Can't understand actors on stage with my Phonak Audeo Sphere I90s

Greetings to Poland! Forgot to state that I have earmold/cShells. Also, I had excellent word recognition on my hearing test, but that doesn’t translate to longer distance word recognition with my Phonak Sphere I90s. Will bring up your suggestions with my audi.

Maybe check (on the Phonak App) as to what setting you currently have on microphone pickup angle…is is it ‘wide’ or ‘narrow’ ? This is something that you can adjust manually within the App on your phone…you don’t need an audiologist to do this…

HTH

Peter

Greetings from me also:) You can try in MyPhonak app program setting at the bottom is slider. Move it to the right (it amplifies soft sound more).

As users mentioned above - you can try make microphones focus (beamforming) more narrow, maybe it could make pickup range longer.

Roger is also good device, but I haven’t experience how long is its pickup range in pointing mode. It’s longer than in HA, I’m sure.

Hearing aids aren’t great at distance. Probably going to need some additional technology either provided by the venue or purchased by you. If the issue is just lack of volume, turning up the volume on your hearing aids would help but I suspect it’s more of a SNR (signal to noise ratio) issue and it’s likely beyond what the hearing aids can do by themselves. Roger On MIGHT get you there. Ideally venue would provide Bluetooth streaming.

You could ask for one of these!

I’ve read they were first invented for opera.
Then again, creating a special program would be less cumbersome. @Bimodal_user has the right idea, I believe. Perhaps also specify emphasis on the forward microphones, too.

Thanks to everyone for your suggestions. I’m going to a play soon and will try out as many as I can. I hope my neighbors are tolerant while I fiddle with my phone during the performance. I use ChatGPT in my work, so I thought of asking it for advice. Here’s it’s response:

Live theater can be one of the most challenging listening environments, even with excellent hearing aids and good word recognition scores. That’s because the listening conditions are very different from a restaurant:

• Distance – The actors’ voices are coming from much farther away than conversation distance. Even the best hearing aids work best for speech within a few meters.
• Acoustics – Theaters often have long reverberation times, so consonants get blurred.
• Projection & articulation – Actors’ delivery styles vary, and some productions use “naturalistic” underplayed speech that’s less clear.
• Noisy mix – Music, sound effects, and audience reactions can mask dialogue.

Here’s what you can try, starting with the least disruptive changes and moving to more involved solutions:

1. Check & Use the Theater’s Assistive Listening System

Most professional theaters are required by law (in the U.S., under the ADA) to provide assistive listening.
These usually come in three forms:

• FM or infrared headsets – You wear their receiver with either over-ear headphones or a neck loop that sends the signal directly to your hearing aids via telecoil.
• Induction loop systems – If the theater has a “looped” auditorium, you can use your hearing aids’ telecoil (“T” program) to get a direct feed from the stage microphones.
• Bluetooth/streaming app – Some theaters use systems like Listen EVERYWHERE or Sennheiser MobileConnect, streaming audio over Wi-Fi to your phone (you then stream from phone to aids).

For your Phonak Audéo Infinio Sphere 90, you can use:

• Telecoil (if your model has it) – Switch to your “T” program.
• Roger neckloop or receiver – Pairs with the theater’s transmitter for a direct, clear feed.

Tip: Call the box office in advance and ask exactly what assistive listening options they have, so you can prepare your gear/programs before arriving.

2. Have Your Audiologist Create a “Theater Program”

Ask for a dedicated custom program that:

• Increases focus to the front (narrow speech beamforming)
• Reduces low-frequency amplification (to cut reverberation boominess)
• Enhances mid/high consonant sounds for clarity
• Uses less aggressive noise reduction (so speech cues aren’t cut off)

Your Infinio Sphere 90s can store multiple programs—your audiologist can name one “Theater” for quick access.

3. Choose Optimal Seating

• Closer is better – The closer you are to the stage, the stronger the direct voice signal compared to reverberation.
• Avoid extreme sides or under balconies – These positions have worse sound reflections and reduced clarity.

4. Pair With a Personal Stage Microphone System

If the theater allows it, you could use your own Phonak Roger remote microphone system. A Roger Table Mic or Roger On placed near stage monitors or connected to the soundboard can stream actors’ voices directly to your aids.

5. Use Captioning When Available

Many large theaters now offer open captions on certain dates or closed-caption devices you can hold at your seat. These are invaluable for following tricky dialogue.

If you like, I can put together a checklist you can bring to your audiologist so they can set up your Infinio Spheres specifically for theater use, and also a sample script for calling the box office to get the right assistive listening gear ready for you. That way you’ll know exactly what to ask for.

Do you want me to prepare that?

Pretty impressive, huh?

Quite accurate advices.

Yes, directional mics can facilitate hearing in reverberant rooms.

@peter2 said:

Uses less aggressive noise reduction (so speech cues aren’t cut off)

This is relevant to traditional noise reduction, rather not for Spheric Speech Clarity program.

You would only need the proposed dedicated theater HA program, if no assistive listening system is available. Which, despite the ADA, is not uncommon.

@LawyerFL said:

I would add that if your aids have telecoils, which you will have to turn to that hearing aid setting (Look for Public t-coil +mic), it will mean you can use the neckloop the theater should offer you with the FM or IR system, and you won’t need to wear the offered headsets. Also, theaters are starting to provide the new Auracast but your phonaks do not have the new LE Audio bluetooth, unlike Resound and Jabra hearing aids, so if your see that, know that you cannot access Auracast. You also won’t need to do much with your phone if you get the FM or IR system except turn on your telecoil program. Similarly, with a loop system you just turn on your telecoil hearing aid program which you can have set up to use a button on your hearing aid or use the MyPhonak app. But the phone is something you have to fiddle with if you use a WiFi listening system.
Be sure to ask about fresh batteries for an FM device and if set on the right channel for any of them. You usually find the assistive listening system at the box office or security desk. The website might tell you (look under accessibility) as to what is available, and how to get it. Or just call.

Thanks, very helpful!

Sphere I90s? T-coil not offered. Sorry. I have used my roger mic in connection with an fm receiver. Once we sorted that I needed a mono to stereo plug to hear the single audeo channel in both ears it was good.

WH

I have Phonak Lumity h/a with cShell domes. To improve understanding of stage performances I created a Calm program whose frequency slope is on a dramatically upward steady slope, from very little on the low end to very high at the high end of the range. That increase on the upper range has helped immensely. No problem with dialogue, but still some with lyrics. Nothing is perfect!