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Phonak Infinio sphere v Oticon intent

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Edited

In reply to @PaulThomas

@PaulThomas said:

Have you (or anyone reading this thread) successfully connected your Intents to a Google Pixel 9 or 9 Pro or have you connected it to the Pixel 7 or 8 series phones ?

I’m currently in the decission buying for a new smartphone , and also like to know if the Pixel 8a is supporting the Oticon Intent via .

for me the Oticon compatibily list2 is suspect , because this Google Website4 tells different story.

In reply to @PaulThomas

@PaulThomas said:

unlike the Google Pixel 8, 8 Pro, 7 and 7 Pro, which are all grouped together using “Phones compliant with ANSI C63.19-2011

The 2019 profile is the updated version, of the 2011 profile.
Here is a link to Pixels’ which support HAP (Which is LEA) Link6

Here is a link to the definition of Hearing Access Profile 1.0 Link4
@firenzel this should answer your question, as well.

Hopefully this is proof enough that the P7a thru the P9 series is LEA compatible. (I Think (LOL)

Edited

One week in of using the Intents. Started out well with driving my daughter to college. Usually this is a challenging affair. My youngest daughter plugs in her phone and whacks on her playlist, a mixture of rap and unintelligble music, at full blast. If she then starts talking I have to concentrate hard. She is quietly spoken, without consonants. My family moved out of London over 60 years ago and the area we are in now seems to use less consonants, which makes things harder. Anyway, the Intents did quite well. I can’t honestly say they were a marked improvement over the Xceeds, but I still enjoyed the Oticon way that sounds are balanced in the car. Music sounds great and I was able to hear my daughter without lowering the volume.

On Thursday night I had a tennis match. This was an opportunity for me to see how the Intents performed. I have had historic difficulty in the club house, and then also difficulty in our open air bubble where there is a slight echo and sound is slightly boomy. I was not really in the club house long enough, but I definitely heard people okay. In the bubble all 8 of us stood around at intervals and at the end, and I struggled a little bit with a couple of the players who had regional accents without any consonants. In this respect the Intents did not do any better than the Xceeds or the Naida Lumity, both high powered instruments that I have used recently. Just one comment though, one of my 100dB receivers blew yesterday. I have asked for custom receivers and these will be delivered within a couple of weeks. So these may improve these types of interaction i.e. outdoor group conversation in the open air.

The final situation occurred this evening. We took my brother and his wife to an indian restaurant. I sat, not really thinking about it, with my back against the wall facing all the tables, where I was dangerously exposed to all the noise. There were about 30 people and it was noisy and got progressively noisier as the evening wore on. With one table right in front of us that was raucous. Music came on, but it wasn’t that loud. How did the Intents do? Well - amazing. I don’t say that lightly. In the last 30 years, I have gone from not understanding a word in that situation, to being able to understand just the person next to me, to being able to just about understand somebody in front of me when directional microphones came in, but if the music and noise went above a certain level, still struggling. With the more recent hearing aids, still the conversation would be muffled and the background noise overwhelming. You know the drill, trying to cling on to a sentence to see if you can grasp one word so you don’t lose the thread, but then losing it completely and resorting to pretending you know what is going on. Eventually turning on the Roger iN, but voices are way too boomy with metallic clanging background noise, and you are left trying again to grasp and decipher what is being said. So the Intents? These for me were a game changer. It was not perfect by any means, but I could hear my wife, brother and sister in law with near perfect clarity above the noise floor. The background noise was there, but it did not stop my comprehension. For once, I did not lose a single thread in all that was discussed in a 3 hour period. I did not hear everything, but if I missed a word I would stop and ask, which only happened twice. But the real transformation was evidenced by my own participation. I am normally quite confident, but usually in these restaurant situations I am withdrawn, but somehow, spontaneously, I was able to engage much more easily. I could hear my own voice so much more clearly as well, and this too has been a problem in the past, not modulating my own voice above the noise floor. So, I am almost speechless. I know that the Spheres have been getting these types of reports with speech in noise, and I did not expect the Intents to be this good in comparison. It seems to me that either solution will work, if fit well, but I am really happy with the Intents working so well in noise.

One thing that is important to know is that the sphere are absolutely huge compared to the intent. I tried the sphere case and felt like dumbo. Ordered the non sphere version. Do not have them yet. I was very close to ordered the intent 1 but I saw videos from audiologists (and also my own) who had issues with the Bluetooth which is not the case with Phonak’s. I don’t want any issues but I do know that the intent are better in very noisy situations but I don’t struggle in these situations with my marvels, I just find it very tiring.

Edited

With respect to bluetooth, I am familiar with both the Phonak and Oticon implementations of it. As soon as I was fitted with the Xceed (and then later the Intents) and realised I was going to switch to Oticon, I did 3 things:

Firstly I swapped my Samsung S21FE for an iPhone 15. I see a lot of posts on here of people who to me seem to be the case of the tail wagging the dog. My phone does not rule my life and I sought out a phone to match my preferred hearing aids (not the other way around) which was an iPhone 15 with its mfi implementation. Yes, I have now learned that the iPhone 15 does not yet have , but that is future music and will come in an update.

The main reason for swapping was that I then had a direct connection with the phone rather than using the Connect Clip, which always had to be charged and therefore a bit more cumbersome.

Secondly I made sure all my accessories came from the Oticon ecosystem. So I bought 3 TV Adapters and connected them to my living room and bedroom TVs and my PC. I have to say, Oticons implementation of these TV Adapters is superb. I can switch from one room to another and seamlessly tune into the device into that room as the device automatically switches off when it is not streaming in the other room. And you can see which device to switch to on the menu of the Oticon companion.

