I just got Phonak Audéo Sphere Infinio I90 hearing aids today. Speech-in-noise is a big issue for me at work events, and I thought they’d be worth it if they’re really 30% better than other hearing aids in noisy environments.
Now that I have them, I tried to test them against the hearing aids I’ve been using recently: Oticon Opn 1 (8 years old) and Apple AirPods Pro 2. I was inspired by @DaleM1 's test comparing the Phonak Sphere to Oticon Intent using quantitative word recognition testing.
To nobody’s surprise, the Spheres outperformed the old Oticon hearing aids, allowing me to recognize 34% more words. More surprisingly, the AirPods were almost as good. Here’s a summary of the percent of words I recognized (out of 25) with the different aids across noise scenarios:
| Oticon Opn 1 | AirPods Pro 2 | Phonak Sphere | |
|---|---|---|---|
| SNR -7.5 | 24% | 36% | 24% |
| SNR -2.5 | 36% | 48% | 68% |
| SNR +2.5 | 68% | 76% | 80% |
| AVERAGE | 43% | 53% | 57% |
I’ve been impressed with the AirPods ability to quiet out noisy environments using “Ambient Noise Reduction”, but I was still surprised they were so close to the Spheres. This is making me question my purchase, considering they’re maybe only helping me recognize ~8% more words despite costing many multiples more. Has anybody else tested the AirPods in noise? Also I’m wondering if the Spheres would improve if I’d adapted to them over days/weeks rather than a few hours?
A bit about the methodology: I played a YouTube restaurant noise video at 90° and 270° at 3 different sound levels (60, 65, and 70 dB) while playing a YouTube Speech Discrimination Hearing Test at 0° (directly in front of me) at 60-65 dB. I also had a fan running at 60 dB at 0° for added challenge. I used the Oticon Opn 1 in “Main” mode with vented domes, the AirPods Pro 2 in Transparent mode (set up with Hearing Assistance) at 75% Ambient Noise Reduction, and the Sphere in “Spheric speech in loud noise” with vented domes. I didn’t score any of the tests until I’d completed all the tests, to avoid memorizing the list. I’m not sure if this is a great setup for the test, but I was trying to replicate typical scenarios I face at work events.
I’d love to hear what I did wrong here so I can feel better about my big purchase 
I like the Spheres a lot so far; they even sound better than the AirPods when listening to my home audio system (although they’re much worse streaming). I’m just not sure they’re worth the price unless they’re significantly better than the AirPods in noise.