Phonak Audeo Q90

Hearing Aids
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#1

I just picked up my Phonak Audeo Q90’s this morning from the VA. They are replacing the Oticon Delta 8000’s that I got in 2007 from outside the VA at a cost of about $6000 for a pair. I’m writing this for a couple of reasons. One is to let veterans know that the VA provides quality latest technology hearing aids to veterans who are in the VA healthcare system. Your hearing loss does not have to be service connected according to my VA audiologist, although I believe mine is. The Q90’s were provided at no cost to me and it’s still early as I just got them this morning but speech understanding seems to be improved as well as the overall quality of sound as compared to the Oticon’s I mentioned above. I now enjoy listening to music again. I haven’t had a chance to try them in a noisy room yet.

My Q90’s came with the custom molds. The VA audiologist told me that seems to work best for most people. With my Oticons, I tried the custom molds and the plus domes and always ended up going back to the plus domes because they were more comfortable. She is willing to switch me to the open fit or plus domes if I want to go that route. I’m going to try to get used to the custom molds then maybe try the open fits at a later date. Sorry I don’t have an audiogram to post at this time. I do know that most of my loss is at the mid and high frequencies and is rated at moderate to severe depending on the frequency.

Not really sure where I’m going with this other than to say so far I’m pretty happy and to let all of the veterans here know that the VA does provide the latest technology high quality hearing aids at a great price…free…if you are in the VA healthcare system. This may be location dependant but it’s certainly worth checking out.

Thanks.

#2

Great to see another Vet getting great HA support from the VA!!! :D:D:D

#3

Please let us know your continued experience. I will be demoing the 90’s in about a week or so. I’m very curious how they will do in noisy environments.

#4

I will do that. I did eat in a fairly crowded restaurant last night and the person I was with, was sitting across the table from me. I could understand them easier than I could with the HA’s I had before these and really missed very little of what was being said.

I do some dancing on occasion (east coast, west coast, etc) and of course that leads to situations that have a lot of background noise making it difficult for me to hear the person right in front of me. That will be the real test and that hasn’t happened yet. I can tell you that with the Q90’s it is much easier to hear on the phone. I don’t use bluetooth or have that accessory but the audiologist told me that mine are set up so that when I hold the phone up to my left ear the left aid transmits the sound to the right aid also. I’m not conscious of hearing the phone speech in the right ear but I definitely do hear better.

I’ll report back with more after I’ve had a chance to do some dancing. I can tell you that in all situations I’ve encountered so far that it’s easier to understand speech than with the previous HA’s and the overall quality of the sound is more pleasing.

Good luck with your trial.

#5

Hi, how is it going with your HA’s? I just picked up my Phonak Audeo Q90’s last night, but can’t wear them today. One of them is getting this weird feedback issue…it sounds far away, but it’s constant so they have to fix that. I do notice that they are really tinny. I already own a Phonak, so am aware of that, but these sounded more so. I guess compared to the Siemens, I’m not as happy. I’m also not happy about the price. $6,400 for the top end, which is what I want as I don’t want to fool around with buttons. My Audi did say that alot of people don’t like the speech in Noise on the phonak because it really does focus in on just one person in front of you. I noticed on my Siemen’s, that it does focus in front of you, but I could hear the people sitting next to that person well, also.

I’m going to demo a Resound. If I’m not happy with that, then i might just decided to go back to the Siemen’s Micon Pure 7. they told me that they have never had the problem with the tubing falling out like it did mine. Plus…it’s $700 less than the Phonaks. I did love the sound quality on the Siemens, and they were great for Speech in Noise. Maybe it was just a fluke on that particular one I had.

It’s so frustrating…

#6

I just started a trial of the Audeo Q90s. If anyone is interested in my impressions vs. my Audeo Smart S IXs…please let me know and I’ll write a detailed report of my first impressions.

Jordan.

#7

Tisha, Jordan and Wilt, I would very much like to hear your impressions on the Audeo Q90. It is one of the models I am considering (the others being Oticon Alta Pro and Resound Verso 9).
The impression I am getting from reading a lot of posts on this forum is that people either love or hate Phonaks vs. all other brands. For some people they are hands-down the best HA solution for them, for others they are they are so tinny and unnatural-sounding that they are unbearable.
Since some of you seem to spend time in noisy restaurants I am particularly interested in your impressions on the Audeo Q’s speech-in-noise performance. I seem to remember reading a complaint that Phonak’s stereo-zoom feature allows you to effectively focus on the speaker right in front of you, but you sometimes have trouble hearing all the speakers in a fast-moving conversation among several people seated around a table in a noisy restaurant. What has been your experience? Thanks.

