What does Phonak offer? And what to you is important?

This thread has gone into the remote mic direction but I wanted to say something about Phonak aids that was special for me.

Frequency lowering technology was the key for me. Phonak has questionable the best and I believe it goes to lower frequencies than other brands. For many of us that have high frequency hearing loss Phonak just might be the ticket to better hearing. They have also been very reliable in my experience with them.

Hi Bob,

I have had my Phonak Brio 3 BT HAs from Costco (no longer sold there) for about 5 years. I chose them, after auditioning two other brands first, primarily for ONE reason: natural sound reproduction for MUSIC. Even though I am not much of a musician, music is a VERY important part of my life - almost every genre. As I write this, I am listening to Handel oratorio music. I had choice of maybe five programs when Costco set them up for me. In the end, I ONLY selected “MUSIC,” and - I think - something like road noise suppression (which, btw, interferes with full audio spectrum hearing while driving - my Subaru has a Harmon-Kardon sound system that is superb). Switching between programs is automatic, although it can take 20-30 seconds. E.G. when sitting in my car listening to music and I come to a long red light, I can easily hear when the MUSIC program cuts in! HUGE difference!

[IF you enjoy classical music - use “The Russian Sailor’s Dance,” from Gliere’s “Red Poppy” to test sound quality! This is my favorite classical (or romantic era) piece. It ranges from whisper soft to thundering loud; from deep base to tinkling chimes!]

At least THIS model of Phonak HA has one enormous DRAWBACK! The ANDROID APP SUCKS. Sorry for the language, but that is actually polite! It is SO useless that I’ve deleted it from my phone and tablet. The Apple app MAY be better, but I DESPISE anything Apple (with reason).

SUGGESTION: ONLY buy from a HA source that provides a LONG time for trial and return at NO COST to you. Try a FEW brands where you can listen to your favorite music and TRY to be objective. This is NOT EASY because each set of HAs must FIRST be customized for YOU. In MY experience, this goes FAR BEYOND setting the HAs to accommodate your audiogram!

In THIS respect, Costco cannot be beat, if they have brands that you think may be suitable for you. I forget their trial period, but it is much longer than anyone else’s!

I am not going to respond to your question about domes because I do NOT fully understand the difference in function. My current domes are closed.

I doubt that any modern hearing aid is going to be much different with respect to speech. I understand that Costco is currently selling a JABRA model that has microphones IN your ear, in addition to behind your ear. This is supposed to help with directionality. BUT, I understand there is a problem with audio feedback that may or may not have been remedied.

You mentioned Resound HAs. I started with those and was very pleased by the sound quality, but they crapped out very quickly.

One last PERSONAL thought - I would not mind replacing my current HAs, maybe with the Jabra if the feedback issue has been remedied. BUT, Costco, so far, is ONLY selling rechargeable HAs and I actually WANT to use batteries!

aky13rx, thanks so much for your comments.

As a career musician, music is very important to me.

I love all kinds of music. For classical, I prefer Shostakovitch, Tchaikovsky, Gliere and the others, plus Dvorak, Smetana, oh and too may others to mention. I also like Muddy Waters, Celiz Cruz, Stan Getz, and music in just about any genre, although not everything from any style.

My Audi does carry Phonak, so I’m sure I’ll be OK with her. Plus I get $2,000 off because she is in my insurance’s preferred network.

I have decided to go all closed domes. It’s what I’m using now and is better for me than the open ones.

Thanks again,
Bob

Hi Bob, I got them for the frequency lowering tech due to high frequency deafness. That, coupled with a Roger device and directional focus through beamforming, is very helpful to me. But depending on your audiogram the reasons for my choice of Phonak over Oticon may not be relevant to you.

Thanks again for all your thoughtful comments.

Bob