Dear Phonak, your Lumity battery isn't good enough

@Um_bongo @kevels55 Totally agree with you guys.

Well Stephen, in a good way, you where perhaps always outspoken, and rightly so As I stated, I haven’t a Scooby on NDA’s… Cheers Kev

I’m a big Lumity fan-boy but I certainly don’t work for Phonak. I actually switched from Phonak (after owning 4 different Phonak hearing aids) to Resound when they released their Made for iPhone hearing aids. I only switched back to Phonak because my ability to hear with Lumity was so much better than my Resound Quattro’s (and Resound Omnia) that I was willing to put up with Lumity’s 18 hour battery life and Bluetooth Classic.

I suspect that all of the hearing aid manufacturers (including Phonak) regularly monitor this forum. I think this is a good thing even if they don’t post any responses or hide behind a pseudonym account. The hard hitting comments posted here from real users will hopefully guide the hearing aid manufacturers to make improvements that address customer needs.

And by the way…don’t be too hard on the hearing aid companies. I suspect many issues posted here are caused by unskilled audiologists who don’t take the time to properly understand each hearing aid platform and to properly optimize these hearing aids to the specific needs of each client.

I personally think that the only thing Phonak needs to do with Lumity is extend the battery life from 18 to 30-36 hours. This would make a really good hearing aid even better and 30-36 hours would put it in line with all the current Made for iPhone hearing aids. Not sure this is even possible as long as Phonak sticks with power hungry Bluetooth Classic. Perhaps a new battery technology will help too.

Just my 2 cents…

Jordan

@Baltazard said:

It is absolutely critical to have a healthy discussion and show to the big five & co, what consumers are worried about and their feedback, so they can take it into account

True, and it’s too bad that a lot of the feedback here, on batteries specifically, amounts to “I’m happy to do whatever’s necessary to adapt to your products, and you can count on me to keep providing money to let you best serve your management and shareholders.”

@x475aws said:

I remember at least one post to the effect that battery life was subpar even with no BT use. Couldn’t it be a software problem too? The more cycles executed, the more energy used.

I don’t believe it’s a software problem. I have had Lumity since it was released 15 months ago so I have a good perspective on battery drain. There are many factors that seem to affect battery life with Lumity. Bluetooth Classic use is the main one. Streaming chews battery. Simply being connected to one or more Bluetooth devices without streaming also chews battery (in the right/Master connection hearing aid). Being in noisy environments that trigger the Speech in Very Loud Noise (StereoZoom 2) seems to chews more battery. Turning up the volume or requiring higher levels of amplification chews more battery. I even think the new Life features that track steps chews battery too.

Another thing that chews batteries is multiple radio protocols operating within the hearing aids. One for Bluetooth Classic and at least 1-2 other protocols for communicating with the TV Connector/Roger devices and for the two hearing aids to communicate with each other. All this chews the rechargeable batteries.

I typically turn my hearing aids on in the morning at 7:00 am and turn them off around 11:30 pm when I go to sleep. I stream about 3-4 hours a day using my work laptop (Teams) and watching media on my iPhone or watching TV using the Phonak TV Connector 2. I am also VERY diligent about turning off all Bluetooth devices (except my iPhone) when I am not streaming. On days with less streaming, I have no issues getting to 11:30 pm with no need to recharge in the day (usually 20% left). On days when I am streaming 3-4 hours a day, I typically have to pop the hearing aids into the charger for 20 minutes (usually when I shower after a workout) and I have no issues getting to 11:30 pm with 20% left. So 16-18 hours of use a day is definitely what I experience based on my hearing loss profile and Bluetooth/streaming use.

If you forget to turn off Bluetooth devices, you will experience a much larger burn in the Master hearing aid battery life (usually the Right hearing aid) as you get later in the day. If one hearing aid is much lower in battery level than the other, you left a Bluetooth device on somewhere.

This is all based on 15 months of continuous use. It’s not perfect but the hearing benefit I get with Lumity is notably better than any other product I have worn in the last 20+ years so I’m happy.

There are lots of choices of different products out there. If this doesn’t work for you, just try a different brand that fits better with your hearing loss and lifestyle. IMHO, one of the biggest tasks for any audiologist is to properly assess your needs and to recommend products that will work for you. If people can’t get by with 18 hours of battery life, this isn’t the right product for you.

Jordan

@JordanK said:

I personally think that the only thing Phonak needs to do with Lumity is extend the battery life from 18 to 30-36 hours. This would make a really good hearing aid even better and 30-36 hours would put it in line with all the current Made for iPhone hearing aids.