#8

Ziploc,

I will be demoing mine this weekend…I have to take it back Friday for them to fix some whistling sound. What my Audi told me (which agrees with what other say on the board), the zoom does focus directly to the person in front of you…and perhaps harder to hear the other people. I can tell you now if that is the case, I’m not getting them. When I demoed the Siemens Pure 7 Mi (which I might go ahead an just get), speech in noise was wonderful and I could hear more than one person. The windblock was great too. I was on a pontoon with 2 people sitting on the other side facing me…lots of noise from the motor and wind. I could hear them crystal clear…better than they could hear me (they were saying “what”?) and I wasn’t!!! I have that to compare the Phonaks, too, thankfully.

I’m very excited to try out the Resound Verso 962 (remember do not let them give you the 961), also. The Alta’s are too expensive for me at $7,400 is what my audi is quoting.

Anyway, i will let you know what I think after this weekend sitting inside a restaurant.

#9

Tisha, was there anything you didn’t like about the Siemens Pure 7 mi that kept you from deciding to buy them without making further comparisons? Or are you trialing the Audeo Q90 just to see if you can get even an better experience than with the Siemens?

#10

Tisha,
I’ve seen some people getting the Alta Pros for $6,300, so if you want to try them shop around and maybe another audi in your area has a better price. Another option is Oticon and several audi’s in my area have periodic specials in my area; the last being a month ago where the Alta Pro’s were selling for $6,200, so maybe they will have this promotion in your area.

#11

Seb,

I’ll ask my Audi about any specials. I don’t want to change because I really trust her and she goes out of her way for me. I think it’s just that she doesn’t really sell Oticon and wouldn’t get any deals? Don’t know how it works if you don’t buy alot from one manufacturer.

About the Siemens Pure Micon 7 mi…the reason I didn’t buy was that the part that holds the clear tubing to the microphone (the piece that sits behind the ear) actually came off one week after I purchased it. I was walking in CVS and heard something like a pencil drop on the carpeted floor. It was early in the morning, and no other noise around, thankfully. It just fell off! What if I hadn’t noticed? I felt there must be a defect in the way it is attached. My other ones attach by screwing on at the end. My Audi has told me that never has happened before and the rep was surprised. She said that maybe she didn’t attach it properly herself, but was very apologetic.

I’m thinking that if I don’t like the Resound Verso 962 (or the price), I may well repurchase the Siemens because I loved them. The sound is much less tinny (mechanical) than the phonaks, and like I said before, the speech in noise is terrific. There is about a $700 difference between the Siemens and Phonak. I get to replace each Siemens HA for $300 each. I figure I can replace them for less than what I would be paying the difference for the Phonak if something happens.

#12

So I’ve spent a full day wearing the new Audeo Q90s and I’ve definitely noticed some interesting improvements over the Audeo S Smart IXs that I have been wearing for the last three years. The following are a few observations. I will add more comments as I continue to use these hearing aids.

  1. Overall sound quality: This is very interesting. These hearing aids definitely sound better than the Smart IXs. I think the best way to describe the difference is that the sound is much more natural and unprocessed sounding. The old Smart IXs were very bright hearing aids. Some people like this…some people don’t. With the Smart IXs, things like the jangling of keys or dropping a fork on a tile floor or rustling of paper…were all very distracting and it was almost like the hearing aids made these types of sounds much louder than they should have been. Not so with the Q90. Everything sounds normal. Really not sure why. Maybe they have refined the sound processing based on comments from users. BTW…these Q90s were setup with the exact same settings as the Smart IXs. My audi imported the setting with no modifications using a feature in the software. He indicated that this was okay because both hearing aids use the exact same receiver.

  2. Auto Stereozoom: IMHO…one of the absolutely best features of the Smart IXs was StereoZoom. No other hearing aid on the market really has this capability and nothing is as good as StereoZoom for hearing in extremely noisy restaurants. For those who don’t know what StereoZoom is, when the hearing aids are in this mode, the microphones on each hearing aid cross broadcast wirelessly to the other hearing aid so that you are hearing the same thing in each hearing aid. Plus…the front microphones focus forward and only pick up sound in the speech frequency range. The rear microphones stay in omni mode for the other frequencies in order to allow for some environmental sound. The net affect is that it does an amazing job of letting you hear someone in front of you who is talking in an extremely noisy environment. Extremely noisy environments are tough on hearing aids but most advanced hearing aids can filter out noise that falls outside of the speech range. The worst case scenario is a very noisy environment where there are lots of people speaking at the same time. This is where StereoZoom blows every other hearing aid out of the water. The Smart IXs have StereoZoom. The Q90s take this a step further by putting the feature into the auto mode stack. This is quite cool. When I went to a very noisy shopping mall yesterday afternoon, the hearing aids automatically kicked into auto StereoZoom based on noisy conditions and this was actually quite useful. I had to ask someone at the mall information desk for the location of a particular store and I could hear her perfectly. I then had dinner at a noisy restaurant last night and it kicked in again as soon as I entered the restaurant. The funny thing was that the only way I could actually tell it had kicked in was by rubbing the microphones on one of the hearing aids and hearing the rubbing sound in both hearing aids. Very, very cool.

