Phonak Audeo Life hearing aids

Hearing Aids
#22

Separate issue has cropped up with my Phonak Audeo Life aids: those silicone tips that were custom-molded HURT like HECK in my ear canals. I’m not sure what the solution is, cuz they have to be SNUG in order for me to 1.) avoid any leakage/feedback, and 2.) prevent a tsunami of water getting into the ear canal and perhaps entering the receiver that’s embedded in these silicone tips.

When I get teeth “impressions” taken for my retainers, the dentists nowadays use a laser tool that takes an image of my upper and lower teeth. How come they can’t use that technology to make custom molds to fit our ear canals?

I have ZERO discomfort or pain with my retainers - they slip on and off effortlessly, keep my teeth aligned, and fit beautifully! (These are the same kind of devices as used in Invisalign to straighten teeth).

But that same old fashioned PUTTY stuff is still being used to make impressions for ear canals. I sat pretty still, didn’t CHEW, yawn, open/close my mouth. And still … OW! OW! OW! OW! OW! all day long.

I return to my audi in a couple weeks, so I’ll explore the options then.

Oddly, the sound quality is pretty crappy with these tips, too! I think they may be too stubby! By contrast, my Marvel receivers seem to go deeper into the ear canal, and while they need pushing in all day long, the sound quality is superb for music, streamed phone calls, or music on my phone.

I wonder if I’m at a crossroads: true waterproof aids ONLY with a painful, custom-molded silicone tip on them … OR! Back to the matchstick P90 receivers with ordinary silicone double dome tips.

#23

I’ve seen a Dr Cliff video where he was using a laser ear scanner for molds…

#24

In fact just watched his newest video on Resound Custom. They show the 3d laser scanning of the ear being done, and he mentions that he highly recommends a laser scan of the ear over a mold.

#25

I read this before and can’t figure out how you are supposed to use the Life waterproof aids if you can’t get the receivers wet??? What is the sense of having them waterproof w/o the receivers… not like before you jump in the pool you are going to remove the receivers and swim with the body of the aids by themselves.

Am I interpreting this wrong?

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#26

@1Bluejay: I wouldn’t worry too much about the receivers them self. they are not expensive and can easily be replaced.
Maybe you ask your audiologist in your next visit to show how this is to be done.

#27

Marvel and paradise take the exact same receivers so just take the moulds and receiver out of your marvels and put them on your Life devices

#28

I’m with YOU! Either this verbiage is something Phonak prints to cover their fanny … or their fanny needs covering with verbiage like THIS! Ain’t no two ways about it. Either the aids ARE waterproof or they AREN’T.

That’s why I wanted to prove the point one way or the other to this forum, my audi, and even Phonak. I really want to swim in my pool, jump in the ocean. And the day those aids fail, well, folks would know cuz I’d tell 'em.

Now that I’ll probably need to have the pAiNfuL! molded silicone tips removed, I bet my so-called “waterproof” aids will fall into the category of “avoid submerging this part in water.” I highly doubt that the typical double-dome silicone tip will prevent water from getting right into the receiver from the wax guard on the tip of it.

Ah. It was nice to dream…

#29

Louie, I have two more questions for you (or any provider/audis out there):

  1. Are you saying that I can unplug the receiver and wire from my Marvel and plug it into the Life aids? Cuz I thought the Life aids had some kind of special waterproofing even where the wire plugs into the behind-ear part.

Also, 2. Can I have my new audi “cut and paste” the set-up from my Phonak Marvel aids into the settings for my new Phonak Life aids? I ask cuz it seems that the way these new aids have been set up is completely without bass. Both music and phone calls streamed through my Android cell phone sound horrific through these new Life aids compared to how they both sound through my older Marvel aids.

I recall several sessions with my previous audi tinkering with the frequency band to get me to where I LOVED the sound quality.

Can it be done?

#30

Sterei, upon closer examination of my new Life receivers with the custom molded silicone tips, it looks like I can just PULLLLLL them out of that mold! If that’s the case, I could then put my usual double dome silicone tips on the end of the receiver and return to COMFORT again!

I won’t do it myself in case I void a warranty. But I’ll have the audi do it as soon as I can get in to see her. I’m on this 60-day trial, and if I only get in to see her every 2 weeks, it just burns up all my trial time! As it is, I simply can’t wear the aids AT ALL anymore with the painful, custom molded silicone tips. I had such high hopes for them…

#31

Yes. Your marvels have a pin that needs to be pushed about a millimeter to unlock it from the hearing aid–if you drive it through, you have to send the hearing aid for repair so if you have any concern at all get your provider to do it. But there are videos on YouTube that will show you how. No pin in the Life, it’s just plug and play.

