Please do not overlook the possibility that the listed I90s are:
counterfeit
diverted returns (used) after trial
diverted returns needing repair
just plain, flat out stolen goods
of some other shady provenance
When the serial numbers are input by the programming provider, you may find that it’s the equivalent of a merchant being instructed to confiscate a “reported stolen” credit card. In this case, it wouldn’t be your credit card, it would be your “ears” that are confiscated. And you’d probably be out the money you paid for them. I personally would steer clear of goods of uncertain origin. Even if you got to keep them, I suspect warranty status would be either nil or iffy.
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I personally would steer clear of goods of uncertain origin. Even if you got to keep them, I suspect warranty status would be either nil or iffy.
Hmmm.
There are literally dozens of vendors selling current gear on eBay, both Phonak and others.
I can’t imagine sellers with a long history with eBay, as I expect frauds would be quickly uncovered and subsequently banned (let alone potentially prosecuted).
That said, assuming he/it and the others are legitimate owners/resellers of products (e.g., seller is icanhear.today, has sold 92 items, this package has sold 6 with two remaining in inventory, his current other product is current generation Oticon Intent - 2 available/8 sold - and he has a 100% favorable rating), the question was really about whether moving up to the 90s, with the sole observed (from their cut sheet) differences being “Speech in loud noise” and “Speech Enhancer” is worth the cost…
Opinions of others who have experienced both the Sphere I70 and I90: is the I90 worth another $2500?
Questions unanswerable by us. If you need the extra noise reduction of the I90 to understand speech in noise or the Speech Enhancer helps with you soft speakers, absolutely worth the money. If you don’t, then no.
If you get the I90s from EBay (I don’t recommend) I think you should be prepared to go the Do it yourself route. I think you’d have a very hard time finding an audiologist who would help you. I think they are most likely grey market as they don’t have manufacturer’s warranty.
My advice: Ask your doctor for an evaluation for a cochlear implant. I think you’ve said you’ve heard from audiologists that you don’t need one but if I’m remembering your correctly it seems you’d have a decent chance of qualifying.
My advice: Ask your doctor for an evaluation for a cochlear implant. I think you’ve said you’ve heard from audiologists that you don’t need one but if I’m remembering your audiogram correctly it seems you’d have a decent chance of qualifying.
I also think that the best route would be probably on the poorer ear and I90 Sphere in the better. In that case you pay only for one I90 Sphere.
However, keep in mind that in Oct 2025 there will be new Oticon lineup.
So, from the energy and time spent - effectiveness standpoint, I highly encourage you to at least get a CI evaluation - that is not an obligation for surgery, but gives very accurate information about your hearing. I speak that regarding you should have tested with recorded samples, not read by examiner.
Reputation on eBay notwithstanding, Phonak only honors its own warranty if the product is purchased from a Phonak dealer. The eBay sellers may be able to claim innocence of knowing that items they bought from someone else were illegitimately obtained by the person who sold it to the person who sold it to… (I’m sure you see what I mean) … but I doubt they are contracted Phonak dealers. The fact that the price is well below Phonak dealers’ retail price would indicate that they have no contract with Phonak. Nor is there any proof they are not knock-offs.
Do what you will, but be prepared for programming if no audiologist will do it for you, and be prepared to have no warranty for replacement or repair if they turn out to be faulty.
And, all a banned seller on eBay has to do is take a new identity and use a VPN, and ta-da! New seller.
I agree you should go through a evaluation - it will be so thorough that it should settle the question of whether you need I90s instead of I70s, too.
I have more concern about a distributor to eBay sellers going belly up or disappearing than I do about Phonak doing the same, though. And the warranty for mine through my insurance and audiologist is 3 years, which includes custom molds of any material, repeatedly, throughout those 3 years. I am on a fixed income, which reduces by 40% this November, so I’m risk-averse to getting fleeced out of any of it.
Per the FDA, you are entitled to a copy of your test results from your audiology consultation! This is in addition to the ethical standards of state and national professional associations and licensing entities.
Is that at no cost, or do I pay for the hearing test?
The pertinent text is:
You can now buy hearing aids over the counter if you are 18 years or older. The FDA recently established a new category of over the counter () hearing aids so people 18 years of age and older with perceived mild to moderate hearing loss can buy one in the store or online without seeing an ear-nose-throat () doctor, or a licensed hearing health care professional (an audiologist).
You can also obtain hearing aids from a hearing health care professional (audiologist or hearing aid dispenser) if you prefer. These professionals can perform a hearing assessment and hearing aid evaluation. To find out if an audiologist or hearing aid dispenser is licensed, check with (buncha-links redacted):
You can also request your hearing evaluation records from your hearing health care professional and may purchase your hearing aid elsewhere.
My first hearing aids were a product of investigating a stand-up sign “free hearing test today” outside the Beltone office in the seaside town we were visiting while we were cruising (living and traveling in our only home, a sailboat) about this time in 2009; perhaps if it doesn’t have “free hearing test” advertising, I’d expect to pay for the 'gram?
