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Phonak infinio Sphere VS Oticon intent for severe hearing loss

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Good morning to all,

I am about to speak with my audiologist concerning purchasing new hearing aids. At first I was only considering the Phonak sphere due to its impressive speech clarity I have read about. However, I recently read that the Oticon Intents perform nearly as well in this area. Can anyone provide any input between the two brands? What is Oticons BrainHearing technology is that like the Widex Pure Sound? One thing leaning me toward the Intents is there AuraCast capabilities. Has anyone used with the Intents? Any input you all have is appreciated, this forum is a God send!! Thanks,

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For this type of question it is always very helpful if you can post your , so people can compare. I am borderline severe, very happy with my Audéo Phonaks.

I will ask her to send it over when i can. Thanks for the suggestions. Since I have never posted hear before what format is best for others to read the ? Thanks,

Click on the “notifications and account” icon (upper righthand corner on my PC), then select “view all notifications” (a down arrow on my PC). You will then see an item called “My ”. Click on that and you can enter in your audiogram information, which others can then see.

Both hearing aids are exceptional, both have impressive speech clarity. However, in the last year I think it’s fair to say that there has been anecdotal evidence on this site, where people are saying that the Phonak Sphere is superior in noise situations to the Oticon Intent. The hearing tracker ratings give the highest marks to the Phonak Sphere.

No, the Oticon BrainHearing technology is not the same as the Widex Pure Sound. Oticon BrainHearing is just a marketing buzzword for their open paradigm where more speech cues are available for the brain to interpret, enabling speech comprehension. Widex Pure Sound - I am unsure of what is behind this, but it might be to do with Widex’s faster latency.

with the Intent is now enabled following a recent firmware update. I am using an auracast dongle/streamer via my laptop and it is very good.

In general, both Oticon and Phonak have a good ecosystem of assistive listening devices - TV connectors, remote Microphones etc. However, the Roger Mic from Phonak is probably superior to all of the competition - but it does not cut out background noise well in my experience.

I think you have to trial both and see what your preference is.

I would tried them both. Oticon by design tend to be a more natural sound with an open experience, in that Phonak is more directional it tends to enhance the speech in a better way.

Some people like one some the other, I will start fitting Minibte R (105) so soon I will tell you really but based on the intent platform we expect this to be real good.

As per widex, the general consensus is that the sound of their hearing aids is very welcoming , very easy to get used to and the fitting software is really really easy. As per , shouldnt be a deciding factor as ALL brands will have auracast even phonak via firmware upgrade.

@Nikosman said:

Has anyone used Auracast with the Intents

/ is a game changer for streaming, but your phone needs to support LEA in order to reap the benefits of the increased audio streaming fidelity at lower bitrates which enhances battery life, as well. The extended range is amazing, too.

Auracast allows you to stream from your laptop/tablet with the same codec as LEA, so again, great sound, and no need to pay $$$ for a dedicated streamer, you just need a LEA BT USB dongle like the Avantree C82 Aura, or Flairmesh FlooGoo. If your TV supports Auracast, or even has a USB connector again, you’ll be able to stream the audio to your Intents.

Another great thing about the Oticon Intent is the Easy LE Adapter, which can be used with a non LEA android phone, and provide hands-free calls, and hi def streaming from any of the devices listed above.

The biggest difference between Phonak and Oticon is, as @glucas wrote, the paradigm comparison, and the enhanced speech in noise the Sphere delivers.

If you spend a lot of time in very noisy environments, the Sphere may be a better choice, and with BT Classic, it allows for streaming from any BT enabled device, but the range is weak, and the quality is reduced.

I have both the Oticon INTENT1 and the Phonak Spheres, not Ultras, both are great hearing aids. But the Spheres are better for my hearing needs. The Spheres have a lower frequency sound than the INTENT1 aids. The Spheres are definitely better in noisy environments. The INTENT1 aids maybe a little better in environments that you want more of a surround sound effects. The INTENT1 aids have a slight tinny sound compared to the Spheres. When it comes to apps the Myphonak app wins hands down over the Oticon companion app. As for as streaming the Spheres are great for pairing to a wider range of devices without the need for extra devices. At this time the Spheres are not compatible. The Oticon INTENT1 are auracast compatible. With my Oticon INTENT1 aids I have a TV adapter, the Connect clip, and EDUMIC. With my Spheres i have the Roger ON3 which can do everything it takes 3 Oticon devices to do.

My current audiologest may not sell the intents which is ok for me. Does the phonak have good diretionallity in your opinion? Because I am blind hearing is how I navigate so any help with direction is appreciated.

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