Just curious. Where do you actually use the T-Coil? The only two times I have ever seen a T-Coil enabled building was in a museum and once when I went to a live theatre show. Other than that, I don’t think there are too many places that still use this technology.
I’ve actually been able to hear really good with the Sphere’s to the point where I can hear the TV or sit in an audience and hear the person speaking directly through the hearing aids. That being said, it will be nice when Auracast is rolled out and Phonak updates the Sphere’s to include this next generation replacement of the T-Coil.
We’ve been to a few churches and they have the coil and it’s marvelous. There are two theaters near us which have the coil. Some stores have their counters coiled. Etc. etc. I have a portable coil which can be taken to doctor’s offices and other places. The coil will never be replaced. There is a place for all (BT, Auracast, coil). Mapquest has the ability to show coiled venues when looking for addresses. Please don’t downplay the coil; the first time anyone tries it, they are amazed at the clarity, etc. Did I mention that it’s marvelous!
I have read this entire thread! This is fantastic! Love that the clarity of speech in noisy places is superb. What kind of hearing loss do you have? I have severe/profound mostly in the high-frequency and have the same issue with speech in noise. I’m wondering if this would be a good fit or if the lumity would be better.
You can see my hearing loss by clicking just below my name. Don’t go with Lumity. The AI noise reduction program on the Sphere’s is superb and on days when you don’t use it, you will get close to two days of battery life. The Sphere’s will also be upgraded to Bluetooth LE and Auracast in a future firmware update.
Under stood thank you. My worry is that some parts of my hearing is in the profound range that the spheres won’t be able to reach. I need to post my audiogram for reference.
For what I see, maybe SoundRecover2 would help at least in your right ear HA. I see problem with left ear because UP receiver probably may cause distortion in lower frequencies, but you also need to much hearing loss in higher frequencies for P receiver.
It has been about 6 months since I was first fitted with the new Sphere hearing aids and since I first started this very long review thread on this forum. I thought I would check in with an update:
I will start by saying that I have ZERO complaints with these hearing aids. Not only are they the best hearing aids that I have purchased in 25+ years of wearing hearing aids but I don’t think that I have ever heard this well in such a large range of listening environments. Don’t get me wrong, the Sphere’s still suffer from the odd weird behaviour (firmware bugs?) that cause them to restart or that causes the Bluetooth to disconnect for short periods of time, but all in all, they are superb in every respect. The application of a dedicated AI chip to noise reduction is the shining star of the Sphere show and I will say that anyone who is considering the purchase of new hearing aids, should not buy ANY top tier brand that doesn’t have AI noise reduction. Yes…it adds to the cost and yes…there are some people who don’t visit noisy places too often but the AI noise reduction is so useful and effective that it I would never consider being without it at this point.
Here are some random data points I want to share after 6 months. Hoping this is useful to people considering the purchase of new hearing aids:
Yes…the AI Noise Reduction is a game changer (I think I’ve driven this point home many times). It works better with closed fittings so keep that in mind when testing.
The Spheric AI program is actually useful in less noisy environments to provide clarity. It’s just another tool you have in your hearing toolbox.
The larger battery (to power the AI chip) on the Sphere’s gives you 2 DAYS of battery life on days when you don’t use the Spheric AI program.
I rarely end the day with less than 50% left on my hearing aids even when I ended up using the Spheric AI program for a few hours and combine this with 3-4 hours of streaming.
Bluetooth Classic chews more power but the signal is way more stable than my previous MFI hearing aids.
I still experience occasional Bluetooth drop offs/disconnects but I’m convinced that these are caused by wifi/Bluetooth signal interference from other devices in my home and from my next door neighbours homes.
I have noticed ZERO reduction in battery life in 5 months of use.
I have never found myself in a situation where my rechargeable batteries have run out and left me deaf.
The larger size of these Sphere hearing aids has never been an issue.
I have yet to have anyone complain about not being able to hear me during phone calls on my iPhone. Funny side story to this is that my older brother is also deaf and he just got fitted with the Sphere hearing aids too (based on my advice). We actually chat with each other on our mobile phones multiple times a week and this is the first time that I have been able to hear what someone’s voice sounds like when using the Spheres for mobile calls. His voice sounds just fine. He typically calls me from the car and his voice is clear.
