Phonak Eon Launched

Please don't quote me without attributing that comment to Dr Cliff, as it isn't me saying that. It is him. The comment can be found in his Eon product intro video. As long as Sonova deliver auracast compatibility in the end I don't think it is a problem. Even Signia don't have auracast compatibility at launch in their new product.

Oops yes my mistake, I should of made that clearer, again your correct the MaX "OneConnect Technology" has LE Audio, classic and only "Auracast capabilities" we'll have to wait for the firmware update to get that unfortunately.

I have concerns about the Auracast setup in the Eon, but am seeking clarity from Phonak before sharing.

One thing I'm still not clear on: how exactly does Sphere's noise reduction work? Does it almost completely eliminate noise and leave the dialogue, or does it just lower it enough to keep it distinct from the dialogue?

Sounds like they weren't Auracast ready and still aren't. Three years is the entire use period for some owners. Lawyers should get involved to curtail this kind of marketing even if each owner gets a small refund. There's an additional issue of LE Audio seemingly never coming.

Doctor Cliff, AuD21Phonak EON Sphere - First Look

According to Dr Cliff, continuous Spheric Speech in Noise program active can last 11-12 hours on one 100% charge. Seems it's the same as in Infinio Sphere Ultra.

Thanks for the video. It's all very beautiful, but equally unnatural. I don't think a person with normal hearing can hear only dialogue and no noise.

@lello58 said:

Thanks for the video. It's all very beautiful, but equally unnatural. I don't think a person with normal hearing can hear only dialogue and no noise.

It's depend on many factors:

1. Like @Neville said indirectly: degree of hearing loss.
2. SNR loss
3. WRS: Mine is 100% in the HA ear, which indicates a better chance of receiving benefits. Looking for your tonal audiogram and I am wondering what's your WRS and are you eligible for at least unilateral CI.
4. How much dynamic range is left
5. How occluding is earpiece. Mine is thick silicone power domes with P receiver with great earplug effect, which means I receive mainly sounds processed by HA. I'm still waiting for cShells UP with no vent, which should be better for my necessities. Nevertheless, even with P receiver I finally have chance to participate in social life like clubs, parties, wedding parties, etc., compared to my Paradise P90-RT with P receiver.
6. Receiver power - higher means better reproducing of speech peaks thanks to MPOs, which greatly helps in differentiating speech from noise.

To sum up: even the best AI processing won't help if the basics, like receiver power, properly adjusted targets and MPOs, properly occluding earpiece are insufficient. And there is additionally patient condition factors.

@Hearing_Potential said:

whilst Signia has gained on their lead over Phonak for speech in noise performance now that they've added AI processing onto their existing real-time conversation enhancement technology which was already performing better than Phonak's DNN.

While I am happy that Phonak has a competitive rival, I will wait for independent reviews, like HearAdvisor or (with more carefulness) anectodal report from users, especially when if they're able to compare both.

I'm still wondering if Signia AI is useful unilaterally as in Phonak Infinio/Eon Sphere HAs. I am curious, because the latter is the only possibility for me to use AI processing when I have CI in my other ear. It would be great if Signia could do that too.

You're probably better off sticking with Phonak. Many of Signia's advanced features depend on a bilateral fitting although these include CROS fittings, unlike other manufacturers in which many binaural features aren't active for CROS fittings.

But you don't have data for that from phonak. You're just trusting your assumption that it's one of the off brands compared against?

The authors of the Signia publication specified that both comparison devices had dedicated AI co-processors. That includes Phonak, Resound, Widex and Unitron as possibilities. But given the timing of the study and publication date it isn't likely that Widex or Unitron were included as these have been recently launched. Phonak and Resound are the most likely options. Previous published papers also included a comparison device with dedicated co-processor when only Phonak was an option. From memory the performance difference was similar.

@user490 said:

Lawyers should get involved

Someone on Facebook seems interested in starting some kind of class action.

Is there a reason they can't specify what brand B is after the study is complete?