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Phonak Infineo Sphere for single sided deafness

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In reply to @andyf

I am currently using a Phonak P90 Audeo Paradise aid with a custom titanium ear mold in my left ear and a matching unit in my bad ear. I acquired a RogerOn 3 a few months back and it has been very beneficial with speech in noisy background situations. It is a very capable unit, once you learn to use it, and I quickly realized that it needed to become one of my daily carry items, so that it was always available when needed. I am due for an annual hearing checkup soon and have had several email conversations with my audiologist regarding trialing the Infineo Sphere. She indicated that the Sphere is working out very well for other patients with hearing loss similar to mine, but there is no CROS available at this time for the Sphere. After careful consideration, I have decided that since my current aids are only 2 years old and working fairly well, in addition to now having the RogerOn 3, I am going to wait awhile and see what advancements are made in the next year or two. I am hopeful that battery technology will continue to improve, physical size will decrease and processing power should certainly advance. I am also considering trying the Lace Pro App which is supposed to help the brain learn to hear better along with our ear(s). Time will tell….

Hi,
So I would like to update you on my personal experience.
I have hearing in only one ear, I switched from an Oticon more device (in combination with ) to a Sphere.
I use a , not a titanium one.
I don’t know what to say about a feature of a Sphere or a feature of Phonak devices, so it should be taken into account that certain impressions that I am enthusiastic about and satisfied with can also be in devices from previous generations.

So impressions:
I hear well in quiet situations, conversations sound good and clear, as well as reference to background noise (even when the speaker is on the side where I can’t hear)
In noisy situations - I discovered that I am able to conduct conversations with great ease. And if I were to summarize this, I mean a couple’s walk that I can do with my wife even when there is strong road/wind noise, and I am able to hear her well from a distance of 2/3 meters.
I have a personal difficulty understanding multiple speakers during a single conversation. I feel like I hear but not clearly, and it has less to do with background noise than separating speech between different speakers.
I’m a DIYer in the field, so yes, I play around with directionality and that’s at home in order to find the perfect solution for me.

Sphere mode, it’s magic! The device knows how to switch to this mode automatically, I hardly touch the phone to change the mode to this program.
Hearing sounds a little strange at first, but you get used to it very quickly, you find that you can hear well and understand speech well and easily. But it is important that the speakers are on the side of my good ear (in my case it’s on the right side). I find that background noises are almost completely muted. And in general, I hear really well and clearly.
I was stressed about the battery life, but I find myself at the end of the day with 30/40 percent battery, when I’m in a noisy environment, office work with lots of talking and phone calls.

My only complaint is that the streaming quality is terrible with MFI.
I understand that the Sphere hearing aid is connected via Bluetooth Classic and not via the iPhone’s streaming technology, which is a disadvantage, but a negligible one.

To sum up, I don’t feel a disadvantage in not having CROS, I always try to make sure that my good ear is towards people. And that way I hear relatively well.
It’s clear to me that there are things I don’t hear (like distant speakers or conversations from an office next door - a wall that separates), but these are things I live with in peace.

Edited

In reply to @andyf

@andyf said:

Unfortunately CI surgery is not an option where I live, and since 15 years have passed since mv hearing loss, possibly brain will no longer ‘connect’ the new signals to everyday sounds and words?

It’s not true. I have been implanted after 20 years of completely ZERO hearing in my left ear with positive outcomes. If it weren’t for reimbursement issues(?), you’re in an even better situation because you have a relatively good tonal and continuous stimulation with a hearing aid. Maybe you need second opinion? Many and Audis still stick with old obsolete guidelines. Well, unless you live in the UK, then it’s harder.

Just see the screens here:

Any recommendations - significant loss
Just saw on Facebook: [Screenshot_20241219_025836_Facebook] [Screenshot_20241219_025803_Facebook] 50 years of unilateral deafness, quite a time! I had 20–21 years of left ear complete deafness (mumps) before CI implantation. Then, I used it for three years, from morning to night. I wasn’t satisfied, despite not expecting more than a bit of word recognition, so I put the sound processor in a drawer. Almost 7 years of disuse. Then, after @Raudrive’s advice, I started to try isolating my bet…

In reply to @villager

@villager said:

what advancements are made in the next year

Next generation will be probably in Aug 2026, so I think it’s good approach.

@villager said:

I am also considering trying the Lace AI Pro App which is supposed to help the brain learn to hear better along with our ear(s)

I also considered it, but unfortunately it’s unavailable in my country, for what I read. Keep us informed about your possible experiences.