The only situation that presents a problem for these hearing aids is being in a noisy place with too many conversations going on at the same time. Basically this is the noisy restaurant with too many tables jammed in close and with many people talking at the same time. It could also be a large family dinner with many conversations going on at the same time at the same table. The Sphere program cuts the noise but you still have to fiddle with directionality and face the conversation you want to participate in. That being said, I have noticed that people with normal hearing also struggle in this type of noisy environment.
The only other negative comment (other than the high purchase cost) is about the charging case. It would be nice to have more room in the centre of the case so that your wires/domes don’t accidentally cross when you put the hearing aids in to charge at night. I did this once and when I woke up in the morning, I noticed that one of the hearing aids had lifted slightly and didn’t charge. I suspect that this would be a much bigger issue for those with custom molds, etc. Phonak should offer an XL case for people who have larger custom fittings and need that extra space.
Thank you! I am going to possibly be getting new Left hearing aid to go with a cross over ( end of month) and I was leaning towards this one. I am not sure if it will be what my audiologist can get, but I have a PhoneAk LS9 and thinking it wouldn’t interfere too much with what I have.
@JordanK
I thank you for all your help. As you know I have Phonak Audeo Paradise P90Rs that are now just over 3 years old. I reached out to you after I determined that my hearing problems using them were perhaps due to setup rather than some defect in the hearing aids themselves. You really helped me then.
At first you were using the Lumity hearing aids that were one version newer than mine. Now you’ve advanced to better, newer hearing aids.
So I read your first report with real interest. I’ve read each post since.
I interpreted them with real hope. There’s finally hope for me. Finally Phonak has made real improvements in our “Medical Equipment” that we rely upon to help us hear.
Before I contacted you I had given up hope.
So thank you Sir! You’ve helped more than you know.
DaveL
Toronto–west of Toronto Airport
HA user for over 20 years. 1 Widex; 3 pair of Phonaks.
My “setup” issues have been partially solved with help from experts here
Thank you, @JordanK for your informative post from yesterday! I have an elderly family member who is considering buying the Phonak Sphere. She has a pair on trial and reports a similar experience to yours, that the Spheres work well in a large range of listening environments and has a good battery life. She also says they significantly improve how well she hears in noisy restaurants etc.
Appreciate your review, will now go read the earlier posts!
The Speech-in-Noise program also works very well in noisy situations that don’t require the AI processing of Spheric noise reduction, and it doesn’t anywhere near as much battery power as Spheric noise reduction. Direct Hearing provided my Spheres with a stand-alone manual version of Speech-in-Noise, presumably derived from the AutoSense program option, which they labeled “Restaurant.” Presumably, one’s HCP can do the same for anyone who wants to have Speech-in-Noise available as a user-selectable program in the MyPhonak app.
Surely from this fact there are also Infinio R (non-Sphere) line.
I don’t have access to binaural features like Speech-in-Loud-Noise (StereoZoom 2.0), but monaural Speech-in-Noise seems very good. I have always been curious about “Speech in 360°” that is non-AI and require binaurally fitted Phonak hearing aids.
Somebody in this very long discussion thread kept asking me if I have tested my Sphere hearing aids at a movie theatre. I finally got around to seeing a movie with my wife this evening for the first time!
Not much to report really. I sat through a two and a half hour movie in the theatre with the Sphere’s in auto mode the whole time and managed to hear quite well. The hearing aids never went into the Spheric AI program and I didn’t really feel the need to manually go into that mode either. I checked once to see what program AutoSense has selected and it showed the standard Speech in Noise program. There were a few times that I missed the odd bit of speech but it really wasn’t that bad at all. I would say that it wasn’t any better or worse than listening to my TV through the Phonak TV Connector.
If I was to sum it all up, I would say that it was a success and I was able to enjoy the movie without stressing about missed speech. Maybe someone else can comment on their own theatre experience but I’m happy.
