Only two Power hearing aid manufacturers left

Hearing Aids
#1

but I wish there were more. Seems Phonak and Oticon are really the only two serious Power Hearing Aid manufacturer in the game now. I base that on several factors but also realize there are other distant players such as Resound and possibly Starkey. Just by reviewing HT posts over the years you can tell most posters discuss either Phonak or Oticon when mentioning power aids. Furthermore some previous Power HA players like Widex and Signia seem to have fallen by the way side.

What’s also concerning is there’s a serious lack of Cochlear Impant manufacturers with just Cochlear Corporation, Advanced Bionics Corporation and Med-El Corporation. These three companies are the only FDA approved, in U.S., which is some what slim pickens.

You’d think with “baby boomers” now moving into 60 year to 80 year range, we’d see more manufacturers offering both power aids and CI, but alas such is not the case.

#2

Not really surprising. It’s an expensive product, with a very limited market. Takes a boatload of R&D to bring anything “new & different” to the market. Three manuf of a product with a limited demand/market seems like plenty to me.

The real question is… is there something the market needs, that these three aren’t giving us?

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#3

Wait, what about Cochlear? I thought they did Cochlear implant devices.

It’s hard to tell is this is just about cochlear implants or HAs in general. My Signia AX7 aids have a power receiver. Obviously that’s jsut for normal HAs.

#4

Yes Cochlear is mentioned @jeffrey

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#5

What is a “power hearing aid”?

#6

The Big BTE 675 battery sized.

The one that have largest armature driver that able to drive 140+db inside hearing aids case.

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#8

Or should we say the real question is - are remaining manufacturers for CI candidates really providing a quality product. Old news but -

Advanced Bionics LLC, a Valencia, California-based manufacturer of cochlear implant system devices, has agreed to pay more than $12 million to resolve allegations that it misled federal health care programs regarding the radio-frequency (RF) emissions generated by some of its cochlear implant processors.
and
Jury punishes Advance Bionics with $7.25 Million Verdict for Selling Defective Cochlear Implants.
The parents of 11-year-old Breanna Sadler of Vine Grove, Ky., sued the manufacturer of their daughter’s cochlear implants, (Advance Bionics) , accusing the company of continuing to sell the device after executives knew it was defective. On Tuesday a U.S. District Court jury in Louisville agreed, awarding Breanna, now 11, and her parents $7.25 million in damages. According to Courier-Journal, a Gannett Company.

Not sure why anyone would want to buy CI’s from Advance Bionics, after reading the above.

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#9

You have to take into consideration that only Phonak has released a new Power model since 2020: Phonak Lumity. Oticon’s Xceed was released in 2019 and is quite outdated because it lacks DNN processing of Oticon’s more recent mainstream models and Android Bluetooth compatibility.

#10

According to Oticon website. Google Pixel 8 Pro works directly with Oticon Xceed and doesn’t need the Connect Clip Altho that works as well.

I do agree Oticon Xceed is outdated tho.

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#11

That must be something new. :thinking: :roll_eyes: Does Pixel 8 Pro has Apple MFi protocol support? Quick Google search tells me that Pixel 8 Pro has Bluetooth 5.2 with LE support.

Nevertheless, a single Android device does not equal to universal support for Android direct streaming.

#12

I’m happy with my AB implant. My life has improved for the better since I got it in 2008.

As far as Bluetooth, perhaps I’m misunderstanding the posts above. My AB processor, and my Phonak Link hearing aid, both work directly with Bluetooth, no other device needed. I can stream from my phone, my laptop, or any other BT device, direct to my “ears”.

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#13

I think it’s a mistake, Xceed has not ASHA and LE Audio protocols - only MFI.

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#14

AB is a German firm with offices in CA.
As to the comment about more competitors, CI involves invasive surgery, and the testing and development of systems demands a very high development cost. That said, I think the 3 (plus other smaller ones in Europe) have done a far better job that the HA manufactures. Maybe that’s because CI has the potential to continue to achieve dramatic hearing improvement while HAs are not much more than amplifiers with app features or limited sound compression.

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#15

Doesn’t Sonova own AB which is Swiss?

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#16

Yes you are right. My mistake. They state that their ci products are designed and engineered in the us. Sonova also owns phonak

#17

What’s the issue with Signia hearing aids? I am wearing Signia Motion C&G SP hearing aids and am pretty happy with them. You can check my audiogram and notice that I have severe to profound hearing loss.

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#18

I think the issue is that whilst the BTE SP is powerful and it is working for you, there are people on here who need more power with a BTE UP receiver. They have used both and know there is a difference. In the past, manufacturers would come out with more regular releases of the BTE UP for profound losses. Now only Phonak have come out with the Naida Lumity as an up to date release with current technology.

There is also the Unitron Stride UP and the Oticon Xceed and Bernafon Leox UP but the Stride is really the counterpart of the Naida Paradise or Lumity and the Xceed and Leox are not recent.

#19

In fact, SP and UP are symbols. In terms of power, Signia SP is equal to Xceed UP, and Naida UP is equal to Xceed SP.

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#20

Signia’s Motion SP is equivalent to Naida Lumity UP in terms of output. You can check both specs here:

Is there anything I am missing out?

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#21

No. You are correct. That is interesting. Thank you.

@Lostdeaf and @Zebras What do you think of this Signia? It appears to have UP power? Has it been overlooked?

Ed: Sorry @Lostdeaf - I can see you replied to me already. I assume you have trialed/evaluated this aid already?