  3. Left and Right buttons: A cool little feature improvement is that you can setup the hearing aids so that the button on one hearing aid changes the program for both hearing aids and the button on the other hearing aid adjusts the volume for both hearings aids. This works because these hearing aids wirelessly talk to each other and can cross broadcast at the same time (this is what allows StereoZoom to work). The button which is assigned to volume basically gives you up to 10 db in volume increase. Each click of the button gives you 2 db gain and the 6th click take you back down to 0 db. Its not elegant but its useful for those days when you don’t feel like carrying around the ComPilot remote.

  4. ComPilot: The new ComPilot is quite cool and a definite improvement over the old iCom. Its a little bigger but the sound quality is better and I really like having a combo remote/bluetooth mobile phone solution in a single package. Still has the annoying wire that goes around your neck but the sound quality is crystal clear.

So that’s my first update. I will post more info as I notice more differences/improvements.

Jordan.

#13

I have now had the Phonak Audeo Q90’s for two weeks. I tried going back to my previous pair of hearing aids today for a while (Oticon Delta 8000’s) just to see the difference in reverse. The new Phonak’s are much more natural sounding to me. By natural, I mean they are much more like my natural hearing with the volume turned up. I see where a couple of people feel the Q90’s are mechanical sounding but I’ve experienced none of that. Almost everything sounds much better including music and speech clarity is also better. I still have not had a chance to try them in a dancing situation with loud music and lots of people but that will likely come tomorrow night. I have the custom molds but the vent holes are very large and no occlusion that I notice at all.

I have a couple of minor complaints. These are the RIC type (as were the Oticon’s) and the wires that come down from the main body of the hearing aid to the receiver inside the mold seem to be a little thicker and stiffer than the older hearing aids were and consequently more visible and don’t fit as close to the side of my head/ear. They are therefore more noticeable…just a cosmetic issue. Secondly, I play a lot of golf and when it’s REALLY hot and humid the custom molds tend to want to back out some. If I’m only perspiring lightly they are fine but when it’s really humid I believe I’m better off using the old aids (which have plus domes) or just taking them out altogether.

I have found that the profile which matches my audiogram has worked very well so far with no tweaking and I’m impresssed with that as I had to get the old Oticon’s tweaked several times before they were acceptable. I do like having a button what allows me to increase the volume in steps. It allows me to hear better in meetings when people who won’t speak up are talking. The old aids had no volume control. I find the default volume setting to be the one I use 99% of the time though.

I will report back at a later date after I have a chance to use these in situations with extremel high background noise.

#14

My experience for one
day with Audeo 90’s. they are more mechanical to my ears than the Siemens. Doesn’t really bother me as my old one is a Phonak Audeo Yes. Went to noisy restaurant this morning for breakfast…20 year old son directly in front helping me experiment with speech in noise. What happened is that in Stereozoom his actual voice and speech wasn’t any louder or more clear…but the background noise softened and its volume went down. When I turned the stereo zoom off, I could hear him just the same. So, I guess it sort of worked. Unfortunately I won’t have the opportunity to try on the boat for motor/wind to see how that sounds. Overall I am not anymore pleased with speech in noise than the Siemens. I think the cost will be the deciding factor.

Audi said Resound Verso will be expensive too, because they don’t do much volume. However if I like them as well as Siemens I might get the if not to expensive if I like how it is made…

#15

I tried a bunch of brands about a year ago thanks to the VA while I was currently wearing Rexton Cobalts. Once you like the sound of the Siemens (rextons) the others IMO sound ‘hard’ is the best I can describe it. I also much preferred the Tek/miniTek setup as it doesn’t need to hang around your neck.

btw, you folks with aids from the VA they will also furnish you with all the accessories once you decide which aids you are going to keep. (you may need to remind them)

I have the Pure Carats w/HP receivers, custom molds (would never go back), eCharger, miniTek, VoiceLink and down-loaded their app for a smartphone that will function as a remote to change programs and volume. Talking with the VA AuD the complete setup set the VA back around $1200.00.

#16

Been wearing the Phonaks all day. You describe the mechanical sound as hard. I agree, it’s really starting to bother my ears now after dealing with them all day. I

#17

consider bidbybid for Siemens.

huge positives on here.

elijah

search Siemens on eBay – he pops right out.

and,

he’s not my cousin unfortunately!

elijah

#18

I went dancing last night for the first time since I’ve had the Phonak Audeo Q90’s. It did not go well. Apparently the Q90’s interpret the music as background noise and attempt to mute the music. I could not hear the music well at all and could not hear people around me very well. The music sounded muffled. I’m guessing there is some setting my VA audioogist can tweak to correct this. My aids are set up so that the button on the right ear increases the volume and the button on the left ear decreases the volume. They do not change the program. As I’m typing I am realizing that I did not try increasing the volume while I was there. The audiologist did tell me in our first meeting that she could set them up so the button on each aid would change to a different program. This may be the way I need to be set up.

