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100% mute of Phonak hearing aid microphone

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Hi all!
I am once again trying to move away from an Starkey aid - I only wear one aid in right currently, lost all speech recognition and most lower frequencies in my left a few years back due to SSHL.
I currently have a Starkey Livio Edge 2400 ITC aid and the new audiologist is suggesting a Phonak Audéo I90 on the right and a Infinio on my left side, at least partially because with the power levels I need, it is almost impossible to avoid feedback now with an ITC aid.
With the SSHL I have lost almost all localization, and the claim is that the CROS can restore some of that. Does anyone have personal experience with that? If so how long did it take? Right now, it is just annoying, as I just hear things twice with a few milliseconds in between, as my left ear can hear high frequencies.
My other issue is that it appears that the microphone on the Phonaks can not be muted 100% and that might be a deal breaker. I cycle an hour or so every day, at speeds up to 70 kph going down a nearby hill. When I cycle with my Starkey, I can go into Thrive and mute the microphone 100% and continue hearing my podcast. I can still hear sirens and horns and such with my left ear, but I don’t hear the low frequency wind noise roar. With the Phonak , anywhere over 30 kph or so and I can no longer hear what I am streaming.
I also am unimpressed (so far) with the Phonak Android app and connectivity to my Google Pixel 7. My CROS is constantly disconnecting from Bluetooth, which then makes the app hard to use as you have to constantly dismiss connection error messages. I am also having trouble with phone calls connecting. While Thrive isn’t perfect, I do like the controls it has better.
Any input greatly appreciated. He has ordered me Sphere to try, which doesn’t have a CROS option, so the CROS question might be moot at this point.

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@Microfiche said:

Phonak Audéo I90 on the right and a CROS Infinio on my left side, at least partially because with the power levels I need, it is almost impossible to avoid feedback now with an ITC aid.

Check the battery life with or wait for reviews to not be surprised.

@Microfiche said:

With the SSHL I have lost almost all localization, and the claim is that the CROS can restore some of that

CROS generally doesn’t improve localization. In it only could help.

@Microfiche said:

My other issue is that it appears that the microphone on the Phonaks can not be muted 100% and that might be a deal breaker.

Maybe it wasn’t microphone, maybe it was vent canal? Wind noise can quite effectively get through.

In myPhonak app try:

  1. Environmental balance during streaming slider max rightward
    AND
  2. In main screen tap speaker icon to mute.

Maybe it helps.

@Microfiche said:

I also am unimpressed (so far) with the Phonak Android app and connectivity to my Google Pixel 7. My CROS is constantly disconnecting from Bluetooth, which then makes the app hard to use as you have to constantly dismiss connection error messages. I am also having trouble with phone calls connecting. While Thrive isn’t perfect, I do like the controls it has better.

The Fall update will give improvement in CROS issue. See at the end of article:

Phonak First To Introduce Dedicated Chip for DNN Denoising (hearingtracker.com)6

For better, more reliable and MUCH FASTER connectivity with my Phonak try that option:

Screenshot_20240830_222832_myPhonak

I don’t know anything about , but Phonak mics can definitely be muted 100%. I have mine set up so that a longer press on the button mutes them, but that has to be configured in Target. You can do it from the app, though:

thumbnail

That completely turns them off. If you were streaming something, you’ll hear only the streaming. If background noise is getting through when they’re muted, then it’s because of the vent or the aerodynamics generating wind noise or some other issue. The catch is that if you try to turn the volume up using the button on the aids, it will unmute it. If you want to use manual controls, it’s much easier to set up the muting that way in Target, so that you can set the volume how you want it and then mute them without messing with the app.

Just want to add that my audi said the new Phonak Infinio was good for users. I suppose your audi would know if the Sphere Infinio could be set up to work with the Audeo I90? I thought one needed two identical make/model aids to work together for programs, streaming, etc.?

I guess my only other comment is about riding a bike with aids muted and blissfully listening to a podcast. O. M. G.

All the years I rode my bike on highways, streets or hilly roads, I’d not only have BOTH ears WIDE OPEN with aids in, but I’d wear a side-view mirror and keep an eye cocked for inattentive drivers on the CELL PHONE who could so easily carom into you. I know I’m not your mother, but PLEASE be careful out there! There are too many folks who can’t detach their driving hand from their cell phone, nor their eyes from the social media they’re scrolling while driving.

I could always HEAR a car coming up behind me cuz I’d be in my default program. Plus, dear hubs would call out, “Car coming!” just to be sure. Not all vehicles will have horns or sirens blaring out there.

