Dear Phonak, your Lumity battery isn't good enough

So - is it the case that a P100 is not even on the market yet? I am deaf as a cinderblock, and I’d consider jumping from a 90 to a 100 if it gave me more POWER and ability to jack up the gain.

I never knew that it would also come with more rechargeable battery life, and at my current 17.5 hrs, I’ve resigned myself to the reality of never getting through a 24-hr day on just a single pair of aids.

Yep, I used to have some charging probs, and also - weirdly - the aids would SHRIEK at top volume in the charging base with lid closed. Only my dear hubs would hear that and give the base a jiggle to seat them right. It hasn’t happened since I had my audi turn the aids OFF when I hang them up in the charger every night.

@1Bluejay P100 is just the OP suggestion, not sure if even Phonak have thought about it, unless if OP is phonak’s matrix agent, in this case he is taking us for Mr Anderson; I ain’t taking the blue pill btw.
If you want more power from your Audeo Lumity, then the best course is to see your HCP, as from your audiogram, the Audeo Lumity still has some margin, me thinking.
On the battery side, well, that’s what we are babbling about, we want the HA manufacturer to respect their user/patients base and provide long lasting rechargeable HA (long lasting, not sure how you will get people to agree on a minimum run time, 24h? 48h? 72?.. how long is good enough, bearing in mind that the rechargeable batteries will degrade over time, and most aren’t user serviceable), and COMMITMENT in providing same HA portfolio but with disposable batteries, NO DISCRIMINATION.

It’s called planned obsolescence.

Thanks. I feel like Bluetooth streaming is a double edge sword. One the one hand it’s convenient to never have to remember headphones. On the other hand people don’t know I’m listening to something and the sound quality isn’t as good as a great set of headphones.

I also have the idea in my head that it’s dual microphone with more space for processing chip etc so I must get a better experience. But reality is I’m used to CIC for 20+ years and need a long time to adjust to how the sound is picked up and processed differently.

If the lumity RIC battery life was the same as Starkey Genesis I’d have considered the switch but don’t think it’s time yet. Three more weeks of my Starkey trial before I need to decide.

I agree!

18 hours is technically fine but life happens. The next day would be a nightmare if I didn’t charge properly the night before. Add work or social calls/outings. Sigh….

The standard definitely needs to be higher.

Thanks for sharing.

I just made up the idea of the P100.

P90 is the current maximum with Phonak products.

Excellent point you raise here, @Conndor. Do a little bit of streaming (TV, podcasts and music) and your Phonak rechargeables won’t make it through the day. I solve this problem partly by giving my HAs an extra recharge when I exercise and sweat in the middle of the day. Phonak should enhance (let’s say, triple) the capacity of their batteries, probably increasing the size of their BTEs (stop thinking all users are obsessed with vanity). Second, it should adopt more efficient 5.x Bluetooth asap. Hope the manufacturer listens.

Yes! I’m one of those “old people” with the flexibility in my time commitments. I do rely on accessories and wind up having to schedule some charging time into my day. My Lumity hearing aid batteries got to the point that on two days when I used no bluetooth accessories at all the dying beeping started before 6 pm. I sent the aids back to Phonak. It remains to be seen whether that does any good. What I don’t understand is why hearing aids don’t have both options. ALDs come with the ability to be charged, or used with replaceable batteries. Is the only thing stopping Phonak from making their hearing aids have the same capability the size? Larger, please. I don’t care who sees my aids. I would be happy to wear my hearing aids around my neck if it would enable me to hear better – at all hours.

It’s interesting that the slims aren’t really that much smaller. I’m also not convinced you need a larger form factor. Starkey Genesis does 51hours with their RIC and 41hours with their mini RIC.

Glad you have some charging time available each day and it naturally works. It’s a pity for most people who have a mandatory deaf time each day to recharge along with likely an additional charger for convenience so more costs.

@Baltazard said:

the best course is to see your HCP, as from your audiogram, the Audeo Lumity still has some margin, me thinking.

I’ve got an appt set up for the 17th! My audi is always SO eager and accommodating to see me, too. Hopefully, some interesting results will come of tweaking the MPO and gain! Can’t wait!

@Conndor said:

I just made up the idea of the P100.

LOL! I knew it was a daydream … but some day, it WILL happen! P100 that are battery operated and last 6 days. Maybe in my life time?

@Conndor said:

I also have the idea in my head that it’s dual microphone with more space for processing chip etc so I must get a better experience. But reality is I’m used to CIC for 20+ years and need a long time to adjust to how the sound is picked up and processed differently.

Yeah, not necessarily. I don’t know your audiogram or your ears and there are a lot of possible limiting factors to great outcomes with CICs. BUT, some users have just the right combination of ears and audiograms for a deeply fit CIC with good frequency response across the board and the result, compared to a RIC with domes, tends to be more consistent gain with a better low frequency response, access to a true pinna effect, great wind noise reduction, good comfort with nothing fiddly behind the ears, and good retention. Sometimes RICs can give a better boost in noise because of directional mics or because of better access to remote mic tech, but sometimes this gets lost with a more open fit, or the user actually still has pretty good speech in noise function despite hearing loss.

And yesterday another example of NOT enuf battery life. Up at 5am, attended long day’s class on boating safety, staggered home, and along about 9pm the batteries were DONE FOR. I had to swap in my other pair of rechargeables just to unwind watching a movie.

I highly doubt any exec at Phonak (or other companies with similarly low-life rechargeables) would just take things as a matter of course to interrupt a day with complete change of hearing aid OR sit deaf as a post for 30-40 min waiting for single pair of rechargeables to enable them to HEAR again.

Walk in my shoes. I’m gonna send a pair of stinkin’ sneakers your way!