Problems that I have always had with Phonak hearing aids that were never fully resolved

Hearing Aids
#1

And this is why I fired them:

  1. Every generation of Phonak hearing aids, the signal kept getting quieter and quieter. Which is not what I expect from a hearing aid at all.
  2. They eliminated CROS support for their NAIDA UP line, which I need for my hearing loss. My Naida Bs are the last hearing aids that support CROS.
  3. They sound too mechanical compared to my new Oticon aids. Oticon sounds far more natural.
  4. Windblock sucked.
  5. Just about any digital signal sucked - from voices coming from the dashboard in my car, to beeps from the POS device at registers that were always too loud.

I experience none of these with Oticon aids.

I highly recommend trying Oticon if you have a choice, and if your audiologist is not married to Phonak.

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#2

You didn’t fire Phonak…they still exist.

you decided that another brand was more suitable to your needs. Just like folks who switch cellphone brands.

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#3

No, I FIRED THEM. They will no longer be serving my hearing loss. Period.

Eff them.

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#4

I’m overall happy with my new Phonak Lumity HAs, they are the first Phonaks I’ve liked in 20 years and I’ve trialed both the Paradise and whatever was before that so that’s saying something. I am not experiencing most of the issues you have described (and obviously I don’t need CROS) but I agree the wind block is terrible. I’m going to see if I can get it turned off or down next time I’m in.

It sounds like this whole journey from Phonak to Oticon ended up for the best for you as otherwise you wouldn’t have found your new hearing aids that suit you better. It’s completely understandable that you have no interest in working with Phonak now that you have your Oticons.

Personally I’m keeping an eye on the upcoming Oticon announcement to see if they are going to update their high powered line. I wasn’t thrilled with my previous Chili SP9s but that’s pretty old tech by today’s standards and as I currently have no backup aids I plan to take advantage of my health insurance to get another pair as soon as I’m eligible again and I did like the overall sound of my Oticons, just not the speech quality.

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#6

@Heather_R - The speech quality, for me, is unreal. It sounded mechanical in my old Phonaks (and thinking back, it always sounded that way). In my new Oticon Xceed 1s, they have restored a natural quality of speech that I had missed that I hadn’t had since before my Naida Q series aids.

And yes, it’s all about what works for you. I would never prevent someone from wanting to try Phonak if that’s a better option for them. But, I will call out audiologists whose only objective is to push a brand they are receiving financial kickbacks for (and it’s very obvious in their behaviors).

The choice should always be left up to the consumer.

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#7

My current fitter has everything but Oticon unfortunately which is partly why I haven’t tried Oticon yet. I was in a bit of a bind with literally one HA left that was rapidly becoming unreliable and had to get something before the 2 month wait for an audiologist near me in my area and this fitter is otherwise quite good and has all the options apart from Oticon.

When I finally get in to my new audiologist in a couple weeks I will see if I can trial the new Oticons (I made sure they carried all the brands with UP aids) as my Phonaks will still be in their return window.

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