In reply to @villager

I also have the Paradise Audeo P90 and use Roger On mic all the time. I’m hoping the Infinio Sphere comes out in BiCros. I am trying to be patient but when the Paradise Audeo came out it took 2 years to come out with the Cros version. I think it would be great if they could design a Roger with the Sphere chip. While the Cros helps with fullness of sound it doesn’t have Programs and basically sends all the sound fronm that side to the . I don’t know what the hearing aid does with it then. Sometimes it’s helpful to turn it off or down in the app.

In reply to @Jeza66

I have SSHL also, and use a Phonak Audeo Paradise P90 in my good ear. I had demo’ed a , but gave it up because I also didn’t think it added much, and used up one of the Bluetooth channels in the P90. However, a couple of years later, there are a situations where I wish I still had a CROS - when I’m at a social setting where the speaker may on my bad side (e.g., sitting at a ball game or theater event or sit-down dinner, or at a cocktail party where guests are milling around. I’m wondering if the Sphere will help enough in those situations so I don’t need a CROS. I guess it’s a moot point right now, until Phonak has a compatible CROS with the Sphere.

I have Sphere 90 (it’s not compatible with ) and is in the restaurant settings definitely better than my old Paradise 90.

I don’t see your , putting it in your profile settings could give much insight of your possible benefits from newer technology.

I wonder why they wouldn’t do it. Bicros would be great IMHO for SSHL. Cutting the background noise and still giving a SSHL individual the input from the side they struggle with would be great.

Seems to me they could pretty much dominate that market as many SSHL users biggest complaint is lack of benefit in noisy situations.

@tmheilman said:

I wonder why they wouldn’t do it

It’s because drains the battery a lot and doesn’t provide much benefit regarding that cost. A fresh battery in a Lumity + CROS Lumity lasts 12 hours, much less after some time.

In the Infinio lineup, there’s some improvement (16 hours), but not much.

This is my assumption only, but I wonder if Bluetooth stability is better without CROS settings…

I have SSHL. Trialled the Phonak Infinio Sphere for over 3 months. Would like to share my experience, since I know we are all desperate to find the right, workable, silver-bullet solution to our daily single ear hearing loss struggles.

Phonak do not have Sphere set-up for their Infinio Sphere Hearing Aid () devices, however, given the chip tech in the Sphere, wanted to put one in my good hearing ear to see if it would help with improving clarity of conversation in noise. Also had a Infinio HA in my impacted, bad hearing ear too; since the HAs are supposed to communicate with each other to identify where sound is coming from. (i.e. 2 HA in both ears set-up; but not transferring sound to each other) It goes without saying AI processing and volume increase in my bad ear was pointless, because what every it outputted, I suffer from very poor word comprehension on that side (i.e. cochlear+nerves do not send all signal to brain). SO, focus was with the Sphere HA in my good ear.

Unfortunately it does not work. External sound (i.e. background noise) will overcome any processed noise being outputted by the Sphere HA into your ear; even when using the most closed rubber dome. In fact, take the hearing aid OUT, and your brain will process all the sounds (the good, the bad and the ugly) coming into your good hearing ear, and work out what you actually want to hear. If the HA AI chip was plugged to our BRAIN, maybe it could do this , one day. For now, unfortunately only works in a quiet room, with minimal background noise , when you actually do not NEED a hearing aid. So, the trial ended.

BTW, also tried adding the Phonak ROGER 3 to this set-up, in a noisy environment. Maybe works with person talking NEXT to you (1 arms length away). But not next-NEXT to you (i.e. 2 arms length away) Imagine would be same experience, but much poorer, if Phonak had a CROS set-up (i.e. CROS transmitting to Sphere HA)

I’m in the process of trying out one hearing aid as I am completely deaf in my right ear. They have done bone conduction and every other test they could think of and the nerve is completely dead. (so don’t recommend ) I am having a bunch of issues with the Phonak Infinio sphere and its about worthless in loud environments. I don’t notice any difference in sphere mode. Tomorrow I will be receiving my ear molds and rem adjustment, I really hope this makes a substantial improvement.

If it does and they can figure out the numerous other issues like the buzzing, ringing, feed back and sound quality, plus the intermittent changing of the sound. I’ll keep them. Every time I have gone in for them to try and adjust them, it gets worse. We shall see. I’ll provide an update.

