Hello can anyone help me I am considering getting private hearing aids and want to know which of these would be better for me I really struggle socialising these days back ground noise in pubs /bars restaurant’s are a nightmare I really don’t like going out anymore it drains me I have to use so much mental effort to hear conversations. The latest models from Oticon and Phonak are 2 that I’m looking at , i wear Oticon NHS aids and have found them ok but since losing 40% more of my hearing last year through SSHL I am struggling with the NHS aids especially in background noise any place that’s over 70decibels of noise is almost impossible for me to follow conversation. Can anyone give me any advice thanks in advance
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Hi Steve,
I don’t think anybody will be able to answer your question, which aid is best for you. This is because how you hear is unique to you. Your audiometry results, your speech in noise (SIN) score or simply how well you can hear in noise, the environment that you live in i.e. what accents you face, how much noise you are exposed to - these are all factors that even if known, nobody will be able to then predict which aid is best.
The only way for you to know is for you to trial both.
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Here’s my experience. It may or may not be relevant to you. I bought Oticon Opn1 in 2016. They were a significant improvement over the Phonak Q90 I had been wearing.
At the end of 2020 I bought Oticon More without trialing them (because of an upcoming insurance change). They were a slight improvement but not enough to justify the out-of-pocket expense.
Earlier this year I trialed the current Oticon Intent. Again, a slight improvement but not enough to justify the expense.Others here have reported more significant improvements with successive generations of Oticon models.
Next month I will get Phonak I90 Sphere. From the reviews I’ve read here I am excited to see if I see a dramatic improvement in speech in noise comprehension.
Definitely try both. I don’t know how old your NHS HAs are, but if they are fairly recent, my experience suggests that you won’t experience a fantastic improvement with Oticon Intents. I’d say try the Intents first and then try the Spheres. Good luck.
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Hi thank you both for your time and response’s I have been watching a few reviews on you tube and from what I’ve seen the phonak are coming out top regarding SIN this is my greatest struggle so I think I’ll probably trial the Sphere Infinio first . I know Boots have these and also spec-savers who are £1000 cheaper for 2 aids , my worry is are there audiologists experienced enough as my NHS audiologist , he is Brilliant I’ve known him 10years unfortunately he can only do so much with NHS Aids . The ones I have are not even close to the 2016 OPN 1 they are years behind in the technology features. Finding a good knowledgeable audiologist who will fit the aids thoroughly using best practices and REM does concern me , I suppose the only way to find out is to go for a fitting with to 2 places I’ve looked at if anyone has any more information about Boots or specsavers fitting experience I would appreciate it thanks in advance Steve
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I think you should also consider Starkey Edge AI. Ziphearing review states that it performs better than Phonak Sphere while being smaller.
I thought the noise reduction and speech enhancement of Edge AI was as good as Phonak Sphere (and better in some ways), and at less than half the size of Sphere.
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Hi Steve,
Your experience and concerns mirror mine. With the NHS, at least, what I have experienced, you get REM and good audiologists. Of course, there are good private audiologists as well. Worryingly though, Specsavers and Boots do not do REM. My recent experience of Specsavers was not good. They did a poor fit and the adjustments made it worst. I ended up having to self program using the Audiogram Direct in situ program in Target. It was not the best fit. I sold the aids and thankfully got new Oticons via the NHS fitted to REM.
To be fair I may have big ear canals or something that makes me difficult to accurately fit. I have seen a few success stories on here of people successfully being fit at Specsavers and Boots, so you might find them Okay. At least you’ll get a trial so you can return them if there are problems.
Hi glucas thanks for your reply would you mind telling me the name of your new NHS hearing aids ?. How do they perform in noisy environments can you hear conversations better ? . I just don’t want to spend £4000plus on hearing aids if they are not fitted correctly to my hearing loss . I have great trust in the NHS audiologist and your experience with private has only heightened my concern that they may not be as experienced.
Hi Steve,
They are Oticon Xceed SP 2 BTE hearing aids.
The answer to your question is essentially yes, but let me give you some details of why I’ve said that and under what circumstances. Because our losses may differ and what is suitable for me, may not be for you.
I am a long time wearer of Phonak hearing aids, usually private. In the last 20 years I have been upgrading and buying each new release of Phonak and recently have bought the Roger On in as well. My last set of Phonaks are the KS10s (Phonak Paradise) from Costco (American discount warehouse which is popular on here where you can get aids fitted with REM for approx £1400).
