Phonak L90 vs P90 - is there a big difference?

Hearing Aids
#1

I’m way down the rabbit hole.

My audiologist is an in-network provider for my insurance.

My audio quoted me her best price for L90 @ $4,300

I called the insurance company and cover P90s for $960 per pair.

That’s a big difference in price. So of course I’m torn between getting the better or the cheaper.

Does anyone know if there is a noticeable difference?

If I went with the lower price P90, what would I me missing?

My hearing loss borders on profound, and I’m having trouble understanding people with my Oticon OPN (current aids).

My googling is not getting me an answer, just more confusion.

Thanks,
Bob

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#2

There is no solid answer to your question. Some will claim the Lumitys changed their lives. My take is that unless money is meaningless to you, the Paradise should be just fine. A good fitting will be much more important than the hearing aids. If you’re near profound across several frequencies, I’d highly recommend custom molds. I’d also encourage you to find somebody who does REM so you know you’re getting adequate gain

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#3

@BobbyBoomer Maybe worth adding any recent audiogram you’ve done, so people on here can advise you properly.
For P90 vs L90, see here:

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#4

Just try both aids and decide yourself

Personally I’d go for P90 since I have profound loss and low speech perception.

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#5

Have you ever been told that your hearing nerves are damaged?
I have hardly any speech perception and have been told of the nerve thing with no help available. Thank you, Maggie

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#6

I came from a different brand and Naida Paradise 90 UP changed my life. I am back among those that take part in conversations in small group settings.
Our situations are not exactly the same, so you have to take it with a grain of salt. Don’t discount the paradise until you have tried it.
Just my 2 cents worth,
Dan

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#7

I have Phonak audeo P90R’s That didn’t work for me until several days ago. They are almost 2 years old. I had trouble with word recognition, conversation in noisy environments, and even conversation in quiet environments.

I agree that the fitter is the most important part.

My audiologist asked me to find someone that could help me more. So I did. Difference is night and day. My wife said, “What took you so long.”

Hope this helps.

edit: check out the waxguards They’re very very hard for me to change. Paradise P90’s.

DaveL
Toronto

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#8

If ITE/RIC hearing aids aren’t providing sufficient benefit for you, have you considered a super power BTE with a silicone mold?

If a super power BTE also doesn’t provide sufficient benefit for you, have you considered a cochlear implant assessment?

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#9

Thank you all for your input.

If I go with the P90s, I save $3,340, and that’s a lot of money.

The L90s are newer and probably will be better, but how much better is what I question.

I am shy to post my audiogram online. But I border on profound in the higher frequencies.

Bob

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#10

There is a noticeable difference to me – the Lumity actually exceeded my expectations. Better speech understanding in noisy environments, which greatly reduces listening fatigue. When I was wearing Paradise I would come home exhausted and frustrated after having lunch with friends because I was struggling to understand them; no more with Lumity! I’m hearing sounds that I was not hearing before (e.g., cat purring, car engine). Music sounds much better. I have moderate Reverse Slope Hearing Loss and my husband’s voice has always been hard for me to understand and that became even more challenging after he had throat cancer surgery, and understanding him has improved to the point that he even noticed the difference! Also for reasons I don’t understand, there is less whistling with Lumity, even though I’m using the same style domes. Recently I put my Paradise in for a few minutes just to make sure they are still working, and everything just seemed quieter. (I’m going to confirm with my audiologist that they have the same settings, but I’m almost certain they do.) I have seen nothing but positive comments about Lumity in these hearing aid forums, except some don’t like that they were not offered in a removable battery option. Not everyone is a fan of rechargeables, but I personally like them. Which reminds me – the battery life is longer with Lumity. I wear mine around 14 hours a day on average, but even at 16 hours they are still going strong. In the several months I’ve had them, I don’t recall the battery ever completely draining. I definitely suggest that you trial both of them, since each of us has a different loss, and what works for my low frequency loss may not work as well for your high frequency loss. Good luck!

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#11

Thank you very much, auntpie,

You may be costing me an extra $3,340, but I’ve had the OPNs over 6 years now, and will probably keep the Phonaks that long.

I want to understand what people are saying, and right now, that is very difficult.

Notes ♫

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#12

I, also, would suggest that you try both the Paradise and the Lumity. Also try BTE HAs. This is a very big decision. You know how much monetary difference the $3000 would make in your life. You don’t know how much difference the newer HAs would make in your life vs. your current HAs or vs. the cheaper new ones. So find out.

My guess is that you will experience a bigger difference between the Opns and the Paradise than between the Paradise and the Lumity. Phonak is more into beam forming. Oticon is more into “Open”. Maybe try the Oticon Real too. I’d say to do rigorous comparison work now and hopefully reap the benefits for the next few years of your life.

Re-assure your audi that you will definitely buy new HAs from them at the end of your multiple trials. Then buy the HAs you feel are the best value. Good luck.

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#13

I was told that a CI would be a better choice for me. But nothing about nerve damage

#14

No worries,
I am on the same boat as you, trying to justify an L90 expenses when the P90 is doing a decent job.
Like others have suggested, why not take the L90 for a spin at your nearest audiologist, assuming you can get a free trial, then you can make a clear decision?
Good luck

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#15

I’ve had Lumity L90’s since last October. I have not compared the L90’s to the P90’s (I went from Resound Quattro to Lumity) but I can certainly give you my perspective on what makes the L90’s unique. Biggest differentiator is Lumity’s ability to very quickly react to changing sound environments. This not only includes rapidly (and seamlessly) changing programs in the automatic (Autosense 5.0) mode, but these hearing aids seem to have a very unique (software) ability to rapidly detect and zoom in on conversations and sounds that are coming from completely different directions. Good example would be when you are driving in a car and the person sitting beside or behind you starts talking. Lumity immediately detects the conversation and almost instantly zooms to the speaker. Another example would be that you are in a lecture listening to a person talking on the stage. Someone behind you asks a question and the hearing aids immediately pick up the speech from the rear and then refocus on the speech from the front as the person on the stage answers the question. All this happens very quickly and the net results is a really good hearing experience. They have also improved speech in loud noise and other stuff but the way Lumity adapts to changing situations is the key thing that really shines with Lumity.

My suggestion would be to test both and decide if the extra money is warranted.

Jordan

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#16

Thanks again to all.

Good suggestions.

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#17

I thought that’s what sensorineural hearing damage was: to the nerves? That’s what I have going on. And if that’s the case, I hear JUST about as good as my hubs (no aids needed for him) in most cases wearing Phonak Lumity Life aids with L-90s on 'em.

One look at my audiogram will tell you: I NEED HELP! But the Lumity Life aids with just double power domes do the needful.

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#18

Not to complicate the question any more than it is, you might want to consider the L70 instead of the L90 and save about $1,000 on a pair. As I understand it, there is not much difference except that program changes have to be made manually on the L70.

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#19

With my hearing loss, I’do do an L-1,000 if they made one. :wink:

I’m totally happy with the L-90s I have!

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#20

Maybe do a price check somewhere else, or online with Ziphearing.com and see what the real price difference is. I dont think there is that much difference in price, but there is a difference in P90 and L90. I tried both and the P worked ok, and was a step up from my old ones, but the L is a step up from there. So glad i persisted. Also, i get much more battery life from the L. I had to give the Ps a 15/20 minute recharge in late afternoon to make it through the evening. The L will go from 7am to about 2am with no recharge and with 3/4 hours of streaming.

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