Yes, but in my experience it doesn’t always work perfectly, so the hearing aids should still be checked and verified after the settings transfer.

#32

It’s coming. The system is $$,$$$ with ongoing yearly $$$$ cloud fees, so it is going to take some time for a lot of providers to adopt it. I can’t see that it really pays for itself over time either (e.g. it is not faster or cheaper) and earmolds are already expensive with low profit margins, so it will be a tough decision especially for smaller providers who also do not want to offset that cost onto their patients.

(I bet Cliff got his cheap-to-free given his influencer status.)

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#33

WOW! That was fast! In the time it took to just discuss this with my hubs, you’ve already responded! MUCH OBLIGED! :slight_smile:

I greatly appreciate that bit about being cautious with the Marvel receiver … and will wait to have my new audi do that for me (if it comes to that). Maybe a quicker resolution would be to just PULL the receiver on my Life aids out of their custom molded tip?

But again… PATIENCE. I just want to see if the sound quality is a function of the TIP on the receiver or the frequency band programming. Cuz something isn’t right with the new aids. Music streamed through my phone sounds like a BAD BAD public address system: very distorted, thin, harsh, like it’s all high and mid-range frequencies and no rich depth to it at all.

1 Like
#34

Depending on what sort of tip you’ve got, yes it’s friction fit. Do be a little careful because if you pull it wrong you can strip the wire, but that was more an issue with the old receivers than the new ones. And yes, if the tip is fitting poorly and causing too much venting that can certainly affect the sound quality. It’s also important that your audiologist inputs the acoustic code writen on the tip into the software. Also, changing the tip changes the programming requirements.

Oh, depending on the custom tip it can be hard to get the tip back ON if you don’t have a specific little tool. Maybe worth getting in to see your provider about.

#35

I got these when I was first replacing my Starkeys. I actually liked the sound and the ear tap interface. I went swimming with them a couple of times, always with a swimming cap. However, because they’re only rechargeable and I was streaming music very often, they often ran out of battery before I got home. I decided to swap them for Paradise, as they have replaceable batteries but I have lost the ability to go underwater with them or to interact with them by tapping my ears.

#36

ALL good advice to be heeded! I am just going to have to wait this out till I get back in to see the audi…

She was SO sure that with a snugger fit the aids would give me better sound. I DO love that they are that sticky-friction kind of silicone. Never once had to push them in during the day, and that’s something I do like 100 times a day with the double domes.

#37

I can totally relate to your choice here. While I probably don’t stream music as often as you, I DO find that streamed music is a great way to get through a workout; phone call and movie streaming also eat up the charge.

I am probably going to go the same route - swap these for Paradise battery aids. I’ve never been a fan of rechargeables, and the ONLY reason I got these Life aids is for the promise of being able to do water sports with them on.

#38

I’m a new hearing aid user since October 2021, i have the Paradise P90s rechargeable, i wear my aids from about 9 in the morning to 10 at night and before i take them off theres about 65-70% battery life remaining, that’s just having them on in the automatic program without any streaming, so i could easily get more than 2 full days out of a full charge, i don’t stream music, but i do like a podcast or audio book when i’m driving, so in that case i could wear my aids all day and listen to an audio book for about 4 hours and still have plenty of charge left at 10PM. I stick them in a dehumidifier at night and charge them in the morning, they don’t even take that long to charge, and i imagine because they are a sealed unit, they’d be more water resistant than the 312 battery operated aids, and they have a couple of more functions than the 312s and i use them with the titanium Cshell. Just my thoughts on the rechargeables over the 312s.

#39

Is your hearing loss quite mild?

My friend tried P90 RT but with a flat 85 dB loss, she found the charge didn’t last all day and that’s without any streaming.

The less of a hearing loss, you have, the less battery power, it’ll use.

#40

No, My hearing loss is moderately severe, I don’t have my audio graph, I did have it but it was handed in to my doctor.

As i said, I can easily get more than 2 days out of mine.

#41

They may just need to be remade with an open jaw or moving jaw impression if you are someone who gets a lot of movement in your ear canals.

The huge majority of may patients get a full day out of the battery even with considerable streaming.