The Phonaks were generally very good, Bluetooth excellent, but I struggled in loud noise and in the car. So I went to Specsavers in December 2023 and got fitted with an “Advance Elite” which is their top of the line model. They claimed it was the Phonak Lumity but it turned out it was a Unitron Vivante. Anyway, I wasn’t worried because Unitron and Phonak share the same tech and the hearing aids are very similar. In most respects the hearing aid was good but hearing in loud noise was a disaster - I could not hear anything in front of me above the noise floor, and music was poor - sounded tinny and with no bass. I returned the aids and did some thinking. This was by April 2024.
Because I had been fitted with Oticon Dynamo 8 aids by the NHS, I realised that the problem might be that I needed a BTE. The Dynamos were better in noise (I discovered) and music was actually fantastic. So I went to Specsavers again (a mistake) and asked for the Phonak Naida Lumity SP. The first fit after some adjustments had some problems. I could not hear in a classroom setting (evening French). Loud noise was just too loud. I put them into the Target programmer and switched the fitting formula from APD 3.0 to NAL-NL2 and managed to program myself to a reasonable degree where music was good and speech in noise was a lot better.
However, in the summer, the NHS contacted me and told me my 3 year upgrade was due. They said, as my hearing was within the fitting range for their Oticon Engage RIC, I could try that (with moulds). This aid, as I understand it, is equivalent to the 2016 OPN 2 model. I trialled it and although it was a very good quality aid, the volume levels were just 6 out of 10. I went back to the audiologist and she said, Okay, we’ll try you with the Xceeds. At the time I was still wearing the Phonak Nadia Lumity and I was thinking, Okay, the Xceeds will be back ups, as the Xceeds are a model from the 2019, whereas the Nadia Lumity was new.
Wrong. I went down to London with my daughter and switched the aids for comparison purposes. The Xceeds were way better in noise. As you may know they have the Oticon opensound navigator. With this, the noise handling is not as aggressive as with Phonak, which I think has been benefit for those with a more severe loss as the gain is not reduced. I could hear on the London Underground. In the science museum I remember hearing my daughter in stunning clarity whereas the Phonak seemed to be in the wrong mode. In my French class I no longer struggled to hear the teacher. I did not even need to use the Roger. Music is sensational. The Bluetooth experience is sensational. I sold the Phonak Naida Lumity.
The difference between the 2 devices - one was programmed in REM (the Xceed) the other was not.
In terms of Speech in noise in a group/family setting I would also factor in one observation that has been pointed out by a couple of other members of the forum. If you are in a group situation and there is a lot of background noise, yes, the Phonak Sphere will scrub the background noise, but unless it is fit correctly to REM, you will still have problems understanding all the talkers (assuming you have a moderately severe loss or beyond) - so to me it’s not just a question of which aids can scrub the noise the best. I went with an outfit called Audiological Science a couple of weeks ago to trial the Spheres. Their fit was woefully incompetent, with no REM. The vent in the receivers was too large and it leaked the sound. I was impressed with the Sphere and its AI program but I still struggled a little bit in group settings, especially with their bad fit. I returned the aids.
I have now contacted an outfit in Kidderminster and am getting the Oticon Intents. The guy is claiming he will do REM. I am not that bothered if it does not work out as I have the Xceeds but he claims that there should be an improvement. To be honest I know that the Xceeds are pretty good in noise, it is just those very loud noise situations abd also those groups situations in quiet where I would like to evaluate the Intents.
I don’t know if that helps your thought processes. I think the bottom line from me is that REM has been really important. If fit with REM both the Sphere and Intent should be an improvement over current devices.
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Hi glucas thanks for the very detailed and knowledgeable reply , I found this all very interesting I have nowhere near the knowledge you have with hearing aids and terminology of them . I have used the Engage PP for the last 3 years and was always happy with them until I suffered SSHL last year . That’s when I asked my NHS audiologist for a possible upgrade he fitted me with an upgrade Oticon optim PP but I have struggled with these the SIN is not as good as the Engage aids and my audiologist has no idea why that is . I’ve been back a few times to try and have them fine tuned but they are still not good in noise . I contacted Oticon help desk today to enquire about how old the technology is in the Engage and the Optim the answer was Engage are 7years old and the Optim 6years old . I was quite surprised by that it’s more or less made my mind up to try the latest aids be it The Oticon intent or phonak sphere Infinio
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Hi Steve,
No worries. Please keep us posted with the outcome, as I am sure people are interested. Many, like you (and me) are looking at both the Sphere and Intents.
