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Phonak Audeo I90-R cutting out outside

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I am trialing a pair of I90-R. It is winter here and the temperatures are around -10C. Many times when I walk outside one of the stops working. The app still sees it but it no longer makes a sound. Sometimes there is a partial sound if I shift programs, but mostly quiet. After a 15s or a few minutes it goes back to working. I wear a hat, and my ears aren’t even starting to feel that I am outside, so I really don’t think this is a cold battery issue. I have flagged it for my audiologist but haven’t seen them yet since. Does anyone else have problems like this?

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Thanks for your reply. The video really sounds like a very different problem. My charge fine, they just misbehave when I go outside. It did it again today.

Could be a condensation/short issue on the mics given the inside/outside temperature change and the fact that the side of the aid against your ear stays warmer.

Also, I’m not 100% on the operational characteristics of mems mics, but I’m guessing that -10 C might cause a shrinkage/tolerance issue at the diaphragm edges - especially as the stainless steel casing will contract but the silicone wafer/diaphragm framing does not.

@ssquirrel said:

After a 15s or a few minutes it goes back to working.

“After a 15s or a few minutes it goes back to working.” I have experienced this exact same thing, going outside although not in super cold conditions. I couldn’t figure out why my (new at the time) P90 hearing aids would just go completely quiet.

I actually visited my audiologist about it. She couldn’t figure out what was going on.
Finally, I realized that the hearing aids were changing programs based on the fact that there was a different sound environment. It’s just that they always did a silent pause before they switched.

I had Oticon Opns before and it never happened with them. I found it extremely annoying but I’m used to it now.

I hope you find a solution. It amazes me when our hearing aids don’t perform as we need. They’re medical equipment.

Hearing is so important.

DaveL

The right turned quiet again today when I went outside. This time I tried tie click and hold the down button on it to try a restart, and the other (left) hearing aid made the “program change” sound I would expect, but the right one stayed quiet before turning back on a minute or two later. So the HA seems to be up and running enough to talk to its partner, and only not putting out sound. Makes me think not battery. The MEMS being affected by temperature or any of it being affected by condensation seems more likely.

Question…could your hearing aids be defective?

When my hearing aids were sent back to Phonak at the almost-end of warranty, they replaced them and my charger. Paradise P90Rs. That fixed a bunch of things. Battery Life! And more.
My dispensing firm, CVA, had ignored me when I asked that question. I should have been a better advocate for myself.

Yes, a defect was my first thought. They are testers, so at least they aren’t mine. They are the second set of testers, though, and the first one failed as well. From what I hear Phonak is a good brand, so if two sets fail on me in under 2 weeks each I start to wonder if others are having similar experiences.
I see the audiologist Monday so will hopefully find out more then.

Edited

In reply to @ssquirrel

When my dispensing Audi showed me my Paradise P90Rs we had never discussed the hearing aid model or feature. Heck my hearing aids were two years old and supplied by workmans compensation

Looking back I think he didn’t know how to set them up

Or
They were defective
Or
It was because the model had just been released, and later hearing aids would improve as the model aged

In reply to @ssquirrel

I have Phonak Audeo P-90 Rs and an iPhone 15. Mine would cut out briefly after I got a 100’ or so away from home on a regular basis. When I turned off the iPhone’s WiFi connection before I left home it did not happen. Seems like the iPhone was trying to re-connect to a weak WiFi connection to the detriment of the HAs. An iOS upgrade a few months ago seemed to fix that problem.

That’s super to know! It makes sense.
Not sure what my Android phone does but it sounds very possible. Thanks.

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