As a 30+ year hearing aid wearer (which includes a pair of Resound and 2 pairs of Signia hearing aids) with a borderline profound hearing loss, I consider myself an experienced wearer. @JordanK and I are simply describing our experiences and observations, and sharing the fact that some of them are MIND BLOWING.
Perhaps you should start your own thread about your trusty old ReSound Ones and Signia AX (insert back slap here) Also, it might be helpful if you shared your audiogram.
In all seriousness I am dying to hear a direct comparison between Lumity and More. From what I read here it seems Lumity improves listening in noisy places, which could be an edge compared to More. However, the comments about Lumity being able to reproduce details seems to me like Phonak playing catch-up to Oticon. I mean, it is just hard to estimate those improvements in a world of different technologies and personal preferences/needs.
When I did my test of Phonak Lumity vs Resound Omnia, I had actually my audiologist set both hearing aids up using the exact same audiogram, the same REM test against the same target algorithm (DSL2 I think). I then had both sets of hearing aids at the same time and I would swap a bit back and forth over a 3-4 week period. When the Omnia’s were not performing as well as Lumity, I even went back to the audiologist and had him double check and tweak the settings based on the detailed comments. I then tested them again and they were not the same.
The key difference was that Lumity seems to have many more automatic modes within Autosense 5.0 and seems to have an environmental awareness that is a cut above Omnia. Lumity also adapts really quickly to voice and environmental sounds from different directions and then adjusts the sound very quickly depending on what is going on. Good example is going for a walk outside with your spouse. The hearing aids have motion detection so they know you are walking. Spouse is walking beside you talking and after a few seconds, the sound of their voice pops up a bit and becomes clearer (even though the sound is coming from the side) and environmental noise drops a bit to help with speech clarity. Same thing happens in the car when you are driving and someone talks to you from the backseat. You can just suddenly hear them. Omnia didn’t adapt like this and none of my previous hearing aids did this either. In fact, I would even say most of my previous hearing aids (including the new Resound Omnia’s) seem to dull down the environment a bit. I personally think this is to help with speech clarity and to provide older users with a less jarring experience. Just my opinion.
There is something in the new Lumity software that is very clever and provides a more natural hearing experience. If you haven’t actually tested Lumity and experienced this, you can’t really make a claim that other hearing aid do it too. I don’t work for Phonak and this is my first Phonak hearing aid in a while so all my comments are just personal observations and not “back slapping”.
Jordan
Since I’m due to switch out “any day now” to trial the Omnias, it’s not worth a 14-mile round trip and the audi’s time just to adjust the high frequencies, IMHO. Except for things with high-pitched squeals not quite sounding as loud as I’m used to. all the sounds in the world sound pretty good with the Lumitys. And that one extra notch I added in the treble actually makes most other high-pitched sounds sound too “scuffy,” e.g., objects rubbing against each other. I think if I really wanted an apples-to-apples comparison, I’d have to ante up for custom molds for both the Lumitys and the Omnias (I’m only doing it for the Omnias to trial the M&RIE receivers, which I wouldn’t be able to wear without a very occlusive fit).
I could have asked the audi to do a remote session to adjust the fit. At the time I got my Quattros four years ago, she had never done one and from the way she talked about it, certainly wasn’t “in” to doing them! Never had a remote session with her and that’s something I should check out about her current attitudes. She has always been quite accepting of me DIY’ing, but I didn’t want to muck around with her trial HA’s, especially since Phonak is probably more intent on collecting and analyzing data from trial users than regular HA wearers (I consented to full data collection to reward Phonak and my audi for a completely free trial, e.g., I’m allowing Phonak to track everywhere I go through the myPhonak app).
I’d agree for the most part the Lumity does a great job of automatically adjusting to the environment and delivers a really good sound. I haven’t trialed the Omnias yet and as mentioned just above in this post, I’ve perhaps favored the Omnias by having custom molds made for them, but not for the Lumitys. My only previous comparison is to the ReSound Quattros, which is a four-years-older model.
