Widex questions and comparison to other brands

Hearing Aids
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Hello all -

First, massive thanks to this community. Probably similar story to many of you, but I’ve put off getting HAs because of self-perceived stigma but recently decided “fuck it” and am very happy about my decision! And part of that decision was the openness of this community <3 I’ll soon be self-fitting, so will share that journey here too!

After an unsatisfying trial with the Eargos, I recently got the Widex Sheer 440s and have a few q’s about the Widex themselves then also about comparison to other brands. As you can see, I’m not thrilled, neither with my HAs nor w my audi, so hoping to crowdsource some answers while I’m still in my return window.

Phone audio input - I currently have to use my phone mic (iPhone) to talk, instead of using the Widex mic. I tried to find how to change this, but can’t! Any help?

Phone notifications - I’ve gotten feedback that on calls where my HAs are the output device, the other person can hear all my notifications. Anyone know how to change this?

Wind suppression - or lack thereof. I get that annoying artificial sound when there’s even a little bit of wind. 440s were supposed to be good at detecting wind!! Any advice, especially on any settings i can tweak with my self-fitting?

Computer audio - is there a way for my HAs to be the audio output of my laptop? I tried to connect via regular BT, but I didn’t work. Am wondering if I get the SoundAssist, that would work?

Comparison Widex vs Phonak/Oticon - the main reason I got the Widex was because of all the community of musicians (I am one too) touting the audio qual and low processing delay. It’s definitely an improvement over Eargo, but curious how it compares to Phonak Lumity or Oticon Real? Have I just fallen for Widex marketing, or is the sound (esp music) processing/quality actually a noticeable improvement vs other top-tier brands??

Sorry so many q’s!!! Hope to give to, not just take from, the community at some point soon!

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Hello, welcome to the forum. I am a user of the Evokes which are only a generation older to Moments so I believe my experience could provide a useful insight.

This is not possible to change. I have always talked to the microphone of my iPhone. And after watching the troubles Phonaks have with this hands-free feature, I’m glad I don’t have to experience it. I think the technology still has teething issues.

I have never encountered this issue. I believe I prevented this by turning off playing notifications into hearing aids in Accessibility options.

I was also surprised that the wind noise was not as good as I expected it to be - but turning my head out of the wind direction always helps me. Then I tried Phonaks which also boast wind noise suppression and they sounded like a wind turbine. To make matters worse, changing head position did not help altogether. So in my experience, I am glad that Widex wind noise suppression works in their least because Phonaks did not suppress wind noise at all even though the setting was active and they made walking outside a nightmare.

I believe this is possible only via Sound Assist—it should be able to relay sound from any Bluetooth source. Sound Assist is not compatible with Evokes so I could not verify the information regarding Bluetooth compatibility. Nevertheless, it should be possible.

I did not try Oticon, only Phonaks, Marvels to be precise. Phonaks sounded terrible to me and did not help, they also made my hearing ability and speech recognition much worse. Perhaps I am so used to Widex sound that I could not go with any other hearing aid. In my experience, trial Moments sounded better than Evokes.

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And one last advice: Do everything you can to get your aids fitted appropriately! I cannot stress that one enough. Badly fitted quality hearing aids are worse than crappy hearing aids set up properly. If the person can’t fit the particular brand well, you might consider a brand that the fitter has more experience with or going into another audi. Trials are very important in that regard.

I wish you best luck in your pursuit of best sound.

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Thanks very much!! I’m excited to try Sound Assist but can’t believe the markup on what should be pretty straightforward technology…

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Hi, I wear Widex Moment 330 HAs. My comments about them:

  • there is no way to get the Moments to connect to a Windows PC where the PC is an audio source. This is because the Bluetooth used by the Moments is a special low energy version belonging to Apple. However you can listen to audio on an iPad (not sure about Apple Mac computers). I believe a separate COM-DEX device is needed to connect via standard bluetooth to the HAs
  • bluetooth connection between my Moment HAs and the Moment app on my iPhone SE (2020) is rock solid as regards control of the HAs; not so good as regards audio as the position of the iPhone with respect to my body can cause audio dropouts or distortions.
    Regards
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Widex Moment 440 sRIC user, 2 weeks in on my first fitting of any HA:

I agree with Mir’s statements across the board with regards to the Moment. I haven’t purchased any DEX devices, just the Sound Assist and TV Play, both of which I’m so far not depending on; I’m still not convinced they’re the right solutions for me. I think they would be better-suited to users with more advanced HL, and/or with closed fittings.

Phone audio input: Hands-free only with external device. The Sound Assist can do this, but the iPhone mic, held close to the face, will yield better quality audio with less speaking volume than a device hung on a lanyard - that position is still dominated by reflected sound. The Sound Assist has good mics but I can’t tell if they’re using the secondary mics to do acoustic noise cancellation (unlike the iPhone). I also have activated iOS 16.4.1 Voice Isolation for mic input.

Phone notifications: I don’t hear them either, but my phone has been on “silent” for over a decade. I now depend on haptic notifications from my Apple Watch. Flip that switch to red, and nobody will hear them.

Wind suppression: Supposedly the 440 models use some form of differential mic detection, but I haven’t experienced very effective wind noise suppression with them. It may have something to do with the very small mic openings creating higher local air velocities. AirPod Pro 2 (APP2) earphones do a better job in Transparency Mode. Turning the offending HA mic towards the wind certainly helps, but that isn’t really a practical solution.

