I am in the process of buying HAs for the first time. I was shown a chart that has the different technology levels for Widex Allure, and I’m wondering if it’s worth it to go the next level which would cost an additional 1k.
So far, 220 has been good as I don’t have anything to compare it to. 330 I’m trying them now and haven’t noticed too much of a difference yet.
Does technology levels actually make a difference?
The difference listed on a chart I was given shows 330 having the ability for ‘Quiet with Speech’ and ‘Social’ whereas 220 doesn’t have that. TIA!
Yeah a little bit, really up to you, if you find yourself in quiet environments more than noisy then the lower tech is quite ok, as you’ve found, but if your socially interested and out and about all the time then you could go to the premium model, actually this is one thing that annoys me! another reason I like Costco, the business model for HAs is “premium models” only.
I’d say it depends on your level of hearing loss. If it’s only moderate and you wear open domes (or vented domes), then you are unlikely to get much benefit from the extra features. With open domes much of the sound will bypass the HAs anyways.
IMO, given your state of hearing loss and open domes, if the 220s have the ability to select directional hearing then the 330s won’t offer any significant advantage.
With my Widex Moment HAs a main difference tween 220 and 330 HA levels was the number of programs that could be installed, but I now only use 2 installed programs plus directional hearing so that difference no longer matters.
FWIW:
I had Allure 330 for a 3-week trial and now a pair of 220 for trial. I don’t feel that the 330 performed any better than the 220, even in noisy environments. YMMV of course.
To further complicate matters, I’m also trying a pair of the older Smart RIC 220 and so far, it’s a toss-up as to which I prefer. The biggest issue is difficulty understanding my lovely but very soft-spoken spouse. So far, none of the HA’s I’ve worn solve that problem!
The good news is that music through my stereo system sounds darn good and I can understand most of the other people I’m conversing with. The Allure seem to have somewhat better performance than the Smart RIC in taming feedback. Previous HA’s were Moment 220 which were pretty bad in that respect. Widex IMO has come a long way in almost completely eliminating feedback. A big HOORAY for that!
After nearly a month of comparing the Allure 220 and the SMART RIC 220, I have found myself favoring the SMART RICs. The primary drawback of the Allure is that, despite my attempts to fine-tune the settings through the app, I still experience the disconcerting sensation of sounds originating from within my head rather than the surrounding environment. Although I had high hopes for the Allure, its performance in reducing feedback was only marginally better than that of the SMART RICs, and I found them increasingly uncomfortable, particularly after a long day when my ears were already fatigued. There may be a future firmware update for the Allure to correct or at least lessen the “in head” sound, but for now I have decided to purchase the SMART RICs.
