GN introduces ReSound Enzo™ IA the world’s smallest rechargeable Super Power

And what about speech comprehension in different acoustic conditions?

@MarkS said:

I must admit I was nervous about switching to rechargeable aids having been using exclusively disposable battery aids for 50 years. These aids were advertised as having a battery life of 28 hours (20 hours when streaming 50% of the time). In my case I found that these aids would use approximately 20% of the battery power in a day giving me four full days charge before running down to 10% power and the low battery warning sounding every 15 minutes

No doubt impressive, especially when compared to the performance of ReSound rechargeable aids from 5+ years ago, even when new, which were good for one day only before needing to be recharged. The more recent marketing promise has been: lithium ion battery life is getting better, and your experience says they’re not blowing smoke here.

Just one small caution to be aware of. All, yes all lithium ion rechargeable batteries have a limited lifespan and are going to get weaker over time. (If you’ve held onto a smartphone for 3+ years, you already know this.) Aid makers are also saying that this rechargeable battery lifespan is improving, and that may be, but we can’t really be sure yet.

As an example, my ReSound Quattro rechargeable aids are now nearly six years old. The original “batteries” were replaced just before the 3-year warranty expired, and now, can only stay up and running for about 12 hours before needing a recharge.

Note: with ReSound, and some other aid makers as well, the manufacturer can’t actually replace rechargeable batteries, generally, without replacing the entire guts of the aid, because the batteries are built into the aids’ circuitry… they’re not swappable batteries like we’re accustomed to in some other devices. This is not true of all aid makers, but it’s generally true for ReSound and some others today. It’s going to become expensive and/or impossible to get replacement hearing aid guts for discontinued rechargeable aids at some point.

My takeaway is that if you are most concerned with aids you can hold onto for more than 6 years with minimum service cost, you are better off with button batteries. But button-battery aids are often not capable of the newest and best digital AI processing in noise, so if that’s the priority, go with rechargeable.

Speech comprehension I would describe as an incremental but noticeable improvement on my previous aids (Enzo 3D) in all situations

One thing I have notice is a significant improvement of my general awareness of sounds and speech around me for example I was recently walking my family two family member were walking behind and I was very aware that they were having a conservation not to the extent that I was able to hear every word but certainly to the extent that if they had tried to get my attention I would have been instantly aware of this. In the past I would have very little awareness of that they were even talking and often missed efforts made to get my attention

I am aware if the issue with battery degradation but am not overly concerned by this. I am currently charging my aids every fourth day and would hope that this in itself will slow the process down compared with recharging the aids on a daily basis.

Whilst not a like for like comparison my iPhone battery still has 84% capacity after 3.5 years of heavy daily usage and charging. Even a reduction in battery life with 75% from what I am getting today will give me a full day’s charge.

The warranty I have on the Enzo IAs is for 5 years so that should cover any battery issues during that time. In my mind anything more than 5 years is a bonus as far as hearing aids (and most other electrical devices) are concerned

@MarkS said:

I would prefer not to disclose what I paid for these aids (or anything for that matter) on a public forum.

Ha why not, I promise you won’t get a visit from the HA police knocking on your door!

Just a ball park figure would be enough I’m sure to let people know what kind of bargain can be had.

Hi Tenkan

I am merely reporting on my experience with these aids I am not sure what I paid for them in the UK is necessarily that helpful, particularly to those elsewhere,

However, if you take the time to Google prices for this aid in the UK, there are a couple of websites who advertises themselves as network of independent audiologists in both case they are offering the top model of the Resound Enzo IA at £3400 for a pair, which is in approximately what paid for my aids.

If I had only been purchasing one pair of aids, then the price I would have paid would have been higher (on a per aid basis) but as I indicated in my previous email for me this would still have represented good value for money due to the excellent & cobntinuing service provided by my audiologist.

Just to add to the price discussion, I paid a bit more for the Enzo IA than I did for the Enzo 3D it replaced (also purchased at launch 7-8 years ago). Considerably less than inflation over the same period and cheaper than I was expecting.

WOW that is a great summary of the benefits of these new ReSound Enzo IAs. Even as I am wearing Phonak’s Lumity Life 312-battery aids I can appreciate the performance and benefit of your new aids.

I will sound like a complete ignoramous, but I wish I understood the entire LE Audio/Auracast area more. Your post here inspires me to do some ‘net surfing. I think my battery aids DO support LE Audio (and for sure my older rechargeable Lumity Life aids support that), but I simply don’t understand HOW/WHERE/WHY I’d use it.

