Audeo Eon Sphere 90

Hi,

Welcome to the forum.

What will probably differentiate the Phonaks from the Elehear is performance in noise. If you can hear quite well in groups anyway, the Phonaks might well be overkill.

It will depend on your streaming preferences too. Phonak will probably be massively superior in this respect.

I have the EON 90’s & very happy with them especially the latest windblock as I am out doors a lot , I have had marvels then Lumity’s both were okay then went to the original Spheres & although I was happy with the software in the original Spheres I could not get on with the size as they made them uncomfortable & they pulled out of my ears luckily I was told at the time if I didn’t get on with them I could change to the EON’s as they were due to be released but the latest EON’s are so comfortable that I forget I am wearing them, also as we get older our hearing normally get worse so my philosophy is get the top ones because there is more room for adjustment but just my opinion.

d28, You wrote VERY good deal". So how much?

I am not an audiologist, so I cannot comment about what specific aids are suitable or not for your loss. Although I would imagine that most are.

What I would say is that your own preferences matter more than anyone’s recommendations on here Well, that and your specific needs. Sometimes those things as well are in opposition, to the detriment of hearing well.

As I say, I think you are in a position where any OTC aid can fit your loss, and any prescription hearing aid too. The question I would ask is, what do I want? Is it to service my loss and provide the best quality sound for me as a musician, and good connectivity as well? If so, then narrow it down and trial what is in your price range. The hearadvisor site here can provide you with metrics and benchmarks.

I would recommend a trial of at least a week with any aids. My failing has always been not to test challening situations enough and being too optimistic about the performance of the aids.

@d28fanboy said:

therefore may not be justified given my audiology results.

Can you share those (audiogram)?

d28, Thank you! Based on the information gleaned from this forum, and my own experience, if I were to buy the latest and best Phonak from a local audiologist I was thinking the "bundled" price would be around $7,000 to $7,500.

The audiologist I bought Oticon Real 3 HA in 2023 had a bundled price of $5,000. I had a total of four visits: a chat, a hearing test, a fitting and one follow-up.

I guess you could say, I left money on the table!

I think I'm going to opt for pay-as-you-go visits. I found a local audiologist with 4.8/5 rating who specifically advertise their willingness to work with folks with existing HAs. If it works, and the average is 4'ish visits, even at $150 a pop, it's a lot cheaper. Directhearing.com offers an initial virtual visit, lifetime adjustments, audiology warranty service, friendly folk.

I'll report back.

d28fanboy

To add audiogram tap on your avatar picture top right , tap on manage profile, there you will find to add audiogram if memory serves.

For most the issue is just finding something acceptable in the way of hearing aids. If you like the Eons, keep them and don't worry about it. They're very good hearing aids and should last you several years.

@d28fanboy said:

Lots to love about getting older. But this isn't one of them.

I can't think of many (80th birthday just 5 months away). And, one must be accepting in enumerating the "advantages." But, for me, here are two:

When I was a little boy, I was absolutely TERRIFIED of dogs. Now, my best friend on the planet is my wife's adorable English Lab service animal.

Another: when I was even a NOT so little boy, I was terrified of needles (so much so that I thought the worst thing about polio was having to have a foot-long needle jabbed into my arm 3, oops 4, and oh-my-god 5 separate times—then learning that my little sister could just swallow a sugar cube) to get the same medical benefit! Now, my wisdom acquired with age permits me to go back to the pharmacy for an influenza vaccine mRNA/liposome "sandwich" just 2 days after a needle fed me one for Covid that put me in bed for a day!

Oh, and about those audiograms. I think the interface here will allow you to COPY the data points from your audiogram, not upload an image. But I did see yours from your posted link.

And, as far as very expensive DNN-chipped hearing aids are concerned for someone with modest hearing deficits, I can't yet give advice based on 1st person experience, but I'm optimistic, because I KNOW that although my Audiogram hasn't changed much in the past six years, my ability to understand people talking with me in noisy restaurants has (so much so that the adjective "noisy" is redundant)! I'll find out soon whether "brain interpretation" of what the acoustic nerve feeds it can be helped by that DNN chip in Phonak Eon Spheres.

But, hanging out here will make anyone humble about the complexity of hearing deficits and our varying ability to lessen their impact.

For example, just yesterday I "met" a guy here who's a musician who can still mix tracks that measure sounds he can no longer hear. Sort of like Beethoven conducting his new 9th symphony when he couldn't hear ANYTHING, or Rachmaninov learning to play his 3rd piano concerto on a boat to New York by banging on a model keyboard that did nothing but "click" when he mashed on its keys.

By the way, just what is a d28?

Just this morning, I received a call from directhearing.com, making sure I was ready for my virtual appointment coming up in a couple of days, letting me know that I had unlimited adjustments, supply of wax guards, and domes, four years of warranty coverage (an additional year than the manufacturer) that I would have a follow up visit from the same audiologist two days after my virtual appointment.

He also seemed to suggest that should I need to chat with a specialist, that I could just reach out via there customer support line. I told him that I had not purchased additional services beyond the 60 days, as it costs anywhere from $500-$1500 additional. He said it didn't matter, that it was included in the price.

I also received a phone call from the local audiologist to set up an appointment, and she gave me a basic pay as you go price breakdown for visits like R.E.M. adjustments, consultation, etc. Very reasonable and certainly cheaper than buying the services upfront.