Sony CRE-E10 vs. Oticon Intent 1

Hearing Aids
#1

This may seem like an incongruous comparison — an OTC hearing aid vs. a traditionally dispensed one. With the Sony currently costing about $1,000, the Oticon Intents easily cost five or six times more. Yet the fabulous HearAdvisor web site gives them the highest rating of all hearing devices, above the Intents. I have also read billgem’s detailed review.

In particular, for speech in noise, the Intents are rated a 3.7 (after tuning), while the Sonys a 4.3. The question is: qualitatively speaking, how much better are the Sonys than the Intents (and the Mores)?

For all practical purposes, I really need hearing aids only for speech in noise (I have mild—to moderate hearing loss) because I can hear quite well in most other (i.e. low-noise) situations. And in speech-in-noise situations, my Oticon More 1s let me down most of the time.

I’m interested in hearing from those who have tried both the Intents and the Sonys. On the surface, the Sonys seem like a no-brainer for someone like me.

#2

I don’t know anything about the Intents, but the Sony E10 sounds as good or better than any aid I have had or tried in the past. I do prefer my $5000 Phonak Lumity for style and comfort but the sound is equal.

#3

Like most (all?) OTC HAs, Sony’s are “for mild to moderate hearing loss”. So they aren’t applicable for many of us.

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