Your post seems to allude to my being able to replace my Roger ON IN V2 mic with the LE Audio capability, but I’m clueless as to how that would be set up to stream audio from the TV here at home. I have my Roger mic plugged into the line-out port on a Savant pre-amplifier. With that setup, I control when the Roger mic is ON as well as its volume, using an iPad. Would LE Audio render all that clutter unnecessary?

I SO WISH that our audis or even Phonak would reach out to us USERS with occasional emails to invite us to YouTube videos on topics like how to optimize the usage of our devices. I feel that I buy these expensive aids in a total vacuum and only stumble across accessories as I read about them HERE at the forum. Then I go in to see my audi and she is clueless as a pipe-smoking NUN as to how to make these things work together. There is no Geek Squad to help us. So frustrating.

But I do appreciate your informative post here.

Phonak does not have any Auracast/Bluetooth LE Audio enabled hearing aids at present. My understanding is that the Phonak Infinio Sphere has Auracast/Bluetooth LE Audio capability, but Phonak have chosen not to release the firmware that enables their customers to take advantage of the technology at the current time

If you want to research and understand the difference between the various different types of Bluetooth Standards, then I would recommend watching this video. https://youtu.be/FglLmaptyDg?si=CwvlzpxvnbwHkHiH7

One area that this video covers well is empathising the difference between Bluetooth LE and Bluetooth LE Audio. Bluetooth LE is an older standard which has been used by hearing aid manufacturers for a number of years and the newer Bluetooth LE Audio/Auracast Standard which has been adopted by a number of manufacturers on their latest aids

@MarkS said:

If you want to research and understand the difference between the various different types of Bluetooth Standards, then I would recommend watching this video. https://youtu.be/FglLmaptyDg?si=CwvlzpxvnbwHkHiH

MUCH appreciate your thoughtful reply and the link here about BT standards! I’ve got my homework cut out for me now!

EDIT: HOURS later I have watched this very informative show that explains the difference between Bluetooth versions (e.g., 5.0, 5.2, etc.) and Bluetooth standards, which consist of: 1.) Classic Bluetooth (used in Phonak and Kirkland aids), 2.) Bluetooth LE (low energy used in Oticon) - or BLE, and 3.) Bluetooth LE Audio.

Each of these standards were developed years apart to provide unique traits: 1.) Classic was the best for stereophonic audio streaming & rock solid for phone streaming, but required MORE power, so batteries wouldn’t last as long. 2.) BLE was developed next to enable smaller aids, LESS power drain, but the tradeoff came with mono streaming, poor sound quality and very unstable connectivity for phone calls. 3.) LE Audio, developed in 2020 brings together the best of the previous 2 standards, providing stereophonic streaming, low power usage (with LE doing background functions), and stable phone connectivity.

Now there’s LE Audio with Auracast functionality, so aids can connect like a wifi hotspot with phones, laptops, the audio system in public places, etc., all wirelessly with no need for remote mic like the Roger ON IN.

Thing is, not all hearing aid makers have enabled the newer standards of BT. So while I have Phonak Lumity Life aids, the rechargeables have the BLE option (and phone calls are dropped WAY more often), but my 312 version does NOT have this option. The reason we need a Geek Squad for hearing aids is precisely because it takes a PhD in rocket science to maintain a database of every single phone, hearing aid and compatibility chart to see what the BT options are, and who could get by with a cheap Roku personal streamer vs aids with LE Audio, vs cobbled-together system so more than one person can watch TV at the same time (ME: streaming, HUBS: hearing thru TV speaker).

This video is the tip of the iceberg to understanding basic functionality of our aids. It should be required of ALL dispensers and audiologists who program HAs to help their customers optimize their hearing aids. That means we rely on these professionals to advise us about the compatibility of phones (Apple, Android), hearing aid brands/models, and the BT capabilities available for everything they sell us.

Quite an eye-opener. Cuz in reality, we are sold these expensive devices already having a phone on-hand and know NOTHING about how to get the most out of our aids with the BT constraints out there.

Thanks for sharing the link! I am going to forward this to my audi along with a few more videos to help get her up-to-speed on the options out there.

I finally understand

You'll test Resound Vivia? Good, but I recommend also testing new Phonak E-Sphere and Oticon Reveal 1 before makiny any buying decision.

Not to mention Resound has newer generation than Vivia - Resound Sensi.

No. I’ve now received GN ReSound ENZO iA high powered receivers. They were prescribed to me.

I appreciate your suggestion. Thanks

DaveL

That's even better than Vivia. Good direction with more powerful UP devices.

Had my 3 setup follow up today

I had feedback. They provided new moulded inserts. Feedback is gone

I couldn’t understand words because they turned down gain to resolve feedback

Let’s see how things go. I was almost ready to quit.

DaveL

DaveL