, I only saw the option for cShells for molds for the i90, not silicone (maybe as a newbie to Target, I don’t know where or what to look for…). Thanks to anyone if there’s a link to a good discussion about the different types of Phonak molds somewhere on this forum
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I’d say one scary thing about buying a hearing aid online is reading Phonak’s Internet Sales Policy, which says the following:
Internet Sales Policy
At Phonak, we believe consumers deserve the best hearing experience available today. The preferred treatment for individuals with hearing loss includes the supporting care delivered by licensed hearing care professionals. Licensed hearing care professionals have gone through rigorous training in school as well as ongoing continued education training through various professional organizations. These professionals are also trained directly by Phonak on fitting and programming the latest Phonak technology.
We believe the relationship with your hearing care professional should be personal and unique. Countless studies around the world have proven that face-to-face evaluations, selection, fitting, and follow-up care lead to much higher patient satisfaction and increased use with hearing aids. That’s why we believe the best hearing experience includes the ongoing care and expertise of the hearing care professional.
Caution for Customers
Purchasing hearing care products via the internet or other mail-order catalogs may result in your receiving substandard fitting or follow-up care.
Please be wary of any website that offers you Phonak hearing aids without the involvement of a licensed professional. Purchasing Phonak hearing aids or accessories from any of these unauthorized online or mail-order retailers will void the warranty.
Unauthorized Retailers
Phonak reserves the right to deny supply of hearing instruments to accounts that omit the involvement of licensed professionals. Purchase of a Phonak product from an unauthorized online retailer voids the warranty.
Source: Internet Sales Policy | Phonak
It’s pretty scary and seems to have changed in the last few days when it previously listed just three online retailers that Phonak stated were unauthorized.
Now, the third section, Unauthorized Retailers, basically makes the risk of buying online open-ended. What if an online retailer becomes unauthorized AFTER you buy your HAs from them, etc.
The best stab at finding out whether an Internet supplier is authorized might be to use Phonak’s web page: Find a Hearing Care Specialist | Phonak.
If you do that, you find that ziphearing.com and truhearing.com are effectively listed as authorized Phonak providers. directhearing.com does not show up. What I plan to do, since there is a 60-day complete refund trial period is take my i90 Spheres to the audiologist who makes my molds and see if how they show up in the Phonak database and maybe even check with Phonak via the serial numbers as to whether they are warrantied. If not, return them as a warranty was promised with my purchase.
Edit_Update: See my next post below: My Phonak Sphere Infinio I90 vs Lumity L90 Shootout - #369 by jim_lewis. Turns out I was looking at a different Phonak web page before that still exits and list 3 declared unauthorized online Phonak resellers.
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You can check the warranty in target, once your HAs are connected to target.
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Actually, I was looking at a different Phonak web page on Internet sales before, and that web page still lists three online resellers that have been declared unauthorized by Phonak:
Sonova USA Brand Standards – Why They Matter (phonak.com)
Given the carte blanche nature of the statement on the Phonak Internet Sales Policy page cited in my quoted previous post, I wouldn’t rely too much on whether Phonak happens to formally list a retailer as unauthorized on its Sonova USA Brand Standards page, but if you want to find out who the three declared online sellers are, scroll down to the heading on the brand standards page until you reach:
Online Retailers Not Currently Complying with Standards
Since they’re declared, it’s probably a good idea to avoid them for sure.
Actually you don’t need to be connected to check, you can manually enter and get this.
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It’s all scaremongering by a poor old cartel member, did you notice the “may be counterfeit” a totally spurious claim, but gave me a good laugh anyway.
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Re mould material. Traditionally higher losses would get softer mould material to improve the seal, but with receiver ‘sleeves’ or canal moulds the amount of flexible material in the wall thickness is somewhat limited. I quite like semi-soft Acrylic as it has a bit of ‘play’, but retains a fair amount of dimensional integrity. As it warms, there’s a bit more give too, so it becomes more comfortable to wear without affecting the receiver fitting. It’s also compatible with the U.V. setting acrylic I use to plug the back of the receiver hole to give a better looking and more hygienic canal ‘look’.
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@jim_lewis
It makes scary for sure.
