Phonak vs Oticon, wind noise while riding a bicycle

Hearing Aids
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Hi all, I’m currently trying out new hearplugs, to maybe replace my current Phonak Marvels.

I first tried Oticon intent, and the only plus they had over my current ones is that the wind noise while riding a bicycle was ‘doable’.
I’m now trying Phonak Infinio (without Sphere), and was hoping that several generations of development, the wind processing would be better.
Unfortunately, this is not the case :frowning:
I still have to take them out or turn them off while riding to work, as the roaring GRGWAGGHOBLE sounds are unbearable (this on a normal bike, not a sportsbike or racingbike).

My audicien explained that Oticon closes the mics on top once it detects wind noise!
If the solution is so simple, why is Phonak not doing that?
Or, why can’t I disable the top mics in a custom program?

Very confused and also disappointed. I think I will stay with the marvels.

Maybe put some tiny spoilers on them, to keep the top mics out of the wind?

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There are several different things ppl put on the HAs to address this. A thin sweat band someone here used successfully, (maybe @JordanK ? ? Can’t remember for sure). There are a couple other things out there too. Little sleeves to go over the ha body.

WH

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I’ve had Phonak Naida P70 UP and Oticon Xceed 1 UP.

Phonak I couldn’t hear any wind at all even when it was really strong.

Oticon I could hear the wind quite well.

Maybe it’s how the HAs are set up?

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4

I bought these helmet liners from Amazon to cover my Phonak Sphere’s. Solved my wind issue completely. Still hearing a bit of wind but no loud cracking.

https://a.co/d/2aG9Afb

Jordan

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I was also going to suggest a thin covering. My previous KS9s were awful if they were covered by any kind of fabric or when I had the hood up on a rain jacket or hoody. The rubbing noise of fabric over the HAs was intolerable. But my new I90s don’t have that problem. I can wear a toque over them no problem.

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Looking over the options, they also have just a sweatband for about half the price. (ASIN B01MQ4MJ33). I like the full cap under a helmet, but otherwise I think this band may be the way to go for me when I’m walking. Maybe I should butcher one of my old helmet liners and see how it does. (I ride a mc, and a bald head without a liner gets the inside of the helmet yucky.)

WH

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Same here. And it’s a pain to remove a MC helmet liner and try to wash it without breaking off any of those plastic tabs. I have a thin balaclava for cooler weather.

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I ride a Vespa GTS300 scooter while wearing my INTENT1 aids and I also drive around with the winds down on my vehicle without noticeable or irritation from wind noise. Now you I need to add I have custom ear molds and that does make a difference. Riding my Vespa I wear a half shell helmet so my aids are exposed to the wind. The key was working with my audiologist to get the fittings for my aids optimum.

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I have found that switching over to streaming (via compilot) and listening to music while I cycle addresses the wind issue. The downside is having to be more vigilant for the traffic that I can’t then hear…

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I wear Oticon Real and also have custom ear molds. I get very little wind noise when riding my recumbent. Hopefully you will get an adjustment or try custom ear molds as cvkemp already suggested. Jokingly try riding slower :grinning:

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I found with the Paradise that the wind noise was very helmet specific. You might go to your local bike dealer and test ride some helmets.

Jim

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A lot of people swear by these: https://www.cat-ears.com/.

My Jabra EP 10s claim to suppress wind noise, and they did for a few months when new. Then, with no changes that I know of, the wind noise came back. I got used to it, so I stopped looking for a solution. It sounds like you get louder noise than I do or are more sensitive than I am.

I almost bought the cat ears. I was sold, so my reco is to look at them.

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Actually, it’s a lot more than just shutting off the mics. How would you hear anything else?
The Intent has settings for a wind and noise stabilizer, which actually attenuates only the frequencies at which the wind is detected, so other sounds are passed.
Your audi can access the settings in the Genie 2 fitting program.
Phonak has Wind Block, but I’m not sure how it works.

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I would say it is weak sauce.

WH

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LOL!! I didn’t want to blunt, but yeah.

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I’m a Phonak fan. But I’ll admit where I think it’s weak. I haven’t been out in a breeze with the sphere infinios yet, but the audeo p90s were miserable in a breeze, even a light one.

WH

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The issue I have with Windblock from Phonak and similar wind blocking features on other hearing aids is that they do a good job of cutting wind noise out but speech recognition drops to nothing. It’s ok when you are outside by yourself but when you go for a walk or bike ride with other people, you can’t hear them.

Jordan

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18

Reading through these posts got me to looking at each posters audiogram. The hearing loss plays a big part on how the aids are set up. This in turn plays a big part on wind noise.
I used to wear Phonaks and they were great pertaining to wind noise. Now these Cochlear processors are not as good but that might be because I can now hear very well.

Good thread

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@cvkemp

You were right.
I needed molded inserts. Bought them; I’m so happy! Sorry I didn’t listen sooner. Thanks for your patience.

I shall get the helmet liners tomorrow. @JordonK Thanks!

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Hi all,

Thanks for all replies!

I’m a long time lurker here, but new to replying :slight_smile:
Is it custom to reply to all replies individually, or is it ok to reply to myself answering all replies?

I’ll do the second option, and will hear if that’s ok.

About helmet liners, and cat-ears, I’m not wearing a helmet :slight_smile: It’s just a casual ride to work on a city bike. But I may give the helmet liner a try anyway, just to see if it works.

Also, I’m cannot imagine that custom molds would make any difference, as I guess the wind noise comes from the mics, not from leaking into my ear? It sounds sort of like acoustic rumble. Even if I turn them off, the rumble is still there, although a lot less.
Could custom molds really make a difference?

Switching to streaming is not really an option, as it’s rather busy in the city. Also, riding slower would make me fall over :wink:

About Oticon closing the top mic if wind is detected; supposedly it then only closes the mic on top, that catches all the wind. The mic on the back stays open. Or so I’m told by my audicien.

I’ve had the same wind problems with 2 previous sets of Phonak hearing aids. Several audiciens have done their best to tweak them, and I don’t think more tweaking will solve the windproblem. We’ve tried a ‘wind program’, but it just suppressed all sound and was no succes. When I forgot to switch back to auto sense once at the office, I thought my hearing aids were broken!
And I think the Wind block is a joke.

Lastly, @WhiteHat mentioned ‘little sleeves to go over the ha body’. Would that be some kind of furry windscreen, as you see on the mic of a reporter on tv? Where would I find them?

Tom