I have no idea why the NHS chose to not have a newer Oticon HA to choose from and chose technology that is so close.
Oticon UK told me the Engage is based on the Opn 2 and the Optim is based on the Opn S 2.
I hope you get on well with the newer private Aids.
I wear the Oticon Xceed 1 UP from the NHS. Not sure why I was given the Xceed 1?
Hi Steve, I am also in the process of choosing between the Oticon Intent 1 and the Phonak Infinio Sphere. I’m fortunate to have a good audiologist (an independent) who has given me both sets of HAs to trial at the same time. I currently use the Phonak Virto P90 IIC hearing aids and like most HA users want something that works better in noisy environments. I have to agree with much of what has been said about it being a personal choice. I’m still undecided as each brand has its Pros & Cons. I went to “The Ivy” on Saturday night in Leeds (you have one in Manchester) which is a very noisy & challenging environment for SIN and I was able to swap between both pairs of HA throughout the night. I personally found that they both performed well in noisy environments but when I manually switched the Oticons to its SIN program, I thought they were very good (better than the Phonak in my opinion). However, I find the Oticon Bluetooth LE audio very frustrating with Android mobile devices & Window laptops (I’m a retired IT professional so I’m happy to fiddle with technology), whereas the Phonak Classic Bluetooth is just straightforward. However, I dislike the size of the Phonaks. I’ve got the two trial HAs until the 3rd December and will be making my decision then. At this point, if the Bluetooth was better on the Oticons I would probably choose them.
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My dad just got given Oticon Play PX 1 as his upgraded NHS hearing aids about a month ago, he uses an Android. I was given Oticon Optim in July and I use an iPhone.
If you had a newer android like a pixel 7-9 or samsung s23-24 you’d be able to utilize BT LE Audio with the Intents, and connect to your PC (if it supports LEA).
The other option is the good old Oticon ConnectClip, which, like Phonak uses BT Classic to connect to legacy devices. ConnectClip Wireless Hearing Aids Accessory | Oticon
Glad to hear you’re enjoying your Intents! I’ve had the same positive experience with mine since purchasing them from the same online retailer as you.
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Thanks Flash,
I have a Samsung S21 Ultra that according to the Oticon compatibility web page it is supposed to support streaming media, but its very temperamental (most of the time only works in one ear). I am looking to upgrade my phone but the Oticon Compatibility web page says the Pixel 9 Pro only works with the Oticon Connect Clip (unlike the 7 & 8 which works without). My experience of the ConnectClip isn’t that great. they sound a bit tinny and I’m not sure you can change the equaliser settings via the app to get a richer sound. As for Windows laptops, I visited the UK biggest laptop retailer (Currys) and tried all their laptops on display for compatibility and only 2 worked out of about 30 worked (both had Intel Core 5 chips). It becomes an expensive purchase when you have to upgrade your phone and laptops when purchasing new HAs. The rollout of Bluetooth LE audio seems to be slow amongst the tech giants.
Thanks again for your feedback.
Was fitted with the Oticon Intent 1 at the weekend. This was an outfit called https://myhearingcare.co.uk/ in Kidderminster. The guy was advertising the Oticon Intent 1 on Ebay, but when I contacted him, it turned out he was an audiologist and he could do the fitting with REM. I was a little bit sceptical, given the advertised price, but when I got there, he had the REM equipment and duly fit me with the power domes with 100dB receivers. I was sceptical about that as well, as I thought we would run into feedback issues and the power would be insufficient. However, to my amazement, once we did the test and the REM, and cranked up the volume a couple of notches, it sounded just fine. He took impressions anyway, and said if I wanted the custom receivers I could let him know by Thursday as the impressions would degrade after that. It has been 3 days now, and to my amazement (given that I am wearing the Xceed SP 2) I won’t be needing the custom receivers.
In terms of the Intents, these are my impressions so far:
General Environment
The first thing that is noticeable about the Intents is the sound separation in terms of what you hear and how nuanced it is. I can give several examples, walking along the road, when hearing the traffic, it is easier to perceive the different engine sounds, and the squelching/thudding noise the cars are making along the ground. I went to fill up with petrol, and could hear the flow of the petrol going into the car, and not only that, the squeaking of the petrol pump, in amongst all the traffic noise around me from the road. In terms of sound fidelity, these aids are off the scale. With my previous and existing aids, this would have been presented to me as one picture, perhaps looking a bit monochrome, this is full colours, with separate aspects.
