I am interested in opinions and firsthand experience with either of these two products.
I have read all available information on this forum as well as other review sites, and am up-to-date on the technical specifications (and the related Sony OTC product).
My concern is I recently spoke to a Costco hearing technician who confirmed that while this is an excellent product, the microphone design requires frequent store visits to vacuum the mic port.
She also indicated that the occlusion effect is difficult for many customers.
Hi there, you don’t post your audogram, but I’m curious why you’ve chosen ITE/CIC type over RIC models from Costco that won’t have these types of issues often, the occlusion effect is something you can experience on any HAs with a closed fitting.
I am looking for a backup pair of hearing aids in a CIC design. The Costco hearing aid technician said that my hearing loss is a good match for what these products can do.
Because I frequently wear glasses and change among different pairs at work, I was hoping that a CIC design would be easier with glasses.
Same here. I wear contact lenses usually, but work in front of screens and use custom reading glasses so they’re on/off on/off all day. RICs for over 3 years and never a problem.
I’m a first-time HA user and these were my first pair after a lot of research. Although I was pushed to get RIC I decided on starting with an IIC/CIC first. I’ve had the Rexton Reach INOX CIC model from Costco for about 2 months.
I haven’t had any issues (yet) with blocked mics, and I tend to be a waxy dude. I clean the aids with a piece of TP prior to charging them.
Only complaints so far:
The charging case doesn’t always recognize the Right piece, which attaches magnetically. I have found that with a slight wiggle, it’ll recognize it (charging light comes on). I’m not sure if this is the case itself or more likely the dome on the aids (I use Mediums). I only charge overnight so I make sure not to touch the case once the Right light comes on. This might make charging on the go difficult though.
I have high-freq med-severe loss. At some tones (IE; singing on the TV) I get some feedback or tinny sounds.
I use vented sleeves, so occlusion effect is so-so. Sometimes worse than other times.
The app is very basic, but allows Volume and Sharpness adjustments. I’ve had one follow up adjustment, and surprisingly the Audiologist was able to add two custom programs (in addition to the Automatic in the app): Noise/Party and Reverb Reducer. I haven’t had a lot of chance to test these yet. She added them because bars/parties and other ‘difficult spaces’ are not great, especially with low-talkers, mumblers, and those who don’t enunciate.
Overall they have helped a lot, I’m finding I don’t need to blast the TV/laptop/phone sound any more and one-on-one convos are much easier. I did have to get used to a bit of reverb on certain instant sounds (placing a mug on a table, cracking fingers, etc).
For the price I think they are worth it. I’m relatively young (for HA’s anyway) and still hit the gym and parties, so CIC makes sense for me.
I got adjusted to them relatively quick. If I push them in too far I get a bit of pain, but otherwise they are very comfy with the Medium Vented sleeves, I don’t even notice them after a while. They are not much different from regular earbuds.
I get some inner ear itching once in a while but I had that prior so no change there.
Of course everyone is different so your milage may vary. I suggest getting them from Costco since they have such a good return policy.
