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Hearing aid recommendation for Profound Hearing Loss

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Hi everyone,

I’m in UK, I’ve just had my hearing test today at Specsavers and I’m now at Profound Loss level.

The audiologist recommended Phonak Infinio Sphere 90 and I’ve tried it for few minutes (with a P receiver rather than the UP that I would need). I could hear much louder and clearer than my current Resound Linx2. However I’m not completely sure if is the best for the type of loss I have ( attached).

On my right side there was no response between 1k and 4k and the left side isn’t much better, so maybe the logic is that the additional gain of a aid would be of no benefit anyway. Nevertheless, I’m wondering if it would be better for me to have a BTE like Resound Enzo IA.

I’d appreciate any opinions and inputs.

Thank you in advance.

Marcia

IMG_6342

7 people in this conversation10 min readJump to latest
Edited

i’ve only ever come across people with loss using or a . have you considered a cochlear implant assessment?

regardless, i recommend not going to specsavers. i can tell from the chart that the person doing this test may be unqualified or incompetent. there is “masked” bone conduction despite masking not being possible at those levels AND the unmasked bone conduction already being unrecordable??? and they’ve tested different intermediate frequencies in each ear. :litter_in_bin_sign:

Honestly, I would recommend you go to the NHS if you can. You may be evaluated for a cochlear implant. With respect to the hearing aids, I cannot comment about the decision making process of the dispenser from Specsavers. But honestly, I have never seen a scenario like that. Most audiologists would recommend a superpower aid which would have the advantage of bring able to retune if your loss deteriorated further.

In reply to @choccybiccy69

Oh dear… I’m back to square one… thank you for having a look at my and raising the concerns. I’ll try to think about what to do next and where to go for another test… I had private audiologists twice before. One was very good but retired, the other one I didn’t have a good experience. Now tried Specsavers and… sigh

I have considered but haven’t felt ready for this just yet. Plus my are on the verge of breaking down and I was thinking of having a replacement while I wait to decide about CI.

In reply to @glucas

To be fair to the audiologist in Specsaver he did say that no hearing aid would help me with that profound loss and suggested that I consider as he believes I’m eligible to it via NHS. But he offered that Phonak to try today just to see if it could help meanwhile. I will contact GP next and at least I can show the most recent for them to put me on CI pathway, hopefully. Thanks.

In reply to @MayaL

i agree with getting hearing aids from the NHS if possible. you can get Phonak Naida Lumity UP on the NHS, which is still Phonaks latest UP BTE. the only consideration of the waiting time but your GP can request it urgently for you given the degree of your hearing loss.

In reply to @MayaL

Your ears are definitely for cochlear implant evaluation. I would hold off on buying hearing aids for the time being, because it may turn out that you will spend a lot of money on something that you will not use if you have .

Perhaps you will consider Advanced Bionics CI, which works which specific Naida Link powerful hearing aid. Probably there will be new generation of Naida Link hearing aid soon.

Speaking about power hearing aids, you need good earmold (probably silicone) with no vent and from deep silicone impressions, which reach at least 5mm past 2nd bend of ear canals.

In reply to @choccybiccy69

That sounds like a good plan, thank you. I’ll contact the gp and show this to see what can we do from there. I haven’t had time to process that I am now profoundly deaf so I wasn’t prepared to suddenly consider as the only viable option. But I do need to think about it now.

Edited

In reply to @choccybiccy69

@choccybiccy69 said:

i can tell from the chart that the person doing this test may be unqualified or incompetent. there is “masked” bone conduction despite masking not being possible at those levels AND the unmasked bone conduction already being unrecordable???

As a hearing care professional, I should explain that masked bone conduction has been performed to confirm that there is no conductive component to the loss. Not doing this for a patient you haven’t seen before would be unsafe practice. Masking levels may have been insufficient, but this could and should’ve been recorded elsewhere in the results/notes which we don’t have a full copy of in the OP’s post. If anything bone conduction should’ve been performed for the left ear at 2 and 4 kHz as well.

@MayaL please ignore this poster’s comment. They are misinformed.

Thank you for your input, I appreciate your explanation. For me, the main takeaway from the is that I am now profoundly deaf and that’s what I’ve been trying to come to terms with at the moment. I believe that some details of the test could have been clearer but the outcome would still be the same and that’s the hardest for me.