I believe that I read somewhere that these aids could be set up so that the button on the right aid controls volume and that the button on the left aid could be set up so that it allows switching to a different program. Can anyone verify this?

At any rate I do need to schedule an appointment with her to get this high background noise situation corrected. As far as the quality of speech and music in other situations I am satisfied.

#19

If your getting the HA’s from the VA tell the audi you want a ComPilot and I’m betting you will get it. The ComPilot acts as a remote control as well as a Bluetooth device for streaming audio from your cell phone, TV, etc. You could also ask for a TVLink and it would also be provided.

#20

I privately bought a pair of Q90 a week ago here in London. The price was ca. £4000 which is around $6000 including comPilot, FM microphone and TV set. It seems to be in line with what you guys are paying in the US.

Previously I wore CICs from America Hears that I had purchased over 4 years ago so bare in mind that I am also adapting to the new RIC format.

Here is my review:

  • Speech: on the first day I was happy with the speech quality. It was quite good and I felt that in the office - I work in a big open space - I could hear my colleagues better, the volume was a bit quite so I adjusted it using the com pilot a lot. I was a bit disappointed by the volume of the aids, I thought they would be very loud once reached the max volume but they were like, ok.

  • Bluetooth: I paired the compilot with my iPhone, iMac, Macbook and iPad. It’s quite fun to watch videos streaming the audio directly in your ears. Although you don’t need to spend 6k for a bluetooth headset.

Cons:

  1. sometimes, especially after restarting various videos, the audio goes out of synch. I found that clicking on the compilot to set the bluetooth off and then on again often solved the problem.
  2. I heard the music a little weird with almost no bass but the audi told me he would tweak this at the next session.
  3. If you are going to pair your HAs with your iPhone you have to do something about notifications. Every time I get an email I hear this Phonak lady in my head saying: “Bluetooth Audio” and changes the program of my HAs. Not only, on the iPad bluetooth activates every time you type something on the keyboard to let you hear the click sounds.
  4. If you are speaking on the phone via bluetooth and then you bump into someone you are going to hear this person weird because your HAs are set to hear from bluetooth. It’s like you when you are wearing headphones, with the exception that people around are not aware.

  • Smart program adjustment: my audi told me that there is a setting by which the HAs learn from my remote usage and automatically adjusts. This was a disaster, after two days it gradually decreased the volume and reprogrammed in a way that I was hearing like I was in a fish tank. It gave me headaches and they were so unbearable that I had to go back to my old hearing aids.

  • New session today: I went in today and told my audi what happened. He gave me this theory of the program readjusting itself so he disabled it for now. We went through quite a lot of tweaks to try eliminate that blocked up feeling. At the end of the session it felt better but they sounded a bit more tinny, especially my own voice. They were overall much louder than at the beginning of the session.

  • At the end of the day: the settings are so different that I have to digest the information that is going into my brain. I can hear noises clearer but voice recognition is not good. I can feel some echoing from mine and from other people’s voices.
    Something weird happens while walking on the street, I don’t know if it’s the stereo zoom but sometime I can hear random people on the street that are at least 5 meters away super loud and clear, they almost replace the voice of the person that is walking and talking next to me.

I also was in a cafe today with a colleague and all I could hear was the background music like it was in my head. I even thought that my bluetooth picked up some music device and I turned it off but it wasn’t the problem. I remember that the first day I wore the aids I had a meeting with my boss in a noisy cafe and I could hear her really well. So we must have screwed that nice setting up.

The pity is that I am going to see my audi only next monday so for the rest of the week I am going to hear badly.

I think that the way HAs are programmed and tested could be improved significantly. Look at the software industry: code is written to do produce specific outputs and tests are written to make sure the output generated by the program is what the author originally intended. If you change a line of code and create some unexpected behaviour, the tests will fail and the author will find out.

What I did today with my audi was lacking testing and version tracking. We were in a quite room where he was changing the settings and the only tests we did were with his and my own voice, we eventually went outside on the street to have a conversation in the noise. That’s all the testing we had done.

We ended up with a very different setup than when we started and I have the feeling we “broke” things that were working fine before, for instance: I didn’t hear that tinny before but now I do.

Do you know any way to test HAs after every program adjustment? Also, for a combination of curiosity and practicality, I want to be able to program my HAs myself, are there HAs similar to the Q90 with an available self programming kit?

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