ReSound Preza issue

Hearing Aids
1

I’ve had the ReSound Preza aids for almost two years, and the only issue I’ve experience until now was the left one dying. It was repaired (or replaced) under warranty.

Now I’m having an issue with the right one. When I first put them on, switch programs, or sit in a quiet environment, the right one seems to shut off the mics. I can create white noise by rubbing a finger and thumb together, and hear it on the left side but not on the right.

Once noise is presented, like a TV on, the right aid seems to start doing its thing. Once it gets quiet again or I switch programs, it goes quiet for a while.

I did get set up a couple of weeks ago for remote assistance, but none of the settings were changed. I’m wearing my backup Resound Forte aids until my appointment Saturday to have the Prezas checked out and returned for warranty repair. I set the appointment up yesterday, and while scheduling it the lady at Costco cleaned them up and replaced both receivers. No change to the weird action of the right one.

Has anyone else experienced something similar, and what was the result?

2

It’s certainly a hardware fault, almost certainly caused by damp (sweat) ingress around or to the microphones. I haven’t had this exact problem but I have sent Resound HAs back for service numerous times in the last ten years. Resound will fix it easily and it will be fine until the next time.

3

Sounds really similar to what I’ve had happen three times with my Resound Quattro’s. I now suspect that two of the three times were due to cleaning the body of the aids with something damp (by myself). And the third time after a cleaning by my audiologist. See this forum post for more symptoms that I described. As well as this one

Aids were replaced under warranty each time. Now I never clean the body with anything other than just a dry eye glass cleaning cloth.

4

Thanks for the input. The Preza is the first aid that I’ve had in over a decade of wearing ReSound aids, starting with the Pulse, that I’ve had this issue. With the now two issues with the Preza, and the inability to fully resolve an albeit minor feedback issue with my left Forte, I may take a good hard look at the Costco KS10s.

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5

I’ve had a similar issue with ReSound Quattro’s and I don’t think my version of this reliability issue has anything to do with sweat. I’ve mentally tried out a bunch of hypotheses and my current favorite is daily use of a Jodi-Vac with appreciable vibration being transmitted to the body of an HA through the needle tip (if you have a Jodi-Vac, try the needle on the back of a fingernail). So now I only try to lightly skim the body of the HA around the microphone openings with the needle tip when vacuuming.

My grand total so far is 4 left HA bodies and finally, after 2.5 years, the right HA body. In all instances when I’ve gone to the audi, ReSound has completely replaced the HA: body, receiver, and wire and provided no explanation of what went wrong in spite of repeated requests. The last time it took less than a week to get a replacement . Turned the HA in on a Wednesday and the following Monday got a call from the audi’s office to come in on Tuesday to get the replacement fitted.

I’ve been very happy with the sound and my hearing ability with ReSound Quattro’s. My only issue with them is the reliability issue and since phones can withstand a substantial amount of abuse, I think HA’s should be made in the same fashion. The failure for me is in the external mic pickup. Streaming always still works great. I haven’t sweated that much at all, especially in the last year during the pandemic (and I don’t wear my HA’s outside for extended when it’s over 85 deg F to go easy on the Li-ion batteries-so if I’m out when it’s 107 deg F in Texas, I’m not sweating into them.).

The phenomenon for me is pretty much always the same. HA mic works great on boot (can hear higher frequencies of finger rubbing by ear) but within a minute or so, that sound goes away. Jiggle the HA, the sound comes back for a minute or so. Eating something crunchy or talk to my wife in a reasonably loud voice, the mic will continue working as long as I’m vigorously using my mouth - same for going on a walk with footsteps jiggling the HA a bit.

My last left replacement looks a bit different than preceding Quattro’s including what I vaguely see through the mic openings (darker, not as silvery). So I’m hopeful that ReSound has improved the design as time goes by. On my recently failed right HA body, which has lasted 2.5 years, I’m going to wait and get it replaced just before the warranty is up.

Phonak sounds to me like a more reliable alternative but in reading in the KS10 thread that the KS10 is not quite just a defeatured Paradise, doesn’t support Roger Direct, doesn’t do great with wind noise (which Quattro’s do), doesn’t go back to a custom program after a text, phone call, or similar triggers a switch to streaming(ReSound uses “mix-in” streaming to the program that you’re in), loss of all custom programs on fitting, make me think I’ll wait to see if Costco offers a version of the ReSound One and how it’s “defeatured.” The rechargeable battery life of the One and the Quattro are great (30 hours) with little dent in that caused by BT streaming (stream for 24 hours with the One only dropping to 25 hours battery life). And the One comes already capable of BT LE Audio, according both to Dr. Cliff, Geoffrey Cooling, and a user’s post in this forum (sorry I forget who) who queried ReSound Support about BT LE Audio. I’d let Costco worry about ReSound reliability for me and Costco HA’s would be inexpensive enough that my insurance would ~completely cover getting new HA’s every 3 years. If Phonak offered BT LE Audio and fixed some of the software/firmware issues still remaining with the Paradise/KS10, I think I’d be all in to switch to Phonak especially if the KS10 finally came up with Roger Direct support. But a lot can happen in the HA industry in the next 6 months to a year so I’m reading all threads about new HA’s on Hearing Tracker with interest.

P.S. Another criterion for me on a new HA, not make or break, is the HA should work great with an Apple Watch and being an MFi hearing aid, again, not make or break, would be a big plus because having seen how deeply Apple integrates hearing devices into its OS, continuing on with an iPhone and an Apple Watch has become a big item on my list of desirable HA features. In spite of reliability, ReSound gets a big checkmark there.

And @leerich2004 in another thread also reported suffering the same sorts of failures as I cataloged…

https://forum.hearingtracker.com/t/are-resound-quattros-sweat-proof/49994/23?u=jim_lewis

6

I do recall that when I was last at Costco getting remote assistance set up and the aids cleaned, the fitter remarked that there was debris in/around the right mics that she vacuumed out. That was a month ago, and about three weeks before I noticed this issue.

7

Thanks Jim,
Very in depth, I am hoping mine replaced a couple months ago have updated as you describe mic openings. My audi has said pretty much will keep replacing but its annoying if have to do every year/6months. Resound have pretty much ignored me when I asked about and imagine will just keep replacing until my warranty is up.
Still be nice to know these will work for longer as back up pair to when get new, my ITE ones still going strong and must be over 10yrs old!
I guess the good thing about replacements is the battery in the aids is new each time I assume.
so mine were just over 2 years old but now got new batteries!

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8

I went to Costco today and dropped off my ReSound Preza aids with the mic issue on the right one. Both are being sent back for warranty repair, and I should have them back on May 7, which is when I scheduled the follow-up appointment. I got my backup ReSound Forte 8’s cleaned up and tuned up, and they are working well.

I tried the KS10s, and did not like the sound. They seemed too narrowly focused on speech, which sounded “mechanical” to me. The specialist did mention that they are getting ReSounds with the new receivers with the mic in the receiver, but she didn’t know exactly when. Those would be defeatured ReSound Ones with a new name, like the Preza is the Quattro.

I’m sure at one point I’ll be trying a pair of those.

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