Skip to content
HearingTracker
Log in

Need opinion on Widex users that tried other brands

This topic is closed.

6 replies632 viewsLast reply

Link to this topic

Hi there.
I’m a 39yo guy that’s been using Widex hearing aids since I’m 8yo, and currently I’m extremely frustrated with my hearing aids and all the support I’ve been given from my audiologist and especially widex technicians.

Has anyone used Widex and successfully changed to other brands? What was your experience like?

I’ve tried some phonak 4 years ago before buying these new HA I’m using now, but my experience was really bad… like, going there to try to fix the fitting almost every day, and never got it good until I decided to try the new Widex. I don’t know if I was just very unlucky with the audiologist that fitted them to me or if the experience of changing to widex to other brands is just that hard??

7 people in this conversation3 min readJump to latest

It’s a very specific sound that gives a richer acoustic experience so other brands can seem stark in comparison. I find that the person who fits the aids is the key to the experience that you get.

@TottiR The Audiologist presumably programmed your hearing aids to the Widex “prescription”. When I got my Widex I was disappointed as some noises, like plates in the kitchen or doors closing, seemed to be too loud compared to my previous NHS Oticon ones.
After doing some research on this site, I asked my audi to program them to the NAL/NAL2 standard and suddenly life was back to an acceptable level.
I am unable to comment as to whether the NAL standard is better or that I was used to it with my NHS aids. Apparently a high percentage of people prefer the NAL standard.

I recently got my audi to make some changes as I was trying to improve the quality of speech, especially in noisy backgrounds. (This could be “me” rather than Widex!) The changes she made made my hearing worse so I experimented with the “my sound” option in the app (just using the TV to do this) and found there was a big difference between “my sound” and my audi’s universal program. I found that I had significantly boosted the bass and reduced the treble by about the same amount. I thought this was a bit of an extreme difference so cut both the bass boost and the treble reduction in half and am quite happy with the result
But I am off to the audi on Monday to get my aids reset to where they were before she made the changes - and I will experiment with the “my sound” again.

These are both no cost / low cost options to experiment before spending on a new set of aids

I switched from Widex to Oticon without any problems. Before switching I tried Phonak too (it was Naida Core), and my experience was a worst thing in my life.

Started with a Widex. per my audiologist recommendation. Fine accept a person’s speech was muffled. Switched to an Oticon Opn s1. , a little better. not much. Thinking about the Phonak Infinity Sphere. Pricey! Suppose to excel in speech clarity. Has 2 processors.

I am about 3 weeks into trying a switch from my first and only pair of hearing aids (Widex Beyond 440 that I wore for 6 years starting in my late twenties) to a pair of Phonak Infinio spheres. My reasons for trying the change were that my hearing loss had progressed significantly and my new audiologist felt the phonaks would handle my loss better. It has been an adjustment for sure (see my post here Adjusting to new aids. What’s normal? for some of the issues). But it is starting to feel more natural. Without a doubt I am hearing more, and overall better than I was before in all situations, but especially in challenging situations.

The being said, it is hard for me to untangle all of the causality for both the issues and successes given everything that changed between my last pair and current pair (not just the brand change). At this point I am 95% sure I’m going to keep the phonaks and hope my audiologist and I can smooth out the remaining issues. But I would say that sound and physical fit are not quite as “comfortable” as my old pair.

Started with Widex - decent sound quality of music. I have Phonaks since 2014 - maybe music is a bit poorer, but with Paradises, which I have got in 2020 I am quite satisfied.

@TottiR , it would be good to insert your , because then forum users could be more accurate to give you proper advice. You didn’t mention about your acoustic coupling (domes? earmolds - if so, how large diameter of vents?). Have you ever had Real Ear Measurement () during hearing aid fitting?

Related discussions