My update.

After getting my ear molds and having done, What an improvement. The Sphere function is very noticeable. I am able to hear in loud environments. My word recognition score went way up, I can hear and understand many words.
I still need some fine tuning to get them perfect, but I believe I will get there. Using these without ear molds is a big mistake in my opinion. The ear molds made a night and day difference.

I also just saw another video on these and it was recommended that the auto sense setting be set to moderate noise for switching modes as the high noise level isn’t sensitive enough for most people.

I did a series of trials 1-2-3 below.

  1. I90 + (with a lot of audiologist adjustments)
    It was great to hear well again, I realized that I had lived too long without hearing aids. But my experience with this system mirrors what I read about the classical stereo vs mono debate. Stereo enriches sound (for music, etc.) but mono is clearer for speech (for public announcement systems, etc.)

  2. I90 (with little audiologist adjustment changes from trial 1)
    So, I abandoned the CROS, and I did not miss it.

  3. I90 Sphere (with very little audiologist adjustment changes from trial 2)
    The I90 Sphere is somewhat better than the I90 for speech-in-noise, and the I90 Sphere on one ear is what I am living with nowadays.

I also use the TV Connector (a streamer) and the PartnerMic (for my wife, if I am somewhere else in the house, etc.) The trio (I90 Sphere on one ear, TV Connector, Partner Mic) allows me to live a near normal life with only a few remaining hearing struggles left.

I am happy :slight_smile:

Edited

In reply to @New_Ears1

@New_Ears1 said:

it looks like one hole about the size of the tip of a fine ball point pen. very small.

So probably 0.5-0.8 mm vent diameter for ear with normal hearing?Wow, you must have had a really good deep silicone impression. This probably means that your cShell is in a deeper position in ear canal, which reduces the risk of occlusion effect.

So you’ve confirmed a well-known fact: the ear needs to be sealed more tightly to limit the amount of noise entering through the vent in the earmold unprocessed by .

@Sandovan said:

I90 Sphere (with very little audiologist adjustment changes from trial 2)
The I90 Sphere is somewhat better than the I90 for speech-in-noise, and the I90 Sphere on one ear is what I am living with nowadays.

That’s exactly my experience also. Even without having , I would still have chosen Sphere on one ear, not Infinio R + .

Thank you all for your informative posts.

I am deaf in the left ear with medium loss in my right ear.

For the last 3 years I had a in the L ear and a Phonak Audio Paradise P90 in the R ear.

The cochlear implant has not been a big success as when it was turned up I developed facial nerve twitching .

I had been hearing fairly well in quite situations even without the CI but could hardly distinguish speece over any background noise.

About 2 weeks ago I developed an infection at the CI site resulting in the CI being removed.It cannot be replaced until 3 Months and then only if there’s no scarring.

I’m seeing my Audiologist this week and as I’m due for a new hearing aid I will trial The Phonak Sphere and see if it helps in noisy situations .I am not at all keen.in having a CI refitted considering all my past experiences.

.

Edited
@bestmg said:

The cochlear implant has not been a big success as when it was turned up I developed facial nerve twitching .

Have they ever tried not to increase voltage to make sounds louder, but instead e. g. increasing pulse width?

Clinical Programing Series: Pulse Width - Cochlear ProNews1

This article will help understand how pulse width affects loudness, when changing pulse width is recommended and understanding the effects of changing pulse width.

@bestmg said:

For the last 3 years I had a CI in the L ear and a Phonak Audio Paradise P90 in the R ear.

That was almost identical case of mine, I had also even the same from 2020.

  1. Implanted in 2013.

  2. Tried to rehabilitate to the end of 2016.

  3. No success - putting Nucleus 6 sound processor to the drawer.

  4. Some trial with rehab after buying Cochlear Phone Clip in ~Jan 2021, but wasn’t convinced to be really committed to the rehab. Putting N6 tonthe drawer again.

  5. Around Apr 2023 - getting advice from @Raudrive that due to very good hearing in better ear ( 100%) my brain is probably lazy and don’t want to rehabilitate if I listen binaurally.

6. Tried isolate my ear as much as possible, without better right ear involvement.

  1. Profit. :joy:

  2. Now I use Nucleus 8 every day, even despite getting great new HA - Phonak Audeo Infinio Sphere 90.

Great convenience have come with Nucleus 8 (which I’ve got in Nov 2024), because with Nucleus 6 I needed intermediary device to streaming.

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