I do think, though that the Lumity sound is a more processed sound than the Quattros and as you say, can very rapidly switch, so that rapid switching makes one more aware of processing changes. The one example I previously gave was switched on aerated tap water running vigorously in the bathroom. The Lumity promptly suppressed that noise, promptly cutting into speech recognition of my wife’s soft voice (which blends naturally into the tap water sound!). The Quattros by comparison seem more stuck in the program mode you’ve set them in, which has both its good and bad points. As long as noise isn’t too loud and annoying, I’d rather hear it “as it really is” (whatever that is!), whereas I’d say the Lumitys are very adept and aggressive at removing droning noises without interfering in other sounds and voices in a very noticeable way. And that has its good and bad points, too. I can see why for earlier Phonak models vs. Oticon Opns, etc., that the Oticon users declared that they wanted to hear the world as it really is - but IMHO whatever the “processed,” speech-focused sound is with the Lumitys, it’s really a very mild effect compared to what I expected from previous Oticon expositions on the forum. Phonak itself owned up to the processed sound “problem” in announcing the Lumitys, as in heralding Autosense 5.0, they mentioned some users of the Paradise and earlier had found Autosense 4.0 too rapid and aggressive, so they’d made the directional focusing slower and more gradual in Autosense 5.0.
I like the positions of the mics on the Lumity. Junk seems much less likely to get into the mic openings than for the Quattros. I think the mic openings on the Omnias are likely to be farther back and lower down than for the Quattros but still not as good as the Lumitys (I’ll see soon!). The plastic of the HA bodies and the charging case, although it has a much more “plasticity,” artificial feel than the plastic used by ReSound for the Quattros and their charging case, seems to be far less of a dust, earwax, …, magnet than the ReSound material and that’s great, too!
Ah, I hadn’t realized it wasn’t an “in person” visit.
@JordanK I just go my Lumity L90s yesterday. I’m upgrading from Paradise P90s based on improved speech clarity as well as other features. During the appointment I inquired if the charger for Lumity had a battery pack like the Paradise does, which I have due to being away from home i.e. camping or whatever. He said 'maybe the Paradise charger will work with Lumity." I said 'well you try it, that way if you short it out, it’s on you" hahaha Anyway, he put the Lumity HAs in the Paradise charger and the Lumity HAs glowed green. He said he thought it should work.
Anyone else tried this? We didn’t keep them in very long, but he thought it should work.
A cool thing I noticed about the Lumity. Have not been following Phonak forum threads much but I thought previously one HA was ALWAYS the master (usually the right) and had extra battery drain as it relayed the BT streaming signal to the left.
What I’ve noticed about the Lumity that’s great is that one day the right will be the master. The next day (based on my casual observations), the left will be the master (the one that drains faster). So, it seems the Lumitys I’m trialing try to even out battery “stress” between the two HA’s. That’s great for the long-term battery lifespan of the HA batteries. One ear shouldn’t age faster than the other, if my observations are correct. Sorry if someone has already noted this and I missed their post.
The other thing that seems good is that the Lumitys actually charge a bit more slowly than my Quattros. And they use wired charging rather than inductive charging (which is available with the Lumity Life). Wired charging is more efficient (~95%) than inductive charging (60% to 70% efficient) so less waste heat, probably easier on the HA batteries, especially if you’re charging in marginal circumstances (hot weather) - Phonak actually recommends, IIRC, not charging the Lumitys at temps over 85 deg F. All this might seem like irrelevant trivia until a couple of years down the roads you find your batteries going south faster than you hoped they might, especially when you’re out of warranty.
I want the portable inductive charging so if I go with the Lumitys, I’m going to spring for the Life model and not worry about heating the batteries. But it’s great to see that Phonak has taken subtle steps to help the users get the best possible rechargeable battery lifespan. ReSound doesn’t warn you not to charge the HA’s over 85 deg F, for instance. (the recommended wear temps for both Phonak and ReSound are up to 104 deg F, IIRC).
P.S. I’m using an iPhone 14 Pro Max running iOS 16.x if that should make a difference as to which HA battery drains faster on a given day.
Wow haven’t heard that before, I’d be interested to hear from others on this to.