Just my 2 cents…

Jordan

I completely agree with this point.

The real question is, why haven’t they done this already? The technology is already out there. Starkey is getting 50 hours on a single charge, Signia is getting 40 hours, Widex is getting 30 hours, etc, etc, etc. Phonak can release a new battery charger any time they want. They don’t have to wait until their next generation of hearing aids. So, what’s stopping them?

@kevels55 said:

If you think about it logically, this forum generates massive sales worldwide, and basically there is little or no transparency in the hearing aid industry, its also extremely secretive, on top of that, its liberal with the truth, in its advertising blurbs…

Kevel, I think you exaggerate the influence of this forum…wait, do you secretly get paid by this forum?–when you say that it generates massive sales worldwide. But maybe you’re an AI generated bot who shills for Hearing Tracker, so I can’t trust your response… (see below.)

in regards to some recent posts:
–doesn’t it make more sense that Phonak Michael WEARS PHONAKS and so adopted that nom de plume? But no, some over and over insist he’s a spy, a shill for the company and disparage him over and over because he likes rechargeables and those making the accusations don’t. That’s a bit cheap, doncha think? Some scoff, “he only posts once a year.” Well no wonder. He got ridiculed and burned and disparaged after his last post. why?: He said he liked his rechargeable aids. NO? go look at the responses to his single post. He was flamed.Then there’s the ancient “there are folks here who secretly work for the HA brands under a psuedonym”. McCarthyism, anyone? I’ve seen folks accused of this when someone disagrees with their point of view. Might as well ask “when did you join the communist party?” Sheesh.
all this has the effect of turning groups on this forum into “us” and “them”. some folks like this. I think it’s juvenile and discourages rational discussion.

@JordanK said:

Bluetooth Classic which uses more power but provides a stronger signal with a more reliable connection

I’m thinking a more realistic take would be it’s a absolute power hog which is why Phonaks can hardly get through a day of multi use, classic has been left eating the dust of BLE and now LE Audio for latency issues as well

@JordanK said:

The other brands use Apple’s MFI low power Bluetooth. That’s why their rechargeable hearing aids last longer. Phonak uses Bluetooth Classic which uses more power but provides a stronger signal with a more reliable connection. Bluetooth Classic also allows their hearing aids to connect to iPhone, Android or any Bluetooth device.

Jordan

Odd that what you say is not my experience. I trialed Signia Pure Charge&Go AX (44 hours) and had absolutely no problem with connectivity with my android phone. I’m currently trialing Phonak Slim L90 and have had all kinds if problems with connectivity.

So far the only MFI hearing aid I’ve tried was the Resound Enzo Q and the Bluetooth experience was terrible - I could not listen to a podcast with my phone in my pocket while walking my dogs - it kept dropping out in my left ear and sometimes both ears. Holding it next to the HAs fixed the problem but that was not a realistic solution since I’m trying to walk my dogs! Maybe other companies are better but it seems I’ve heard similar complaints on this forum from others with different brands.

My Phonaks may have terrible battery life but for me the Bluetooth as I use it has been rock solid and that’s a game changer for me as I used to have to do so much fiddling around switching to earbuds and using my phone for audio but my laptop for video and now it’s all just in my HAs and I can be part of the call immediately.

@kevels55 said:

Do I think we have any influence on [manufacturers], probably not… But we do have, with prospective buyers of aids

Isn’t it common sense for manufacturers to pay attention to what influences their customers?

@kevels55 said:

But we do have, with prospective buyers of aids… In especial, folks new to hearing aids.

Perhaps with a few of them. The rest will see right through the non sequiturs, the absurd what-ifs, and the outrageously unfounded speculation about the motives of HA companies and other posters. If it hasn’t worked by now then what’s the plan, and how much longer do you expect it to take?

Signia still uses LE Bluetooth in ASHA (not the same as LE Audio). Phonak uses BT Classic. It uses much more energy, but offers connectivity to non phone devices like computers. This is a major reason why Phonak doesn’t have as good as battery life. We may criticize all we want but they still sell a lot of hearing aids (more than anybody else I believe)

@x475aws said:

Isn’t it common sense for manufacturers to pay attention to what influences their customers?

Yes. And the products they offer are a reflection of that. But they can’t please everyone. For example, I have a friend who’s seriously miffed that he can’t get the vehicles he wants without power windows.