Phonak vs. Oticon

Hearing Aids
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#1

I currently wear Phonak’s Supero 413AZ BTE. I did trial a Naida IX a couple years ago shortly after it was released, and I didn’t much care for it. Found the Naida to be buggy and problematic. So I went back to the Supero. Have had the Supero for 6 years now, and am wondering about Oticon’s Sumo. Anyone know what the sound quality is like with a Sumo? How it compares to the Supero? Just curious. I’m going to see if I can trial a Sumo next month. Has the Naida improved any since its release? I see they’ve released a new version (X?), but does it work better (as in less buggy/less glitches, not turning off/shutting down/restarting on its own, etc.)? Have an appointment for June 19, would like to get some input from you guys before then.

I’ve always worn Phonak hearing aids, ever since I was nearly 3 years old. I’ve never had a hearing aid from a different manufacturer, and am curious to try different manufacture’s products. (am still trying to get cochlear implant for left ear which is my dead ear, medicaid just being a bit difficult; but still keeping hearing aid in right ear). I’m considering a new hearing aid since my Supero has had a few problems recently that needed to be dealt with (battery cover broke for the first time ever; T-coil programming quit working overnight, hearing aid itself slowly getting battered up from 6 years of daily use, feedbacking issues). I do remember noticing some feedbacking with the Naida; how does Oticon/Sumo’s feedback control work?

#2

I fit a pair of Naida 3s on a person that was wearing Superos. She totally loved them. That is the entry level Phonak.

Now, she had molds on the Supero that had no vent. They were also old. I took new deep impressions with a pressure vent to get air in her ear. There was no feedback and the output was only slightly reduced when measured.

She has a profound loss in both ears with very low discrim but she noticed improvement in background noise.

#3

Has there been any improvements with the Naida from Phonak? Is it less buggy nowadays, etc? I may consider trialing the IX UP if I can get feedback from Naida users.

How does the Sumo do in noise situations? How about feedback control, does it really work to reduce feedback?

#4

Sumo is a good instrument But it is OLD technology to be honest it is 2003 technology.
Oticon is seriously lacking with this instrument. There is something comming @ euha
this year. I would not consider sumo but Naida which is more advance, you could always try
Unitron 360 and or Sonic Inn Endura

#5

Thanks for your response xbulder. I have tried a Naida 2 years ago and I didn’t like it them (too many glitches). Do you know if the glitches has been taken cared of since then with the Naidas?

#6

One of the main thing about the Naida is the MPO is usually low. The gain of the instrument is good but the MPO is usually low of the instrument. Then Sumo could be another option, I know GN has something call sparx which seems quite good

#7

For the Naida IX UP or SP:

If you go to iPFG’s Manual Fine Tuning Screen (set to show Output) you can re-adjust the MPO response right up to the instrument’s max output capabilities - in this case 126db min, 139db peak.

#8

I trialed a Sumo for almost 2 months. Not bad, seems like I was picking up a bit more with the Sumo than I was with the Supero (speech-wise. it’s possible my Supero needs to be adjusted but audie doesn’t have the right cord in her office so we couldn’t adjust the Sypero). After speaking with new audie, she’s ordered the Naida IX UP (which I’ll be getting on Tuesday). I didn’t like the T-coil setting in the Sumo. With t-coil on while I’m at the computer at work, it’s impossible to hear the music on my ipod with the Hatis Epic t-coil earhook, since I heard more of the electrical interference/buzzing from the computers. Very bothersome. I’m hoping things will be better with the Naida this time. New audie seems to be knowledgeable of the Naidas and how they work (her husband wears the Naidas too), and she’s had a LOT of experience with fitting Oticon products too. Will see how things go on Tuesday morning.

#9

cdmeggers, if you get the iCom, you’ll be able to listen to music at your computer. It’s much better than t-coil because you don’t to worry about interference or “positioning”. I still have a program set for t-coil…just in case I need it.
Good luck with trialing the Naidas. I’m still trialing the IX UPs and will probably keep them.

#10

I don’t know if my Medicaid will cover the icom too. I’m going to ask the audie tomorrow.

#11

Want my opinion on the Oticon Sumo? Stay away from them! Biggest piece of junk I’ve ever bought for 2600 bucks. With in a year both have broken and now the “rebuilt” one is broken again. Are they loud? Heck yeah they are loud, but like all power aids, they magnify everything to the point it’s hard as hell to hear in a noisy environment.

Cheap, Chinese, plastic junk from the Oticon, and I was an Oticon praiser having bought 3 pairs previously and had each for about 5 years. Outdated technology for an overpriced Aid. Tell you the truth, I have no idea what possesed me to buy them either.

There, that’s my opinion, take it for what it’s worth.

Brian

#12

The Naida is quite a powerful hearing aid. The important part is the settings. There are many ways this hearing aid can be set (various fitting formulas and degrees of linearity (is this a word)). Sometimes I find it best to measure the client’s old hearing aid and come close to matching the old equalization. The MPO does often need to be raised to help reduce compression (which can make speech more unclear). It can be a difficult fitting and I have had client’s who need to come back for 3-4 adjustments before they are truly happy with it. As far as the “glitchy” function: I have heard some complaints in the past but have not been getting as many lately. Not sure if this is coincedence or if Phonak has improved the firmware (internal hearing aid software) to reduce the bugs.

#13

Thanks for your resonse Kadougan. So far I have no issues with the Naida IX; it just needs some fine-tuning. I do have an appointment with the audie for the 16th to make adjustments. Until the appointment, I’m just to wear it as much as possible and be in different situations so I can take note of what needs to be adjusted, that sort of thing.

#14

The #1 problem with Naida is the LOW MPO. It has good gain but if you take the time to do speechmapping you know what Im talking about