Car
The car is often difficult. Either listening to the radio, which competes with the engine and/or road noise, or talking to passengers. I drove back and without given to hyperbole, this was the most amazing experience I have ever had in a car with hearing aids. The low level bass was just fantastic. It was hard to describe. I listened to a Bruno Mars track and I could clearly make out the synthetic drums, and I noticed the progression and how they slightly changed in frequency (pitch). Lyrics were jumping out at me on various songs. I didn’t even have to try, but I was suddenly understanding whole sentences of songs that I had heard before but had never registered the lyrics. Usually, with other aids (apart from Xceed recently), I would have to put the volume up or switch program. I was just using the General program here on the default volume. I did switch to the “MyMusic” program as found that it was bassier, but I was happy enough with the general program.
TV
I have the TV Adapter, but I noticed that when watching the TV, I almost did not need it. I found myself not looking at the subtitles because I was picking up what people were saying.
Speech in Noise
I stopped at a motorway service station and sat in a really noisy open area. It was very interesting as I was able to discern peoples voices all around me. In some cases, I was able to make out snippets of conversation.
Taking my daughter in the car, I was able to discern what she was saying even though she had put the music on full blast (typical teenagers).
I am going out on Saturday night to a noisy restaurant, will report back here. I will try and compare how they do in this situation compared to what I remember of the KS10s and the Spheres (when I had them for a brief trial.).
Overall integration/comfort
Faultless. Quite amazing really, the power domes have to be pushed in sometimes, but they feel really good.
Music
Unbelievable. Quite honestly.
These are no going back unless I have a really bad experience in noise!
(Post was copied from above as I deleted by mistake!)
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Paul, 2 things to consider, here:
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Your S21 supports ASHA which is receive only, no transmit, so the CClip is needed.
For your issue, I found with my Pixel to achieve stable binaural connectivity, unpair the Intents from your phone, and forget them. Pair them directly to the CCip, and pair the CClip to the phone. -
Oticon’s compatibility chart is not up to date for the Pixel 9 Pro.
If you look at Google’s page here: here, you’ll see the P9 series all support HAP, which is LE Audio.
You would not need to upgrade your PC, but find a LE Audio BT dongle. Idk any other than Creative, which bundles the Creative BT-L3 with it’s gaming headset.
@glucas thanks for the detailed 1st impressions of the Intents.
If they meet your expectations Saturday night, you’ll have hit the same level of satisfaction as Chuck @cvkemp !
Looking forward to your f/up.
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Flash,
Thanks for the additional information. Interestingly the Google Pixel 8a is listed with the Google Pixel 9 series of phones on the link you sent, all grouped together as using “Phones compliant with ANSI C63.19-2019” unlike the Google Pixel 8, 8 Pro, 7 and 7 Pro, which are all grouped together using “Phones compliant with ANSI C63.19-2011”. The Google Pixel 8a is listed on the Oticon Compatibility web page, along with the Google Pixel 9 series, as all needing the CClip (so not directly compatible). This suggests that “Phones compliant with ANSI C63.19-2011” works but “Phones compliant with ANSI C63.19-2019” don’t. I also went into my local mobile phone retailer yesterday to test out the connectivity. My Oticon Intent 1’s connected to the Samsung S24 Ultra (streaming only) without a problem but they failed to connect with the Google Pixel 9 Pro. I accept this is not a scientific test, as the shop assistant helping me was not that great, and there maybe other variables at play. Both phones recognised my Oticon Intent 1 hearing aids but only the Samsung S24 Ultra connected. However, the volume on the Samsung S24 Ultra connection was at best average, even though I had set the Oticon app Streaming Media volume to max and the Samsung S24 volume to max. Is that normal do you think or can my audiologist increase the streaming media volume further ?
Have you (or anyone reading this thread) successfully connected your Intents to a Google Pixel 9 or 9 Pro or have you connected it to the Pixel 7 or 8 series phones ?
I’d like to think that Oticon just haven’t updated their compatibility web page but I’m not sure as the Google Pixel 8a has been out for over a year and oddly, according to your link, has the same “Phones compliant with ANSI C63.19-2019” as the Google Pixel 9 series.
Finally, I have also tried a Bluetooth 5.4 USB dongle (which indicated it has LE audio) with my Dell laptop but that didn’t work either (I’ve also set my Windows Insider Programme settings to the Developer Channel to get the latest Windows updates), but to be fair the USB dongle was quite cheap.
I like the Oticon Intent 1 but the issues & uncertainty surrounding the Bluetooth LE audio is putting me off.