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Phonak Lumity 90 to Phonak Infinio Sphere 90 - worth it?

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I recently got hearing aids through a vocational rehab place about a year ago. I got them right before they released the Infinio Spheres, bad luck for me. I found the Lumity to be okay, much louder than my Marvels but voices are less clear for some reason despite going to get them adjusted often. I’ve also had some issues with one receiver dying randomly twice. I’ve heard a lot of good things about the Spheres, I was wondering if anyone upgraded from the Lumity to the Spheres and if it’s worth the upgrade or just hype. I’m thinking about paying out of pocket for them and having my current ones as backups (had none for weeks when the receivers died so that sucked).

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If you were asking whether plain infinio was worth the upgrade, I’d have said probably not. Are you in noisy environments much? Restaurants, coffee shops, checkout areas at supermarkets, etc. This is where sphere can shine. It doesn’t work great for everyone. If you have a more open fitting, it tends not to deliver like a closed fitting does.

WH

Yes, quite often. Lately been having a lot of trouble in those areas so if it makes it even an iota better, I’d be happy. I think I have closed fitting, luckily. I have those custom ear molds with a vent

In reply to @WhiteHat

The Infinio Sphere shines in background noise, but the battery discharges quickly when the background noise program is left on. You’ll be lucky to get 14 to 15 hours of use with the background noise program left on. With the background program turned off, it’s basically a standard hearing aid with few bells and whistles.

I went from Lumity to Spheres as you are contemplating. Yes, it’s worth it.

I posted in the section my experience with them.

In reply to @Baileyhere

I have had them since early June. With one exception (pre-ultra) I’ve never ended a day less than 50%. Since ultra, I’d say not less than 60%. Battery life is not an issue. I’d can’t imagine needing to be in spherical mode all day. Your battery concerns are unfounded.

WH

I went from Lumity to Sphere. I was only 2 years into my three year support contract with my audiologist so he credited back the unused year and gave me a huge discount to upgrade. It was worth every penny and you can read my bazillion comments here on the forum. Key points are the battery life doubled and I can now hear speech in the worst noisy restaurants. Bluetooth is significantly improved too! Ask for a trial and see if the audiologist will give you a credit back for an early upgrade. You need to try them.

Jordan

Hi @Asha_B , I am not adding anything new but just want to say that I have added Spheres to my Lumitys and I agree with what @JordanK and @WhiteHat say. You can read through their their many posts and they offer great advice and accurate comments.

Edited

I have severe to profound loss. Battery life with Lumity was an issue when new, and not great after 2.5 years. Normally I would skip a generation or two of devices but the combo of the Sphere hype and better battery life (that got even better after the recent ‘Ultra’ firmware update) solved all my problems, and I have my Lumity devices as backups. So, expensive to have two pairs so recently purchased, but worth it in the long run. I don’t foresee an upgrade need for years to come until there’s a major advancement.

On the battery front: I wear hearing aids a minimum of 16 hours a day most days. There are days I go beyond that, sometimes 20+. Lumity always required a short recharge from 16-17 hours, and sooner than that after a couple years to get me through my day. Like @WhiteHat said, 50%-60% is usually where I am at the end of my day. The only exception are the few times I have spend 3+ hours in the Spheric program, and I’m still over 20% by the end of those days.

Battery life is not an issue for me with Infinio Sphere.

Edited

In reply to @JordanK

Hearing aid purchases and after care might be (or might not) be different in Canada versus in U.S. But I find your reference to ‘support contract’ a little iffy. Why would someone need an aid support contract when Phonak offers a 100% three year warranty. Pretty much across the board. No one should pay a dime to Phonak during first three years of ownership, since aid(s) are coverered by full three year service warranty.

Number two. When you purchase new Phonak aids you always get a free three year warranty. That should hold true in Canada, thus why then would there be a need for you to get a credit back from your Lumity aids? When you already have a three year warranty with new Sphere? So are you claiming you received a four year warranty after purchasing Spheres? I might buy that.

