Hello everyone, I am new to this group.
I need your valuable opinions about hearing aids; which one should I purchase? My audiogram report is attached.
I am a doctor, so I spend most of my time in the OPD.
Currently, I have Unitron D moxi technology level 3 (basic).
I am facing a few issues with my Unitron:
Soft speech. I am unable to hear soft speech, even if someone is talking in front of me. Even if I increase the volume to 100%, I cannot understand words; only the background noise increases or the voices of people talking to each other in higher tones.
Group conversation. I feel a lot of trouble while having a group conversation like meetings, etc. I can’t understand anyone’s voice, especially when someone is sitting away from me. As I explained above, if I increase the volume, only loud voices increase, but soft voices remain the same.
When I am talking to someone individually, and if someone in the background is talking in a high tone or any loud voice, then I am unable to understand the voice of the person talking to me because my hearing focuses on the loud speech, and the voice of the person in front of me feels like it is in the background and low…
Price. I cannot afford expensive hearing aids. I am from Pakistan, and in our currency, one USD is worth 287 rupees. Therefore, a hearing aid with a price tag of 5,000 USD will cost me 1,435,000 rupees in our local currency. My monthly salary is 150,000 rupees, so I cannot afford expensive hearing aids.
So, I need a hearing aid that can solve these issues.
I have selected three hearing aids:
Phonak Paradise P30 non-rechargeable
Unitron Livio Level 3 non-rechargeable
Interton Move Level 6 non-rechargeable
These technology levels are within my budget, so I kindly request your valuable opinions.
Apologies for the lengthy thread, but I genuinely need your help. I have researched extensively and tried a few IIC devices, but my issues have not been resolved. I am physically disabled and am tired of visiting different audiologists.
I hope you can help me choose the right hearing aids according to my needs.
Thank you and apologies for the lengthy thread.
IIC may be less appropriate for you, regarding your loss.
I don’t know if you have custom earmolds or domes. Usually the former is better because of possibility to make ventilation with less diameter (or no vent at all) which helps to keep proper gain of low pitches and helps to get more gain in high frequencies without feedback.
You have quite large loss in low frequencies, so probability of occlusion effect is lower.
I am not sure does Real Ear Measurement is available in your country. If you didn’t hear about it, I recommend Dr Cliff’s YouTube channel:
Thank you for your reply. I have tried multiple domes, both closed and open vents, but my issue has not been resolved. Now, I have visited two other audiologists, and both of them have suggested Phonak. I have never tried Phonak before, and I am worried about it because in our country, audiologists do not offer trials, returns, or exchanges, and even the warranty is just by name. Additionally, audiologists here are not trained properly. That is why I requested help in this forum. Should I purchase Phonak Paradise? If yes, is it worth paying extra money for the Paradise P70 instead of the P30? Will my issues, such as speech discrimination, soft voices, and group conversations, be resolved with it? Thank you.
Thank you for your reply. I have not tried ear molds, but I have tried different domes. However, issues like speech discrimination, soft speech, and group conversations never improved.
Will these issues be resolved with Phonak Paradise hearing aids? Should I choose the P70, or would the P30 suffice for me? Hearing aids are very costly in our country.
The higher level aids have technology that could help you in loud environments.
Properly fit aids, this includes the right acoustics should help you in soft or less noisy environments. Properly fit P30 aids should help with all your questions.
I personally like Phonak. Self programmed them for many years. We have members here that were active people that loved the lower priced hearing aids. It’s all about getting them fit properly. If the price is close between the P30 and P70 aids, the P70’s might help you hear better in certain circumstances.
You can look for internet international shops (see in Google "Phonak prices) and see if they have trial period.
No one can give you assurance that they will solve your problems. The most important part of fitting is give you proper acousting coupling - e.g. custom earmoldsa and the fitting with Real Ear Measurement or Speech Mapping.
I have Phonak Paradise 90-RTs. Personally, I like it, but I can only speak for myself because I have relatively well-fitted custom earmolds and software fittings.
So no one can give you a definite guarantee that it would be good for you. As @Raudrive mentioned, more important than price range is a properly fitting hearing aid. I had decent hearing aids for years, but they never gave me back the same quality of life as people with normal hearing.
You have not mentioned the percentage of your Word Recognition Score in quiet (WRS) for the left ear and right ear separately and binaurally. This information may give you an awareness of possible benefits from hearing aids.
Is there much difference between the L70 and L90, and the L70 and P70?
I don’t need touch control or health tracking functions. I just need to hear better.
Phonak has a great reputation. all major brands are very good. You just need a speech in noise function and/or an aid with directional hearing that will focus towards the person in front of you you. Its likely that the less expensive models will have these features. You don’t need to pay for more features. Signia, Widex, Oticon all have good reputations. They will last a long time if you care for them. Hoepfully you can find a deal on one of the major brands.
For what I see, I recommend to consider 2 years newer Phonak lineup:
Infinio Sphere 70 (cheaper) or 90 (flagship of Phonak - the most expensive)
Infinio R 30 or 50 or 70 or 90 - cheaper lineup, because without AI denoising, but with newest ERA processing unit and newest, most reliable and energy efficient Bluetooth 5.3
Above 1) and 2) Infinio lines works considerably longer on one battery charge.
Lumities are good, but only with a significant discount. 2 years newer Infinio lineup is better step up development than Lumity vs. Paradise.
You should know that all “bells and whistles” with directionality, noise reduction, etc., would be less efficient and unsatisfactory when you have poor acoustic coupling with excessive ventilation (e.g. too large diameter).
A lack of REM (Real Ear Measurement) also may play a significant (negative) role.
You are a good candidate to try the Apple AirPods Pro 2 https://www.hearingtracker.com/hearing-aids/airpods-pro-2. They are on sale today for $154. Apple has a guide to program the pro twos to your audiogram. These may tell you what you need to do or how you can use your pro twos in situations where hearing using the regular hearing aids do not work I have purchased a pair and I will be programming them and testing them. My hearing is a little worse than yours and mine has more slow. Yours is nearly flat so they pro twos may tell you what you need to know.
AirPods Pro 2 https://www.hearingtracker.com/hearing-aids/airpods-pro-2 are interesting solution, but keep in mind that they reportedly works for only 8 hours.
