Phonak SoundRecover2 vs. ReSound Sound Shaper

Hearing Aids
#1

Hello!

I used to use frequency transposition when it first came out with my Phonak. Then, the second generation came out of Sound Recover, named “Sound Recover 2” and it seemed to be very flexible.

Since I now have a cochlear implant (by Cochlear) in one ear, I switched brands to Resound which has a very very basic sound recover type of technology. I asked them if they had plans to add more creativity (there’s different variations available with Phonak from what I’ve read) and they said no. I thought I had benefit from Resound’s sound transposition, but when I had it turned off, I heard things that I’d assumed were a part of sound shifting is the best way to describe it: with my mild to profound hearing loss, some regions aren’t worth aiding and some are and yet when I upgrade (usually every 8-10 years with the highest tier tech) I notice such a difference!

This is undoubtedly due to the hearing aid itself being so much better as well.

I seem to think Sound Recover 2 would be wonderful for me, but given Resound and Cochlear’s Alliance, it’s best to stick with these brands.

I suppose I could trial a Phonak and also a Resound the next time I buy a hearing aid. But it would be quite confusing I would think, to me.

Plus, there’d be no bilateral phone calls since they each use a different type of Bluetooth (Cochlear uses what Resound uses, Low Energy MFi), although if Phonak decides to utilize 5.2 LE Audio then that could change but that’s for the future.

#2

I’m guessing it’s simpler to stay with Resound if you have an implant by Cochlear. Technicality: Both Resound and Phonak use Frequency Compression (not transposition). As you mention, Phonak’s is more sophisticated. I would think having a Cochlear implant in one ear would make frequency lowering much less important.

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#3

I wear two Cochlear Kanso2 processors and use an Android Google Pixel phone with no intermediate device. Works great.

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#4

Since Cochlear implants don’t always restore hearing to full levels and depending on hearing loss, even new frequencies I hear are still being interpreted in the moment as new: eg. My brain doesn’t always know how to assign a specific sound to a specific new frequency heard (hearing history as well as continued adaptation, and perhaps the limited range of sounds from a cochlear implant, etc play into this). It helps to have my other ear be able to try the latest technologies. The ear I had implanted is my much worse ear and my left ear which is not implanted still remains dominant for me.

It’s all fascinating. There’s been benefits but it’s not magic. I wish my brain would be able to transfer the sounds it hears on the implanted side to my hearing aid side so both hear it. I feel like (aside from potential problems with directionality), this could help the brain absorb the sound and it be more natural.

My apologies, it’s hard to explain this in a clear way.

So I’m basically wanting the best technology for frequency compression available to make full advantage of the potentials of my left ear without an implant.

In my observation, it seems people want to wait until the ear is unusable before implanting it. My left ear has allowed me so much because of the low frequencies and mid-frequencies (where it really drops off). So Phonak has always supported a lower cut off frequency for their SoundRecover. So I’m actually going to have a chance to try out an Audeo Paradise while my Resound gets repaired.

I had a hybrid implant in my right ear that was a shorter array by Cochlear. Great! Still had significant drops but there’s enough there to have continued amplification with the Cochlear acoustic component (hearing aid RIE attachment).

So it’s interesting!

I tried Resound SoundShaper when I first received my Linx2 and it seemed to be terrific. But actually, my previous hearing aid (Phonak Audeo YES - first version of SoundRecover supported) was 8 years old and so when I had the “new” Linx2 programmed without SoundShaper, I didn’t notice a difference! In both with and without SoundShaper, it was as if I was hearing more sounds or specificity. But not really, as my older hearing aid (Phonak Audeo YES) was also programmed properly to have gain for all the appropriate frequencies. I guess the newer chips make a difference?