Lastly, huge discount to upgrade? Hmmm. You just bought Lumity aids two years back so they are still retively new aids, still under warranty. Most users if their smart or more likely watching their pennies buy new aids way after warranty perioid expires. Like year 5, 6 or 7 plus of use. From the way your post is written it sound like two years from now you’ll be buying new hearing aids again because Canada Audi’s give such sweet deals. If that true I just might move to Canada, but I seriouslly doubt its true.

It’s not really a contract. The audiologist sells the hearing aids as package. This includes the hearing aids with Phonak’s three year warranty plus the charger. Also included is hearing testing, initial fitting plus , three years of unlimited adjustments plus unlimited, receivers, molds, domes and , annual cleaning, etc. My audiologist also provides free loaners if the hearing aids need to be sent in for repairs. Everything is itemized on the initial quote and invoice and I get stellar service.

Jordan

I have had my none Ultra Spheres for almost a month and I haven’t had a day where the battery life has gone below 55%. I wear my aids on average 15.5 hours a day. I stream on average 5 hours a day and I am in noisy environments on average 5 hours a day. Now I must say that I haven’t used the Spherical program except to check to see what it sounds like. I find that the autosense works great for me. I am use to the open sound of the Oticon INTENT1 aids so some background noise doesn’t bother me. I wear custom ear molds with very small vents. I am waiting for the clinic to get the latest target software so my Spheres can be updated, and I have no desire to do my own updates or adjustments. I don’t even own a windows computer or even a computer anymore. I get along great with an Android phone and tablet.

If you have time, you can wait to the Aug 2026 when the next generation of Phonak hearing aids will be released. My Sphere, without using program, can work mich over 30hrs (~2,5%/h).

@Asha_B said:

I think I have closed fitting, luckily. I have those custom ear molds with a vent

With your reverse slope hearing loss the closed fitting would be probably more appropriate.

In reply to @JordanK

Your hearing aid package is nothing special, and is offered to anyone who buys a new Phonak hearing aid. Sorry but in “reality land” no Audi credit’s back anything regarding used hearing aids. Since you seem to want to upgrade aids every two years, then maybe your Audi is flexible on new aid pricing. In most cases though, a seller of hearing aids, will price a new aid the same price for a first time buyer and a repeat buyer. Don’t mean to pick but you initial post reads like some car sale where your turning in your old car to get a special deal on a new one. Buying ’s doesn’t work that way.

A crediable Audi would not let you go weeks before replacing your failed receivers. Not sure why you accepted that? Many times you can get a loaner aid while your original aids are being repaired. If not then the turn around time should be 7 to 10 days max. You can also request your repaired aids be over night delivered and returned to reduce wait time. You’ve got the wrong hearing aid distributor if you have to wait weeks for a simple receiver replacement. Especailly since it takes only a few minutes at most to replace a faulty receiver with a new one.

If like me ans the receivers are embedded in the custom ear molds. The time to get a replacement is typically 7 to 10 days. That is why I have a backup set of aids.

In reply to @Baileyhere

It was really bad timing as the receiver died on me right before the Thanksgiving holiday and I forgot to ask them to rush it. I asked if they had loaners a while back but they said no. I wanted to ask again but it usually takes 2+ weeks for an appointment slot to open up unfortunately. They’re the only audiologist around my area with good reviews :smiling_face_with_tear:

I called to set up an appointment to buy these new Spheres on December 10 and they didn’t have any openings until January 12th :melting_face:

Bimodel… mentioned the new upgrade of Sphere I90 next year. I asked my audiologist about that when I heard the something & he said the upgrade will be minor in nature and the Deepsonic dedicated chip was the gee-whizz factor and it will be 3-4 years until major tech upgrade models will come out. Of course, the tech turnover rates are a ever shrinking time table. I don’t know how anyone can say what next years model will do since Phonack wears this info. close to the vest.

I have noticed a better Deepsonic experience on my new Spheres when my Audi made active upgrade from 85% initial script power to 90%. Makes me wonder what 95% - 100% script assignment might be like!

The Sphere’s were definitely worth it for me, particularly when I moved from an open dome to a vented, slim tip. The only issue is, they don’t always automatically change to the Spheric mode, forcing me to open the app and select it myself. During that time, I’ve missed some of the conversation.:neutral_face:

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