Phonak Infinio sphere - Not really that appealing (after all)

I work with more “seniors” than you could possibly imagine. The number of
seniors that have decreased cognitive ability to be able to manage the Spheres and yet are in noisy environments where the battery may discharge completely is excedingly small. For that tiny minority, don’t give them Spheres.

You’re fishing here, where there are no fish. Years back I had Widex power aids that lasted probably eight years plus. There were very dependable and just needed microphone replaced. But it was obvious new aids were far out performing my old Widex aids. You won’t find one hearing manufacturer that will continue to service old hearing aids unless you want to pay a pretty penny for re-servicing. Starkey will and they do a pretty good job but why pay for old technology when you can put (HA rebuilt) money towards new hearing aids. Your also way off base thinking a hearing aid casing can last 10, 12 years without cracking, degrading. Seriously three is no Audi or HA seller that is going to recommend 10 - 12 year old hearing aids be restored because it’s a complete waste of money. Next

@jhbcpa said:

My audiogram shows close to normal hearing up to around 1000 and then falls off the cliff. I wish I could afford both of them. IMO, they each do different things superbly. If I’m home in a quiet situation, wanting to understand what’s on the TV without CC I prefer the Intents. Anywhere in the “outside world”, I prefer the Spheres.

My audiogram is similar in shape, although shifted. That was my theory that Oticon's HA would be better in quiet situations due to better high frequency hearing but not that good denoising capabilities as with Phonak's HA.

I found that with Audeo Infinio Sphere 90 Ultra, UP receiver in cShells (1mm vent) is superior to P receiver in power domes (from Unitron because of thicker silicone, which gave better feedback threshold) when it comes to watching TV - all because of better high frequency gain. With P receiver it was more tiring.

(UP receiver in cShell with 1 mm diameter vent, but I wait to cShell with no vent)

@jhbcpa said:

I trialed INTENT1’s and Sphere’s simultaneously for a month. I found the Intent’s slightly better for understanding higher frequency voices and the Spheres significantly better for managing noise in all types of environments.

That was exactly my wondering. I always wanted to compare Oticon's 105 receiver vs. Phonak's UP.

As an "older people" of 84, Starkey has done something I wish the industry would do. Instead of just beeps when I change programs, the hearing aids announce the name of the program in my ear. The Starkey's also allow me to use the double (ear) tap feature and their voice recognition system to change programs by saying "Change program to ..." (When the voice recognition does recognize what I'm saying, which is less than half the time).

All of this was solved with Phonak Eon.

I’ve had Sphere since the week they came out. They have never run out in a day of use. Since Ultra upgrade they get two days generally. Battery life worries are overstated.

The AI is a game changer. It’s the biggest single advance in hearing tech in the 30ish years I’ve been wearing hearing aids.

@threluja, IIRC, you have INFINIO Sphere 90 Ultra? Have you bought the new Audéo Eon 90 Sphere?

Sharp spot I picked the wrong one. Now changed and thanks for noting 👍