I’m still seeing the option to check which side you want as master in target, so are you seeing it in the App when it changes (maybe while taking a call)
My friend is trialing the Lumity and she asked about Bluetooth side and was told it’s always on her right side. Her hearing loss is identical.
I’ll be interested to find out if what @jim_lewis is saying is correct.
Well, it could be careless, anecdotal observations on my part. But I usually try to charge them up to about the same extent each day, to between 60% to 70% SOC, within a few percent, by leaving one in the charger 'til it ~equals the other. My audi did tell me when she gave them to me that the right would drain faster than the left because it was the master, talking to the phone and relaying to the left. I wear them for about 5 or 6 hours, check my phone, and by then one of them usually has drained to about 30% SOC and there’s usually about a 10% to 15% difference between the two. So, in the next few days I’ll make sure they’re really charged up equally and see if they’re really alternating or whether on some days, I didn’t charge the left as equally as the right. I do very little streaming and am in a very quiet environment most of the day (noise level 30 to 40 dB) and rarely use my phone - it’s sleeping on lock screen most of the day. Only a few brief phone calls a day. So, my usage situation is very different from most people. Streaming is about 55 min to 77 min per day, depending on the length of my walk. So, the right HA probably has very little to relay to the left HA.
I turned on all the health tracking features. Don’t know if that could be influencing the outcome, if the difference is real. Like which HA is generating the data or is it both?
Further brainstorm here: Just looked at BT connections on my iPhone. Apple Watch is listed as number one. Panasonic DECT is number two (our Panasonic cordless phone system base station). Third in line is R-Phonak hearing aid. These are all listed as CONNECTED. Further down the line are LE_L_Phonak hea and LE_R_Phonak hea. These are the BT LE connections for controlling HA settings via the app and they are usually not connected unless I open the myPhonak app.
So, what could be going on, given my quiet environment, lack of streaming and phone calls, letting my phone sleep most of the day, is that the phone is mostly connected to my Apple Watch and the Panasonic cordless base station and very little to the R-Phonak hearing aid classic BT connection. It’s been said although you can pair the Lumity to 8 different devices, it can only maintain an active connection to TWO. (and while I’m sleeping, the only thing my iPhone has to connect to are the Apple Watch and the Panasonic phone system - not sure if I don’t stream or do a phone call, the HA’s have any reason to steal the BT connection away from the other two).
When I once complained about a left Quattro draining fast that I thought had a defective battery, my audi claimed my left ear had a greater loss and would cause my left HA to drain faster. I seriously doubt there’s enough of a difference to explain what I claim to observe. But perhaps days when I don’t do anything with my phone, the left ear drains faster and days when I do more phone calls or streaming the right is the master chewing up batteries. Anyway, I’ll more seriously follow the battery drain for both and see if it’s just me getting (more) senile.
Jim, I just purchased the Omnia’s … after testing both I honestly couldn’t see that big of a difference in word comprehnsion… I think everyone’s lifestyle probably plays a huge part in determining which HA’s you end up choosing… with being retired and spending a good deal of the day outdoors in Florida playing different sports and traveling in my golf cart I found both HA’s did a great job… 1 feature the Resound has that I like is being able to set up a location on my daily travels for my HA’s to change programs automatically… I set up my Iphone Resound app location coordinates to my home to switch to my self made INDOOR prog which I altered the treble and bass to get rid of a little bit of echoing from being indoors in a small room enviroment… I also set up a 2nd location 2 blocks away from my home that changes automatically to my OUTDOOR prog. As you I have worn Resound HA’s for several years and a few different models, I guess I’m spoiled with their far superior app and definitely MUCH superior battery life which I know is a big concern of yours … With all the new battery technology now I can’t believe that Phonak HA’s need to be placed in the charger during the day in order to get a full days use if you use a streaming device a few hours a day … I also did not have a great experience using the TV streamer I would always have to re-hook up if I traveled about 25 ft from the TV and 50% of the time if I got a text or phone call while streaming and then closed my Iphone I would be disconnected again from the TV streamer… I also tried out both the regular and AV receiver wires on the Phonak … I would never purchase the AV receiver wires because of having to replace them OUT OF POCKET every 6 months and I through a work realted law suit have free ear care cost for life… also the earmolds they furnish place the AV wire on the edge of the mold making it a wax trap … I wore them for about 2 weeks and found myself having to lightly brush ear wax out of the tip of the AV wire a few times a day … I know that my ears do build up wax quickly and need to have my ears flushed/cleaned about every 5 weeks as you know with normal molds and domes the front of the receiver wire is more protected. good luck with your trial of the Phonaks
The “two” that matters is on the HA BT master, not the iPhone. The iPhone can entertain lots of connections. Mine gets a couple watches and AirPods at the moment. My bt master HA isn’t back from “repair” yet.