In reply to @CombatWombat

My audiologist contacted Phonak who told him that the microphone could NOT be 100% muted. The volume/gain can be decreased a LOT, but it is not turned off (despite the “controls” inthe app). I can’t hear anything through the mic until about 30 kph. I have a C shell, so blockage there would be similar to my Starkey aid. While I am riding, if I block the wind with my hand at the mic, the noise disappears. plugging my ear canal doe not affect the sound. We have tried a couple of programs to reduce the gain as much as possible etc. but so far no go.

In reply to @CombatWombat

I can hear road noise through my SSHL ear. I have been cycling this way for a long time. We have good bike lanes here, I can hear road noise above 2000 hz (like the sound of tires on a road), and I have a rear view mirror. The only thing that EVER surprises me is a cyclist behind me occasionally.

In reply to @1Bluejay

Thanks @1Bluejay, but it is hard to describe unless you had my hearing loss, but if you look at the , you will see that my weird SSHL left ear hearing is not horrible above 2000Hz. I easily hear road noise (tires on the road) and horns and sirens. I also have a rear view mirror. I would not do this if I couldn’t hear vehicles. I know from before SSHL how stupid many drivers are.

In reply to @Microfiche

@Microfiche said:

My audiologist contacted Phonak who told him that the microphone could NOT be 100% muted.

@Microfiche
I believe the Phonak representative and your audiologist… Why
I tested this out as described with the app etc. Just play very soft music on the radio. Toggle this switch on and off in the Phone app and move slider up and down it does what it has to do and I can almost mute the radio sound.
But when I take the battery out of my I can mute the radio to an unhearable level. The proof is in the pudding.

In reply to @Microfiche

@Microfiche said:

My audiologist contacted Phonak who told him that the microphone could NOT be 100% muted. The volume/gain can be decreased a LOT, but it is not turned off (despite the “controls” inthe app). I can’t hear anything through the mic until about 30 kph.

I tried my Paradise 90-RT over the wind of my air purifier (~75 about 20 cm from the outlet, as measured by my phone).

I plugged my pressure vent. There was no difference in “wind” noise between muted mics and completely turned-off .

When I tried to cover the mics on my turned-off HAs, the “wind” noise decreased, but that was because of the covering by my hand.

The “wind” noise increased dramatically on the turned-off HAs when I removed the plug from my vent. Let me remind you that this is the vent with the smallest possible diameter (pressure vent).

On the mute subject (note: I have Phonak, but a different model), it does not MUTE 100%. It goes to about 90%. Even when the symbol is MUTE, it’s only 90%. I asked Phonak, and they told me it was a safety issue, that they never want the ambient sounds totally muted.

Yup. I find it strange the Starkey has no problem with 100% mute, but Phonak does. I hate the “dumbing down” of devices and apps to “protect us”.

@Microfiche said:

I find it strange the Starkey has no problem with 100% mute, but Phonak does

It’s just another way of doing it. But in both it is possible and that is the importance. In the rechargeable Phonak you can have the volume knobs also programmed to turn of the device. Just a manufacturers philosophy

Interesting! I believe you guys, but I can’t hear a difference between ‘muted’ and ‘turned off.’ I remember reading that when streaming, it’s not possible to use the slider on the app to change the balance to 100% streaming 0% ambient, and safety was cited as the reason for that, but that’s a different set of controls. I’ll play around with it in different situations and see if I can hear a difference.

@CombatWombat said:

but I can’t hear a difference between ‘muted’ and ‘turned off

@CombatWombat
Just put your radio on in a silent room you’re sitting in. Play with the volume knob of the radio until you almost cannot hear the radio anymore. And then add your experiment with the on and off of your .

Check battery life with cros before you purchase. I have a friend who is new to hearing aids because her “good ear” has just now gotten to the point of needing an aid. She tried the Phonak with Cros (even sent it back and got a second set) and battery was down to 50% early in the day!!!

Thanks @lsmith77025 - yeah I noticed that, and it helped support my decision to pass on the .
It wasn’t adding a lot to my experience other than very occasionally offering better hearing on my left side, but after all these years I automatically point my right ear and position myself.
Plus, the Sphere doesn’t have a CROS option, so I will try the Sphere first.

In reply to @Microfiche

I use a Garmin Varia, it’s the best thing I ever bought, a radar for your bike that tells you cars are coming. Ear Gear to cover your aids for wind noise and cycling life is good.

The mics on my Phonak L90s can definately be muted 100%.

But the catch is that they keep spontaneously reverting to Mocrophones-On. Sloppy, sloppy, sloppy.

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