Phonak Naida V90 vs Naida B90

#1

First post and a long question so bear with me. I am getting my second set of hearing aids. I have been using the Phonak Naida Q90 SP for 3 years. With my insurance I am able to get a new set every 3 years with a max dollar amount of $5k. My hearing is considered profound and my audiologist recommended the Phonak Naida V90 size 13 battery. I used these for a week or so and was really surprised on the new sounds I was now hearing. After some adjustments he was able to get the Bluetooth audio through the Compilot 2 to sound really good. I asked to try a set of the Naida B90’s since they were newer technology and my insurance would cover either the Naida V90 or the Naida B90. The Naida B90 work well for speech like the V90’s without any fine tuning (on the V90 & B90 he just basically copied over my settings from the Q90’s as a baseline and then once I decide which aids I would rather go with we will fine tune them). But getting the Bluetooth audio on the B90’s to sound as good as the V90’s has been difficult even when the exact same settings were copied over to the B90’s Bluetooth audio mode. The B90’s seem to be lacking in, for lack of better words, a fullness that has a rich bass and mid’s without so much of a high tinny, in a can sound (if that makes sense).

My question is this:

•Is there a significant difference between the Naida V90 & B90 both using the 13 battery?

•What terms should I use or say that would help my audiologist better adjust the Bluetooth audio on the B90’s for the rich sound I am after that is present in the V90’s?

I feel I should probably go with the B90’s because it’s newer tech and my insurance will cover either pair I choose, but I am open to suggestions. I have done a search and read for hours but still can’t really find what I’m looking for. Advise from experienced wearers us appreciated.

Thanks to all

iPhone vs Android
#2

These PDFs might help;

Phonak Naída V Features Page 7 -vs- Phonak Naída B features Page 7

#3

Seems like Deja Vu All Over Again doesn’t it? The Nadia’s even have the same new SoundRecover 2.

See this thread;

Brio 3 Processor

#4

I’ve read just about all I could find on the Phonak website. The site is not real clear cut on what the differences are.

#5

No, it is very clear! Did you click the links in my posts?

#6

The difference between V and B is added slow compression speed in B. That’s all.

#7

My audiologist told me that since my hearing is very profound, l wouldn’t tell the difference between the Naida B 50 UP and Naida B90 UP. I told her that l wanted speech in wind program and costs much more money. She recommends the B70 UP so she can make more adjustments for my hearing loss than the Naida B50 UP. The only difference between the V and B is the slow compression. I prefer the UP for the larger 675 battery since l require more power and less frequent battery changing.

#8

Is the slow compression an automatic things or is it something that is turned off & on through the software, also is it on all modes including the compilot bluetooth and phone?

#9

I am going to see an audiologist today and l will ask your question.

#10

Thanks. I cant get into mine for a couple of weeks. I’m still wondering what I should say that would make it easier to adjust the compilot/Bluetooth modes to give me a deeper, richer sound like I described in my original post.

#11
#12

Probably a silly question, but what exactly is/benefit of slower compression?

#13

I’m wondering the same as well.

#14

Click the link 2 posts above for more info on slow compression.

#15

Slower compression does a better job of maintaining temporal cues, which can be important for individuals with such a limited dynamic range (resulting from sever-profound hearing loss) that spectral cues are pretty distorted, or for users with cognitive issues. The Digital Contrast option is not default, and would have to be turned on. Off the top of my head, I think Phonak found in an internal study that about 30% of users with profound hearing loss preferred it. Unfortunately, there’s no option to put the typical strategy into one program and digital contrast into another, so no easy way to compare without going back to the clinic and having it switched back and forth. Most providers would probably default to NOT using it unless they were running into trouble.

The only other difference that I think might be significant in the Bs vs the Vs is the option for Roger+Directional mode, which only matters if you are a Roger user.

iPhone vs Android