I’m glad to see that Dr. Cliff found very much the same thing as my experience. He said he tried to kill the Phonak Life Limitys with water but could not do so. My new pair survived a one week vacation in pools and salt water with no problems.
When I returned I saw my audiologist with some of the questions that came up on the forum. At risk of sounding like a shill for Phonak, almost all of it was good:
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The aids are rated at IP68 because there is no higher rating. The seals are far better than any other IP68 rated hearing aid.
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My audio has fitted a few pair and has not yet had any problems. I showed her the responses on this forum and the high degree of skepticism. She said as far as she knows, the waterproofing is solid and works well.
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More importantly, my audio told me that Phonak will absolutely stand behind the warranty for the full period of the warranty, which I believe is 3 years. She said that Phonak will replace the hearing aids as often as necessary if there is any water damage and will raise no questions about it.
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There are a few disadvantages, which I think I mentioned. The custom molds cannot be vented, which for me causes an occlusion effect. It only comes in rechargeable. I prefer batteries, but I know that rechargeable is a plus to many ha users. I understand that the reason for this is that the unit must be completely sealed without an opening battery door.
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The bluetooth works great. However, during swimming, the bluetooth signal cuts out when your head goes below water so it’s hard to listen to music while swimming.
On the whole, I like these aids a lot as a secondary pair. I’m not about to give up my Widex Moment aids, but it is great to have the Phonaks on vacation.