Computer audio: Widex HAs are MFi, which means they don’t connect directly to Classic Bluetooth devices. The Sound Assist does work for this, though the more open your domes are, the less bass response you get. Streaming music fidelity is poor at best. You’ll get better audio from the built-in laptop speakers. Unfortunately, the APP2 Audiogram-adjusted audio only works with the iPhone, so far.

Comparison Widex vs Phonak/Oticon: No experience with those brands, so I can only go on what I’ve heard from others. Phonak streaming is widely touted, though I’ve reconsidered my priorities in terms of what the HAs are doing for me, especially having an open fitting. I do know I much prefer the sound of my own voice in PureSound vs. Universal, even though there’s only about 1.5-2 ms difference in latency - so I would be reticent to give that up, in my case. The main issue would be if the others would help more with speech comprehension, if more was needed.

And yes, I have issues with BT connection stability with regards to walking with my phone in my pocket. I swap them out for APP2 when I walk the dog - a much better experience for me.

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Thanks all! Understood re low energy BT protocol used in MFi. Do we know if this protocol can be used by a Macbook? or only iPhone? (I’m solving for not having to take out my HAs every time I do a Zoom call… though I do love my AirPods Pro and Max :smiley:)

Concur on sRIC and Moment app on iPhone - the connection has been flawless. Not so flawless on iPhone → sRIC as audio out for calls. It usually works for at least one ear and usually spotty on the other ear… but at least one ear works all the time!

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No to Macbook, you’d need the secondary device.

Wind sucks through all BTE and ITE hearing aids. Oticon has just released a new wind noise management that is supposed to be superior, but I haven’t tried it yet and all new wind management features are always marketted that way and have so far always fallen short. Oticon Real 1 should be decent for music but will have the same BT limitations as the Widex.

Phonak will have some of the BT connectivity options you’re looking for (handsfree, classic bluetooth that works with SOME computers though many still need a secondary device), but may run into more trouble with distortion on the input side with live music than Widex or Oticon if you are particular. Many people who are not audiophiles aren’t bothered. Streamed music should be fine.

If one needs a secondary device for the computer afterall, the Phonak TV connector has problems and the Roger devices are good but expensive. Oticon connect clip and Widex Com Dex should be fine.

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My experience of Oticon/Phonak versus Widex is that with Widex I get a more natural sound & can hear speech, speech in noise & music so that it sounds really enjoyable. With Oticon/Phonak it sounded more clinical in concentrating just on speech & took the joy out of music/cinema/live performance etc. The Moments are the first time I have no restriction when listening to live music, and it’s the most natural sounding aided hearing I have experienced. As previously pointed out, the fitter is critical to this. The Widex set up-sensogram, calibration, vent, hearing aid type, Widex algorithm should be followed so that it’s the most aligned match to your hearing. This also needs to be carried out every time the fit is changed.

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@user545 Just to introduce another variable!

I have a pair of Widex 440 Moments and I am very happy with them - now.

Initially I had major problems with loud noises, cupboard doors were especially noisy.

This was eventually solved by my audiologist reprogramming my aids from the standard Widex Profile to the NAL/NAL2 profile. This made a major difference to me

Something else to play with!

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Interesting, I had this clattering for the first time when I had the Moment 440 Mrics with domes (ie not a custom fit). I now have Moment 440 customs and have never had the issue with the custom fit.

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@tinkyp I have the BTE model and custom moulds. I previously had NHS aids and they use the NAL/NAL2 profile so I wonder if my ears and brain had become used to that. One of those things we will never know the answer to.

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Widex have a standard program named Comfort which mutes down “clangs, banks and the shrieks of toddlers”. It works well.

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I have a question.
Are 110, 220, 330, 440 just “performance modes” of essentially the same hardware?
Does that mean we go anytime and ask for an “upgrade” (after paying/claiming the price difference).

The audi tech who set up my Widex Moment said that I can come later if I wanted to opt in to get the features of the 220 or others and pay for it with your existing unit?!

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They have an increasing number of performance features the higher you go. When I upgraded from 330 to 440 I was within the “returns” period and it was treated as a new sale. Each hearing experience is individual so the fit you require & fine tuning, may alter depending on how you are hearing with the level you have purchased. I have wind noise reduction & speech in noise, not having these features would have meant a different set up for me.

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Only one brand does upgrades based on paying the price difference - I can’t remember which one is it. Widex does not do that. Their performance levels are embedded within hardware so whenever someone wants a higher feature level, a new set of aids must be made.

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do you know why that is? very curious. My issue is dishes banging together. Did he have to start from scratch with NAL/NAL2?

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Trialing widex moment sheer 440. can’t speak to any comparison, but I do think they are pretty awesome. They seem to be the first choice for musicians and music lovers.

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Does everyone else generally prefer NAL/NL2 as a starting point vs Widex prescription?

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@user172 Difficult to remember accurately, but I think dishes would have sounded like they were breaking every time you put one on top of another.

I don’t remember it taking a lot of time to reprogram. I don’t think any longer than a normal adjustment - most of the time at the audiologist is spent finding your profile, connecting to your hearing aids etc., and your Audiogram is already in your profile. I would expect that the results are saved, so that if you want to change back it should be easy.

My audiologist volunteered the information that an acquaintance of his programmed nearly 50% of his aids to the NAL/NAL2 standard, although it wasn’t something he normally did.