Hi,
I was recommended to choose between a Q70 or a Q90. Can anybody tell me whether the extra features in Q90 are worth the price? This is my first hearing aid, and I have no experience with them at all. My hearing loss is described as moderate.
You can see the differences here:
http://www.phonakpro.com/com/b2b/en/products/hearing_instruments/features/performance-table.html
I am looking for more specific feedback. If some of you had this choice, how did you decide which to choose?
Speech in wind and auto-stereozoom are the 2 main distinguishing features. I find that auto-stereozoom is very slow to kick in and most people activate it manually anyway. That leaves speech-in-wind, and if you are not someone who is going to be conversing in the wind outside very often, then the Q70 makes sense for best value.
I have the Q90’s and I am very pleased with them. The extra three features are well worth the money. Here are my thoughts:
Autostereozoom: Awesome feature. Prior to getting the Q90s, I was wearing the Audeo S Smart IX’s. The Smart IX’s had stereozoom but the Q90’s take it a step further by making it automatic. The net result is that once the auto mode is setup properly, you rarely touch the hearing aids. The trick is to get the noise threshold setting dialled in properly so that autostereozoom kicks in at the appropriate level of noise. If you are finding it too slow to kick in, you have the threshold set too high and need to get it adjusted. It seems like such a small thing on paper but once it is setup properly…its really good.
Speech in Wind: I don’t use this setting. I find the automatic WindBlock feature of the Q series hearing aids is good enough for getting rid of annoying wind noise when you are doing something outside. I could see the Speech in Wind setting good for someone who golfs or spends time boating, etc.
AutoZoomControl: I was having doubts about what this setting was good for until I tried it in the car. Works great. For me…talking to people in a car on the highway is a pain because sometimes the conversation comes from the right side and other times from behind. This setting helps quite a bit.
So…to answer your question…these features were worth it for me. In fact, I would say that AutoStereoZoom on its own made it worth it for me.
Let me know if you have any more questions. I’m a very fussy user and I spent months testing the Q90s and comparing them to the Resound Verso 962’s before I purchased the Q90’s in December.
JordanK.
I have the Bolero Q90P and the auto ZoomControl makes the Q90 worth it for me. It works great in a car even when listening to just the radio. The Speech in Wind is great also, but I use it less than the Zoom.
Please post your audiogram as your signature. seriously. my audiogram indicates that I can get by with the q30, why? because I am deaf in one ear so none of the binaural features will work for me. if an audi suggested the q70 and q90 to me without pointing this out, that tells me that my audi is either not very competent or is trying to get more money out of me.