Tried Phonak After Oticon, but Sphere Mode Isn’t Working as Expected

Hearing Aids
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Hi everyone,
this is my first message here :blush:

Let me briefly share my story: 12 years ago, I experienced hearing loss in my right ear, and I was diagnosed with a small acoustic neuroma, which I’ve been monitoring with regular MRIs. I also have a constant, high-pitched tinnitus.

Unfortunately, in recent months, my left ear has also started to lose hearing ability, without any clear reason.

I was advised to start using hearing aids, so this is my very first experience with them. The first audiologist I visited had me try the Oticon Intent 1, but I didn’t have a good experience — maybe the settings weren’t right. I used open domes, since I can still hear low frequencies fairly well.

During the day I work in an office and usually listen to music through my computer speakers. With the Oticon Intent 1, I was hearing strange sounds and odd artifacts. Switching the settings from directional to 360° and turning the gain down a bit made things better.
One afternoon in a crowded shopping mall, everything sounded very confusing. In quieter settings things were better, although my own voice sounded a bit off. Also, streaming music didn’t sound great in terms of quality.

After that trial — which I wasn’t happy with, both in terms of results and the support I received — I went to a new audiologist and started testing the Phonak Infinio Sphere 90.

Right from the start, the sound felt much more natural: my voice didn’t sound artificial, streaming music was clear, and in a busy shopping mall the background noise was well reduced. I could clearly hear people talking to me. I’m still using open domes with these as well.

However, the Sphere mode doesn’t seem to be working as well as I expected. I went to a restaurant, and unfortunately experienced something similar to what happened with the Oticon in the shopping mall: voices were confusing and overlapping — I could almost hear people farther away better than those close to me.

Is this normal? Does it just need better fine-tuning?

Thanks a lot to anyone willing to share advice or experiences!

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If you use open domes you will not get the same benefit from the Spheres that you would using a closed dome. That is because the open dome lets sound enter the ear directly without being processed by the aids. I use cShell molds with a small vent in one ear and only a pressure vent in the other and I get almost the same result as shown in the Phonak promotion video. Unfortunately, if you have good low frequency hearing and want to hear those sounds naturally, there will be a tradeoff. You will have to decide what is best overall overall. You may want to try the ActiveVent receivers with the Spheres to get the best of both worlds. The problem with ActiveVent receivers for some people is they hear the mechanical vent open and close which is a distraction for them. That never bothered me.

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A few thoughts… firstly there there adjustments possible that affect angles, response time, relationship between speech levels and noise levels… why not ask your AuD to go through all the screens on the software… perhaps you want me or someone to send you screen shots of the screens so you can be familiar. Anyway, go through the screens and ask that AuD review the settings with you… so you can understand as changes are made. And she can explain what they do, and why they do not need change, or why they had been changed from previous, or what conditions/experience reported by you would indicate future change of them needed.

Secondly when you said how suddenly in a shopping mall things were whacked out… just to makes sure that your hearing aids did not have clogged or wax build up… because that can suddenly cause different unexpected results.

Finally and most importantly… are you sure the molds fit your ears correctly… your ears are probably very differently shaped from most of the public’s ears that HAs are designed for…
Judging from your photo - you might need triangularly shaped molds… or have you already gotten those ? If so, please tell me the model as I have some very close friends with ears like that!

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Welcome! I have used Spheres as my first hearing aids for about 4 months. I had this effect with noisy situations when using open domes I changed to closed vented domes and it helped abit, also I raised the volume in spheric mode. I am considering moulds but my hearing specialist not for it as my low frq. is good - good luck!

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lol lol :slight_smile:

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Thank you very much, my audiologist said there’s no problem if I want to try semi-open domes or the Active Vent ones to try and achieve maximum comfort and efficiency from the hearing aids. :smiling_face:

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Thanks so much for the advice. :smiling_face: I chose this audiologist because he involves me in the decisions he makes, so I’ll be happy to ask him to explore all the possibilities of the fitting program. If I could see the software settings beforehand, I’d definitely be able to go to the appointment better prepared! :hugs:

The experience at the shopping mall wasn’t great with the Oticons, but I felt much more comfortable with the Phonaks!

My mom licks my fur every morning, so I’m always very clean — even my triangular ears are spotless! :laughing: :laughing: :laughing:

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Thank you! Your input is very valuable because you have a hearing situation similar to mine. Has the Sphere mode improved enough to be used with satisfaction? Do you enjoy using it since you switched to closed domes, or do you feel the improvement hasn’t been that significant? Thanks a lot :smiling_face:

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I saw about a 35% improvement in Sphere mode in noisy environments going to closed vented domes. I am still considering moulds perhaps with active vent but is costly…

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You’ve described my experience perfectly. I also tried very hard to adjust, thinking the issue must be with me. I experimented with open domes, tulip domes, and closed power domes — trying to find something that worked. But in noisy environments, voices became muddled and inconsistent.

It was actually kind of surreal — I could hear people chatting across the room clear as day, yet I struggled to understand those speaking directly in front of me. Despite that, I pushed through for three weeks, really trying to make it work. But every time I was in a noisy setting, I came away feeling like my brain had been assaulted. It wasn’t just unpleasant — it was genuinely horrible.

My audiologist made two adjustments during that time, but they barely helped. The final straw came when I went out to a big, noisy restaurant with my family. I found myself awkwardly watching people’s lips, trying to follow the conversation, while the hearing aids kept locking onto the table behind me.

Then, after the meal, I got in the car and my wife — sitting right beside me — was trying to talk, but all I could hear was a couple standing 20 metres away, chatting outside the car. It was like they were sitting in the front seat with us.

The whole experience really messed with my head. It was awful.

In the end, I returned the hearing aids and got my money back. Reading your post was honestly reassuring. It’s a relief to know I’m not the only one who felt this way — and that maybe it wasn’t just me after all.

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