I don’t think laws establish whether you have to pay for the or not. Costco will give you a copy for free. Basically one needs to read the “paperwork” to be sure. Other options are to take a picture during the review of the audiogram.
I agree with @MDB - whether you pay for the test is not so much the issue, as the fact that you are entitled to a copy of the results of the testing. They cannot deny you a copy, by federal law.
Whether you would or wouldn’t isn’t up to him - it’s federal law that you’re entitled to it. By being an a-hole, he has encouraged you to take your business to someone else. Not too honest, or smart, of him.
Hi, Skip - On your post about Go To Hearing, the invoice page you posted has your name and address. I wasn’t sure whether you knew or cared, but thought I’d let you know, just in case!
I hope things are going well in your search for hearing aids, and your life in general.
Hi, ADP, et.al. - this being a note from ADP as seen above, outside this thread, and in general catching those interested up on whassup currently:
I don’t care about personal information; anyone who really wanted it could uncover me trivially, as I’ve been on mailing lists, then forums, then Facebook, yada, yada, for about as long as there’s been email (e.g. AOL floppies, and the like, though I never did AOL) over 300 baud modems and Adam/Trash80/etc. Computers…
As to my hearing adventures or misadventures, if you prefer, you know about one of my candidates refusing to give me my , and, distressingly (expansion below), the one which I expect to sell me the Phonak Sphere I70s (United Health Care doesn’t do the 90s) has not sent mine despite asking 3 times.
That said, as earlier noted, the PI70s (presumed/as was told) are ordered and should be here at any moment. Ditto, though longer, the titanium molds.
Beltone did another thorough look at me…
I see that I didn’t include the most recent audiogram from the original GA Beltone, instead showing a much earlier one from my time in FL; here’s THAT one:
and the one from the other GA Beltone, after thrashing around for two more visits after the initial, 4-hour consult including my wife yielded an almost (it required me to enable a tweak to HearMax, their bluetooth-fed adjustment program’s "All-Around setting) - perfect voice recognition instead totally trashed my speech comprehension:
That (the earlier profile) office had a gunslinger from corporate come in for an event (30 minute timeslots, bagels, coffee, cookies) which essentially was to try to sell me their latest - but UHC doesn’t cover Beltone, so it would all be out of pocket, with ~1600 surrender/forfeit if I didn’t keep a trial set. So far, both offices - the one initially setting up my current aids 2 times ago (during which it was TOTALLY mucked up), and the original provider, a third less commute time away - have not indicated that they would restore the setting used after a 4-hour session with me and my wife (but destroyed/moved-from as described above), though I merely asked that the profile (the net they use doesn’t interconnect so only the recording office has access to it) be forwarded to my original office so I could return to fluency in hearing my wife - and thus having a metric against which to judge the new pair coming.
Which has a 2498 copay for the pair…
At the risk of repetition, I expect that to be my solution, as the trial cost on the new Beltones is far out of any number I’ve heard in all my previous searching, and the SI70/90 has been described as a game changer for speech in noise, and speech in general.
I go for my first fitting, of the presumed already-set-per-first-, of the Phonak Audeo Sphere Infinio I17s which arrived yesterday, later this morning…
Still awaiting my previous best setting revision on my Beltone Imagine 17s…
HI - late to this topic. I skimmed the thread rather than took in all the details - there are many amazingly knowledgeable professionals here to help!
I agree with @Bimodal_user that a evaluation would provide you with more data to evaluate - and even talking with a surgeon if you are a candidate would be another helpful step. As they said - there is never any obligation to proceed with the CI - it is totally your choice. The CI booth testing is more thorough and you seem like the type who likes to review all the data available. Unless they are trained to do CI follow-up (“mappings”), most (and many ENTS) are not up to date on the latest CI results and studies…and they will not get to sell you any , so there is no incentive for them to be knowledgeable about CIs.
That said, I do wonder if it would satisfy your goals, because with this level of hearing loss, there is no normal available anymore, and “best” fit can be somewhat elusive and subjective. Your hearing experience does not change based on the skill the person doing the test. Although I understand that the accuracy of the test can help them fine tune your HAs accordingly. There is no “perfect” in HAs or CIs - it’s just a matter of “better than deaf” to some degree and needs to work for you in day to day life. The reality of this is frustrating for sure. My booth tests with my CI are in the mid 90% range, which is an awesome result. I still don’t hear 90 something percent in real life, however. But it is a heck of a lot better than prior to the CI so I can say it has helped enough be allow me to continue to have conversations in varied environments better than I did with two HAs. It is tempting to pursue the holy grail of “best CI result” but it would result in hyperfocus and annoyance, so I am happy with “good enough” - actually way better than good enough. Not sure this helps with your questions, but more data can be helpful to most decisions.
Pacific Northwest, USA
Poland