Edited

In reply to @MayaL

@MayaL said:

Yes you’re right. I will need to rethink about hearing aids entirely, I was just not prepared for the possibility of CI yet…

Yeah, that may be quite disconcerting at first, but from my and another users experiences effects are definitely beneficial. Give you some time to consult, get CI evaluation (it may takes time before term) and I don’t recommend procrastinate it too much. There are many people who regrets putting it off for several years.

You may look at “Cochlear Implant Experiences” group in Facebook.

Edited

Hi everyone. It's been a while since I first wrote this post. And thanks to all of your kind inputs I've been researching a lot about Cochlear Implants and now I'm convinced it's the best option for me. I've contacted the GP who referred me to Manchester centre. I'm very excited (and impatient). Thanks everyone for the push in the right direction. :blush:

I also got in touch with all 3 CI suppliers and they've all been great sending me information and answering my questions.

One thing that it's been confusing for me is that Cochlear claim in their brochure that:

"The Nucleus® Nexa™ System is the world’s first and only smart cochlear implant system that enables access to future innovation like never before. For the first time, you will be ready to access future innovations through upgradeable firmware on your smart implant."

But for what I've read on Facebook CI groups this claim is not completely true as Advanced Bionics implants also have an upgradeable firmware.

Could someone please clarify this for me, if implant is upgradeable? Or is AB likely to become obsolete?

I am leaning towards AB with Phonak Link (in UK adults only get one CI). As you know from my OP I'm in need of a as mine is faulty. The AB representative told me that if I chose AB implant then I could have Phonak Link free of charge and that would be a huge advantage. I asked Cochlear if they do the same and she said it's something to discuss with the audiologist, so it's not that clear.

Anyway, I just want to thank everyone for the support. I'm feeling a lot more hopeful now! :grinning:

Edited
@MayaL said:

One thing that it's been confusing for me is that Cochlear claim in their brochure that:

"The Nucleus® Nexa™ System is the world’s first and only smart cochlear implant system that enables access to future innovation like never before. For the first time, you will be ready to access future innovations through upgradeable firmware on your smart implant."

It's marketing blurb, yes, but they may say truth. It's probably about novel FMS strategy. Please read not only my post, but also thread:

Tl;DR: Today Marvel external products (sound processor and - Naida Link Marvel) are obsolete (2018 technology, released in 2020). There will be new products soon in Autumn.

I happy that you have just found yourself that can be really helpful. Please note that most probably you won't hear speech good from the activation (there are exceptions). You'll need rehabilitation, which is e. g. listening podcasts, etc.

Hi @Bimodal_user I follow that thread. FMS sound promising. Is something that definitely would not be able to add into their implants? Would that be a deal breaker in your opinion? I see so many AB users saying that they chose AB for their innovative technology, I’m not sure if it’s still correct.

I’m aware of the rehab process and I’m actually looking forward to that training! I expect the activation day to be the “worst” day and then work hard towards learning to hear in the “new normal” way.

Thank you for your encouragement earlier @Bimodal_user it made big positive difference to me to look into .

@MayaL said:

FMS sound promising. Is something that AB definitely would not be able to add into their implants?

I don't know. has now different stimulation strategy that Cochlear (ACE strategy), I don't have any evidence that AB works on something novel on the issue of that.

@MayaL said:

Would that be a deal breaker in your opinion?

No, I quoted this so that you can make a more informed decision. I thinks that's fair.

@MayaL said:

I see so many AB users saying that they chose AB for their innovative technology, I’m not sure if it’s still correct.

technology have been helpful even in 2005, but that doesn't mean that it is innovative nowadays. AB products from 2020 definitely can help (@joanhawsey is happy user), but in 2026 we should perceive that as a bit obsolete, especially since Cochlear releases new generations of processors every 4-5 years.

"Many users" are not familiar with technicalities, release dates, etc. They do can be happy with new hearing, but that doesn't mean it's innovative now.

In reply to @MayaL

Marcia,

Profound hearing loss user here. candidate left ear.

I trialed the Phonak I-70 Spheres. Took them back to my audi on Tuesday. We discussed moving up to the I-90 Spheres or trying the Eon's. I ordered the Eon's. Eon's can be programmed for profound hearing loss.

The I-90 and the Spheres have a "Soft speech" program. (For hearing the wife) The I-70 does not.

Started out with a Phonak Cros 12 years ago, moved onto the P-30 13T's. They are long in the tooth. I use the Roger On (Remote mic) daily in the living room, out on the patio, or in a restaurant.

If you have questions, please feel free to ask. :)

Good Luck!

Hi @jmh thank you. Eon seems a great and I really hope it works out for you (and the wife :wink: ). Good luck to you too! :slight_smile:

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