Specsavers UK Advance Elite or Phonak Lumity 90

Thanks, @user1186. That’s a question I put to the audiologist who carried out my second assessment: How will I know a particular hearing aid is best for my loss? What are the criteria for making the right choice? I’m not sure there’s a straightforward answer as hearing loss is a wholly subjective experience. What was it about the Phonaks that made you decide they weren’t for you and the Specsavers Elite a better choice?

I think the only way is to trial different ones and see which ones you like better. My first audi told me the Lumity were best and anything else would have inferior quality of sound. However, as the Specsavers Elite were $3,000 cheaper I figured it was worth trialling them too. For me personally, I preferred the sound of the Elite (rebadged Signia Pure). The Lumity sounded too sharp to me, I was bothered a lot by sounds like my footsteps etc. I know this is something you have to get used to, but it was noticeably less of an issue with the pures. I also at times felt disoriented (maybe from the focus beams changing?), I have never noticed that with the Elite. This may have been a setup issue but I don’t think so because the audi was very accommodating and experienced. I was also attracted to the Own Voice Processing of the Signias, which has helped a bit but there’s not a huge difference in my opinion. Also, specific to me, I am a female in my 40s and I have long hair. My hair interfered badly with the Lumity to a debilitating extent and this is almost a non issue with the Pure, I can only assume due to the location of the microphones. The Lumity had amazing features and app functionality, but I find I need to tweak the Elite much less often so I don’t really mind that the app is basic. The only way I would say the Lumity was vastly superior was in terms of Bluetooth connection and streaming sound quality. However, as this is not a priority for me, it was worth the trade. Best of luck with it all.

Thanks again, @user1186. Some really useful things to consider when I start trialling my first HAs. Sadly, my days of luxurious hairgrowth have long gone, so that won’t be an issue for me!

Gary

A lot of differences that people experience from one brand of hearing aid to another are just programming differences that get a lot smaller when the devices are matched using real-ear measures. Additionally, clinicians get to know you and your preferences over time, and often if one brand isn’t working out and you move to another, when they set up the new ones they apply all the things that they learned about you from the first ones immediately, which makes it seem like the second set is better from the get-go. And then on top of that, your brain adjust over time to sounds you haven’t been hearing, so it’s also difficult to know from the start if, for example, the distortion that you hear at the high frequencies (if it’s not in the hearing aid, but the clinician should be able to listen for it) is something that will calm down over time as your auditory system re-adjusts, or whether there’s just too much damage in certain spots and gain needs to be limited in those areas. So yeah, apart from making sure a hearing aid has all the special features that you might need, there isn’t necessarily a “best” hearing aid. You just need to go for it.

The Audeo Slim sound is the same as the Audeo L90-R Life. The life is chunkier and a bit more waterproof. In both cases, it’s not impossible but it is unlikely that a dome will be optimal for you, and you might want to ask about custom tips. Phonak claims that their embedded custom tip is not compatible with the slim (you can still get a slim tip), but I can’t imagine why and I’ve just ordered them separately and put them on without problems other than having to hack about with the software a bit extra. Either choice may limit your power (and stable gain at the high end) a bit realtive to a BTE.

I know this is an old thread, I am new to the forum and just wanted to share my experience and maybe get some constructive advice on the above topic. I currently have Phonak Audeo M30R in both ears, purchased in Boots UK in Jan 2019, and have been very happy with the service received. Recently I had my annual assessment, and they said that my hearing had deteriorated quite a bit from one year ago, and referred me to my doctor for further investigation. No further info yet. Hopefully the Audiogram result is visible to you. They suggested that the Phonak Lumity 90 would be a better solution for my hearing loss, and that advances in hearing technology has advanced since 2019.
I have had to have mine adjusted quite a few times in the last year, and I’m still struggling with TV, in car with female grandchildren (ages 17 and 21), and loud places, especially with womens voices. The adjustments have meant, as explained to me, that the ‘tinniness’ has increased to enable me to get more clarity of speech, volume is fine.
I decided to go to Specsavers to compare results and advice. Basically they have given me more or less the same advice, and recommended the Advance Elite 72 (£1000 cheaper than Phonak 90).
They also said it was a Phonak Lumity 90 with a Specsaver logo and uses the same wire and ear domes etc as Phonak. I read on here though, that someone said that is not the case? Just wanted some clarity on that.
Also they have offered me 100 day no quibble return if I think they are not suitable for me, they also said I could try out the Phonak Lumity 90 for four weeks at no extra cost to compare if I want to, and choose either to pay the extra, or carry on with theirs. Any thoughts or advice, there is no pressure from them at all to take theirs or any other hearing aids, I just have to cancel the appointment if I change my mind. It all sounds good to me, it’s just that why would they say they are Phonak if they aren’t?

Yes. It’s not the Phonak Lumity 90. It’s a Unitron Moxi V-R which is a rechargeable from the Vivante range of Unitron.

I was sold one a couple of months ago and was told it was the Lumity 90. But there were a couple of giveaways. The app took me to the Unitron website. The aids look exactly like the Unitron Moxi V-R!

Still. I was not worried. For a few reasons. Firstly, it sounded very similar to my previous KS-10, which is the Costco version of the Phonak Paradise. Secondly, it has the Sword chip, which is the same as the Lumity. Thirdly it connected to all my Phonak devices, including the TV Connector and Roger oN iN. Finally, I know that Unitron is a sister company of Phonak, both under the Sonova parent company.

Hi,
Thanks for replying. So do you find them to be ok, even at that price. I suppose the plus is, if they are not suitable for me, there are options.

I really don’t know but I believe they have all the features. So they should be a 9.

@glucas said:

It’s not the Phonak Lumity 90. It’s a Unitron Moxi V-R which is a rechargeable from the Vivante range of Unitron.

Unitron and Phonak are the same, everything just has a different name, they share the same accessories as well.

Are they locked? either from Specsavers or Boots?

Just out of curiosity, did you try Unitron TrueFit software.

No. I have no knowledge of it. Can it be downloaded?

Ok well if you’d like to try it I can send it to you, worth a try to see what happens.

Wow. Very kind - Okay. Thank you. Do you need my E-Mail address?