WH
[quote=“JordanK, post:292, topic:71341”]
If you haven’t actually tested Lumity and experienced this, you can’t really make a claim that other hearing aid do it too.
My Lumity has been confusing my brain in a good way, probably because it’s been decades since I’ve heard the sounds I’m now able to hear again. I don’t know how many times I’ve thought to myself, “What is that? or Did I really hear what I just heard?” So far my experiences seem to be similar to yours. Hearing is believing!
PS: Hearing someone behind me in the back seat of the car has always been a challenge. I may have to chauffeur my husband to town just to test it!
Question:
Isn’t this something you can change in the “Target” settings from slow to fast…? And maybe also in “Smart Fit” etc? Somebody from the DIY or specialists maybe…
I have been testing a pair of Lumity L90 R for a month and a half now. I have a problem that I would like to understand if you too have encountered it. Autosense is very responsive in changing the various programs going from quiet to any other program, the problem is that the opposite is very slow. For example, leaving the restaurant and passing in a totally silent environment, it happens to remain in “spoken in noise” for a few minutes, making communication more difficult. My audiologist and I have tried changing the speed of the autosense more than once but the problem does not change. For a moment I even thought about giving up the autosense by making me create a set program like the quiet program, but using a Ferrari like a panda doesn’t make much sense. Opinions?
@Sequoia_Woman Good news that there may be a charger with a battery included for my Lumity’s. Didn’t make sense that they released Lumity without this critical thing. I’m guessing they had supply chain issues and they will announce this in the coming months.
As far as the questions/comments about which Lumity hearing aid is the bluetooth master and does it change. When my audiologist setup my Lumity hearing aids, he said that the software let him pick right or left side for the master bluetooth hearing aid. The master bluetooth hearing aid is the only once that communicates with the bluetooth device and it handles the audio transfer for the other side too. We picked the left side because my word recognition score is higher on the left and he felt that audio in the master bluetooth hearing aid might be slightly clearer. To my knowledge, the hearing aids don’t flip back and forth but maybe someone else can confirm.
Yesterday was an interesting day in that I did very little streaming. What I noticed is that I went the whole day and lots of battery was left on the hearing aids. There is no double in my mind that bluetooth classic is the main battery hog for these hearing aids.
Still thrilled with these hearing aids. Main reason being…I am hearing so much more. As @jonifoz has said, it’s almost like your brain has to get used to hearing things again but many of these sounds I haven’t heard in many years and it takes a few minutes to figure out what you are hearing again.
Happy listening everyone!
Jordan
Yeah it’s one of the reasons I gave up on Phonak (not the only reason tho) Autosence couldn’t get it right a lot of the time, I could clearly hear the changes been made as well which was annoying, as a DIY’r I tried to get this to an acceptable level but couldn’t, seems a lot of people don’t really notice, so could be just how we hear and process sounds that makes the difference.
Do you have any manual programs? If so, maybe cycle through them and I think (not sure) when you got back to Auto it would default back to settings for quiet?
For Phonak yes. Not sure about Resound.
That being so, my right Lumity HA gets very little workout during the day from my phone, which most of the day is doing nothing. So, I’ll give it a go at more rigorously recording charge levels and major activities during the day just to see how that has any effect of relative ear HA charge levels per the previous considerations I noted about my usage.