Thirdly, I made use of my Apple iPad Air and very quickly worked out how it worked in terms of bluetooth with the iPhone. I discovered that if I was using it I had to make sure I switched bluetooth on and make sure it was off on the iPhone and vice versa. Also I discovered that with my laptop, I had to make sure that when using the Connect Clip I had to switch it off completely before connecting to the iPhone again. Yes - this may seem a little more cumbersome than with the Phonaks but once I discovered how it works I have had zero problems in terms of managing it. The only issue I had recently is when using my iPad, somebody called me and I had to call them back as I had to switch off bluetooth and the switch it on, on my iPhone. But this will be a rare occurrence.

Of course, the bluetooth implementation of Phonak is superior in terms of number of devices and signal strength (from accounts of people who need to operate their life whilst their phone is in their back pocket, or through a 10 meter steel wall!). But I don’t need this and I can only report that I have had crystal clear sound that doesn’t sound any less clear than I had with any Phonak device.

With respect to the size of the Spheres, everything is relative. When I trialled them they were smaller than my Xceeds, so I did not notice any change.

Edited

What is circuitry noise in your experience? It’s something as humming? “Tinnitus” which is “played” by hearing aid?

For my individual needs ( on the poorer ear therefore no possibility to get interlinkage to make 4-mics cooperation) Sphere is rather no brainer. (YMMV).

In addition, Bluetooth Classic only in Phonak make a difference.

@Bimodal_user said:

What is circuitry noise in your experience?

I experience this as a white noise “Sshhhhh” sound. I rarely hear it with my hearing aids, but I often hear it on sound systems when you turn the gain way up but there is no signal being input.

WH

Edited
@WhiteHat said:

I often hear it on sound systems when you turn the gain way up but there is no signal being input.

Thanks. Indeed, now I am recalling that characteristic “shhhh” when my friend inadvertently increased the gain, but it was >10 years ago…

Although this thread is a little old I thought I would jump in. I was almost 3 months into trialing the Phonak Speres but was not really happy with the results. My audiologist, who usually only fits Oticon, convinced me to try the Intent 1. Just a week or two into the trial with mixed results, but I wanted to comments on Bluetooth (I was an electrical engineer for many years and am very familiar with all such interface protocols). The Phonaks with Classic Bluetooth worked very well with my Android phone (Samsung Z Flip 6), as expected. What surprised me is that the Oticons are working just as well using Bluetooth . True hands-free calls ( microphones, not the phone microphone), notifications, etc., are all flawless. And this is with Android 14. I am anxious to see how Android 15, with specific hearing aid improvements, works (if Samsung ever gets it out).

Just thought some people might be curious.

Hi DaveL,

It’s a bit like when the tradesman comes to your house to do a job. You have to manage them.

Are you wearing Phonaks currently? What are your issues?

In reply to @viffer

Doesn’t surprise me that the Oticon bluetooth is working well. Of course, it does not have the seamless switching between multiple devices like Phonak, but with a little bit of care and attention I’ve had no issues.

In reply to @glucas

@glucas
I have Phonak Audeo Paradise P90R’s Other hearing aids for over 20 years.
My dispensing audi fired me after 1-1/2 years; Last appointment he did a quick fit and said my hearing had improved. My hearing aids would be quieter. I couldn’t hear. He gave me the names of 3 audis…but before the quick fit he had erased my hearing ais and all the programs on them.

I found someone new. He’s much better. When my hearing aids were about 3 years old he asked and I got new hearing aids and a new charger. Phonak was incredible doing that.

My issue is still setup. I have trouble hearing. I have trouble not understanding conversation. I often don’t even know if I’m being talked to.

Setup—word recognition even in quiet. Specially so in loud noise.

I change my at least once a week. More likely every 5 days or so. I change my domes once a month or so.

Since my last visit I’m in the habit of increasing volume two strokes. But if my hearing aids are in autosense and change the program, then goes back to the default program I often miss that the volume is lower.

My hearing instrument specialist is remarkable.
My hearing aids are supplied by workman’s compensation Ontario. He made no money because he didn’t provide the hearing aids.

In the year and a half I"ve always heard better than when I was with CVA who provided the hearing aids.

workman’s comp controls the make, and cost of hearing aids.
they want one service visit every 6 months. I visit 3? times in that interval. They’ve never turned me down. They do reschedule the next appointment 6 months later.

I’m grateful. However, he must be losing money.

I didn’t get a User Report last time I was there.

I think he used .

I asked what I should use.
This is the suggestion

“ For your Phonak Audeo Paradise P90R hearing aids, the recommended fitting formula is Adaptive Phonak Digital () 2.0. This is Phonak’s proprietary fitting formula, designed to optimize speech intelligibility while maintaining listening comfort. It takes into account the specific signal processing and features of the device, ensuring a tailored and effective hearing experience A.

If you’re considering other options, industry-standard fitting formulas like NAL-NL2 or v5.0 are also commonly used, depending on your specific hearing needs A.

It’s always a good idea to consult with your audiologist to determine the best fitting formula for your individual hearing profile. Let me know if you’d like more details!

Hi DaveL,

I switched over to V5a on my KS10s, I found the gain was more stable, and music was a lot better. This is also the fitting formula on my Oticon Xceeds. This might be worth a try.

I’ve often suggested more gain in mid and high frequency. So I need to check with Mr Hamilton to see what he used.

And I’ll see about Too.

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