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Upgraded my old Phonaks

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One of my 5 year old Phonak Audio M50-R aids failed due to my not removing it before I showered! The subsequent visit to my audiologist found only minor overall decline in my tonal , but my word recognition had plummeted to 16% right and 24% left. Just got my new I-90 Sphere (Ultra) last week and they are phenomenal for improving my speech recognition!
I’m retired and rarely in high noise enviorments. But in my usual quite settings, the Speech Enhancer and Spheric Speech Clarity on the 90s are so good that it changed my world! Online info says the 70s lack the Speech Enhancer for soft sounds and only “moderate strength” for the Spheric Speech Clarity. So I’m glad I went with the 90s. Most of the promotion I have seen for the Sphere technology focuses on speech in noise. But for people like me with poor word recognition, the help in a quiet environment is unbelievable! I feel the premium price was well worth it.

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Great to read your story! So you have said that you noticed improvements even in quiet situations?

I am curious which receiver you have (P?) and what acoustic coupling - power domes? Earmolds (what diameter of vent)?

We lead very quiet lives and my darling wife of 51 years is very soft spoken. It was down to I had to be facing her to comprehend (lip reading?). Now I can understand when her back is to me. And I can understand what’s being said on the TV news…unless they talk too fast or have heavy accents. Christmas Eve we listened to carols on our 90s vintage stereo and I could understand the words! Now I worry when I put them in the charger at night that it’s a dream and will different in the morning. So far, so good. The dream continues today!

In reply to @kgmgpm

My cost was $6600 US. Included initial full hearing exam w/ . Right and left Infinio i90 Sphere Ultra, Go Charger, 60-day money back guarantee return policy, full no-cost guarantee for 3 years, and unlimited visits and tuneups. They were cheaper elsewhere, but my Audio is outstanding - former teaching faculty in audiology at a major university hospital. She alone is worth the cost difference! The most critial piece of any hearing aid is your audiologist! PS - 2 hour drive each way from my home.

About the same, here to my Audi is great and does a very good job, I’ve said it many times before, the programing is the key to being able to hear properly, the theology helps achieve the best possible results.

I wonder what makes (regarding reviews from Sphere users) Spheres often better in quiet environment than Paradises assuming they were fitted with the same audiologist. I understand that there are improvements in speech in noise, but why in quiet also?

What are the reasons for this? Better mics? Better computational power of Infinio ERA chip compared to Paradise’s PRISM? Better processing of sound from analog to digital and vice versa? Better Infinio (SDS 6.0) receivers compared to Paradise (SDS 4.0 and 5.0)?

Not sure if this helps with your questions, but I found the following with an google search.

Phonak Sphere I90 (Premium):

  • Technology Level: Premium.

  • Speech Clarity: Full strength Spheric Speech Clarity.

  • Noise Reduction: Strong (can be set to strong).

  • Key Features: Includes Speech Enhancer and SpeechSensor.

  • Performance: Best overall performance, especially in noisy environments.

Phonak Sphere I70 (Advanced):

  • Technology Level: Advanced.

  • Speech Clarity: Medium strength Spheric Speech Clarity.

  • Noise Reduction: Moderate (limited to moderate).

  • Key Features: Lacks Speech Enhancer and SpeechSensor.

  • Performance: Excellent, but a step down from the I90, particularly in quiet listening and soft speech situations.

I doubt the noise reduction plays much part in quiet settings. So I suspect the answer is in the better processor chip, better Autosense program (Speech Sensor?), and the Speech Clarity and Speech Enhancer programs.

Speech Sensor is for noise and it was introduced in Lumity lineup.

Speech Enhancer is indeed for quiet situations, but it is also in Paradise and Phonak didn’t change that technology.

Speech Clarity is only in “Spheric Speech Clarity” which is program from noise.

In reply to @Bimodal_user

I suspect moving from the M50’s to the Sphere’s has a lot to do with his improvement. He didn’t mention keeping his old aids properly tuned so that could also have something to do with the improvement.

Agree, always good to hear about a member getting great results from their hearing aids.

@Raudrive said:

moving from the M50’s to the Sphere’s

Oh, I missed that was Marvel 50 , I don’t know why I was sure that OP has Paradise 90s. So then, assuming the same audiologist and his fine tuning, Speech Enhancer plays a large role in improvement.

I suppose only, but perhaps more channels/handles in lower frequencies in Sphere 90s could make fine-tuning in the sloping part of hearing loss more accurate, therefore avoiding upper spread of masking.

Unlikely much better hearing. Although there will be more comfort with e.g. Bluetooth. How much will you pay for it?

Okay yeah true, but I think the Marvel did have a firmware update offering this at some point.

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