But shouldn’t a company adapt to local legislation regarding warranty? And national legislation is above the producers’
Wholesale hearing states that I will have International Phonak warranty for one year and the extra years I get from them but I have to send them the HA’s…
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Humm, but what sounds do you have turned on on your phone? Android or apple? If lock/unlock screen sound is on and keyboard clicks, is it possible that when you go to look at the app the very act of doing that is flipping the hearing aid into streaming mode because your phone is making little sounds that it is trying to stream through? Some phones manage these things better than others.
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@Neville is right. I also found that I was often affected by the muting of environmental sounds for a sort time (maybe 10-15 sec) due to the streaming notification sound. I even have to turn off the notification vibration to improve this issue.
How to improve your experience with Bluetooth (phonak.com)
How to disable Notification Sounds and System Sounds on an Android Smartphone? (phonak.com)
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Another update…
Just got back from the Audiologist with an interesting update. I’ve been having a few weird issues with my Sphere hearing aids.
The first issue is a lack of clarity when the hearing aids are in the Calm Program within Autosense. Voices sometimes sound compressed and lack clarity. This is kinda odd given the speech enhancer is supposed to fix this. My audiologist thought it was related to too much compression so he lowered the levels slightly in Target to decrease the compression (I think I described this correctly). It helped a bit but still not as good as my Lumity hearing aids. Seemed weird to me that I was having issues hearing speech in “Calm” situations. This should be easy for any hearing aid.
The second issue I was experiencing is that I am getting distortion in some programs. I notice it the most when streaming TV shows using my TV Connector 2 but it also happens when streaming work meetings on my laptop and watching videos on my iPhone. I thought it was maybe Bluetooth interference but it turns out it wasn’t.
Turns out some of the levels in a few of the programs were very close to the headroom limit (black line in Target) of the M receivers on the Sphere’s and the sound was starting to compress and distort. My audiologist thought this was weird because I’m wearing M receivers on my Lumity’s and there is much more headroom available and Music sorta sounds better wearing Lumity.
When he compared the graphs for my fittings of Sphere and Lumity hearing aids in Target, the headroom limit of the receivers on the Sphere’s (the new Phonak 6.0 receivers) was a fair bit lower than Lumity even though they were both M receivers and supposed to have the same specs. He then replaced the M receivers on the Sphere’s with P receivers and the distortion issues went away. I also noticed improved clarity in the Calm and Music programs too. I think having more maximum headspace allowed for lower compression and higher clarity.
It looks like the specs are either different or off on the new M receivers that are now standard on the new hearing aids and the distorted sound and compression may have been the hearing aids trying to fit the sound into the lower limits of the new M receivers.
Does this make sense? I’m wondering if anyone else has noticed a similar difference between the old and new receivers. At least I now know I wasn’t imagining the distortion/compression issues. Just sharing in case anyone else has this issue or can shed some light.
Jordan
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Since I’m new, I dunno what you mean by receivers on these things 
Much less changing/replacing them.
Edit, Ok, I understand what the receiver component is from searching, but they are changeable?
I use iPhone. I had already turned off all sound notifications for all APPs, as every time I received a notification, the Bluetooth turned on and it was so noisy. No more sound notifications. Have also asked Audi to reduce Bluetooth mic to lowest level-6.
Thanks for the links. I just tried restarted my iPhone, and after that the hearing aid is at Automatic after recharging. Amazing! I will monitor for a few days. Hopefully it’s now fixed.
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@JordanK, I’m not entirely sure, an expert would have to comment, but it sounds like a peak clipping phenomenon:
EDIT:
I don’t see much difference in the datasheets. Maybe the distinctions are in the slightly changed earmolds and therefore remained free ear canal?
Another issue for my new Sphere hearing aids is having feedbacks when Bluetooth streaming is on like using social media and TV connector. I had feedback test and REM when I got the new aids, not sure why there are still feedbacks? It’s worse on left ear(main for Bluetooth).
I also noticed last week that the program was at Speech In Car, but I was sitting in my quiet office not moving, no car around. There were some air vent noises. I am not sure what criteria makes the hearing aids switching to Speech In Car, basing on noise levels or motion?
For Speech in Car, I used to be able to hear the music and radio in my car better using Lumity, but with new Sphere, both music and radio are very muffled. I could hear the person next to me in the car talking. Maybe AI treated music and radio as background noise?
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You are not the only person that has had their HCP install a higher power receiver and said the sound issues where much better.
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Yes, they can be changed for the RIE (receiver in the ear) type of hearing aid for sure.
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