Phonak/Oticon have worn both not sure which to go with for next pair

Hearing Aids
#1

I am about to purchase new hearing aids and I’m looking for some input to help me decide what to buy. I’m 60 and I’ve been wearing hearing aids for about 12 years. My hearing loss is due to otosclerosis. I have moderate to severe mixed hearing loss with low frequencies causing me the most problem without hearing aid assistance.

At present I’m wearing Oticons (Opn 1 miniRITE) which are about 5 years old. Prior to that I wore Phonaks (I don’t remember which model). I really like my Oticons - the sound quality is much better than my Phonaks which sounded tinny to me. I’m guessing that’s in part due to the newer technology as my Phonaks were purchased 6 years prior to my Oticon’s - but I’m curious to hear if others have input as to sound quality between the two brands.

I love that Phonak now has a waterproof hearing aid - so that is pointing me in that direction for purchase.

I wear my hearing aids from the time I get up, until I go to sleep and I do a fair amount of streaming during the day, so battery life is important to me. Let me know what your battery life experience has been. I’m also curious how long the rechargeable batteries will last?

Thank you in advance to anyone who takes the time to respond. I’ve spent time on both the Oticon and Phonak sites, and I will ask these questions when I see my audiologist - but getting info from actual users is very helpful. Thank you again!

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#2

I have worn aids for 20 years, I have worn Oticon aids now for 14 years, I have tried different aids from different companies and keep coming back to Oticon. My reasoning is very simple I love the sound of Oticon aids. All of the others didn’t stand up to my needs, some are two harsh, some just sound to weak. My advice is simply find the aids from the company that sounds the best to you and your needs and stick with them.

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#3

Phonak is about to launch a new product line.
I’d hold station for a week or two as you might be interested in it…

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#4

I like Phonak very much but I’d encourage you to stick with Oticon for 3 main reasons. 1)You like the sound. You could probably get used to Phonak but why fight it. You know you like Oticon. 2) Many people complain about Phonak’s battery life. 3) Phonak’s “waterproof” claim is much overstated.
There might be some features about the new Phonak you would like better but I think it’s a safe bet you would be pleased with the Oticon.

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#5

I’ve tried both the Phonak L90 and the Oticon Intent within the past 6 months or so and I much prefer Oticon. I had connectivity issues with Phonak, battery life is limited, and I did not like AutoSense, which switched programs in ways which made no sense. Others have had the same complaints. OTOH, my sister loves the Phonak Audeo Paradise after trying several other brands, so it may be worth waiting for the next generation of Phonak to see if they’ve worked out the bugs in the Lumity series.

#6

I wear Lumity and I haven’t experienced any bugs or connectivity issues. Neither can I recall if I have seen any reported, apart from previous generation issues with the battery on the KS10s. I have however seen a few posts of people saying they have connectivity problems with the Intent, especially on android. I know that some of these are related to older versions of the O/S, and the reputation for MFI is good.

Autosense issues could be down to a poor fit. I have had a couple of poor fits with Phonak and that made the switching really noticeable, especially when moving to the “Comfort In Noise” program, where the aids went quiet. With a normal/good fit I do not notice the switching.

As for battery issues, I have disposable batteries on my version. But yes, the Phonak is inferior in terms of it’s daily charge when compared to Oticon and Signia.

FWIW I also wear Oticon NHS hearing aids from the NHS. With NAL-NL2 I detect very little difference between Oticon and Phonak in terms of sound quality and that is over a period of several years. In fact in general, over 30 years, the sound quality of both has been excellent. I am not jumping to the defence of Phonak and I would concede that I have experienced on a couple of occasions, fitting issues which have resulted in dissatisfaction with Autosense and general comprehension in noise. But part of the reason for that was that on both occasions the aids were not suitable for my loss i.e. they were underpowered. I have had less issues with Oticon fits, but that’s maybe because these have always been via my local NHS who have performed REM and are generally very competent.

However, that said, it’s probably the case that the Intent is probably ahead with it’s tech at the moment. Not only because it’s a newer release, but because of the AI/deep learning stuff. I would have trialled it, but there is no superpower version available.