Skip to content
HearingTracker
Log in

Problems with philips 9050 - terrible sound

This topic is closed.

38 replies3.3k viewsLast reply

Jump
Link to this topic

I can’t speak to the Phillips 9050, but I felt the same way with Jabra Pro from Costco. very tinny, distorted. I kept it 4 months then exchanged for RExton Reach. The Rexton has more natural sound and the automatic programs are great. No need to use phone app in noisy restaurants etc. Good Luck.

Edited

I don’t know where you live but the NoahLink Wireless 2 runs for around $180-$200 on Amazon. If you’re desperate now, but you’re willing to try and you’re 7 hour drive away from your Costco, and there’s little guarantee that 1 more trip to Costco for adjustment would fix your issue for you, even if it’s a gamble, I’d try DIY and all you lose is $200 for a device if it doesn’t work out. If you’re not very technical, maybe enlist a friend or relative who’s technical to help you find and download the software, get it up and running, then study the various features on it. The online Help for the HearSuite software is fairly decent. If you or the technical friend is capable enough, even read up on the Philips technical papers to learn to understand what all the terms mean. Even if you end up returning the 9050, you’re not throwing away the NoahLink Wireless 2 as you might be able to use it in the future for another pair of hearing aids that works better for you.

Normally I don’t suggest DIY for just about anyone, but desperate times call for desperate measures. If there are no affordable resources near you who can help, you gotta try to learn to help yourself, and enlist help of a family member or friend who’s more technically capable to help. At least DIY will give you almost instant results for you to evaluate and experiment. So it affords you the chance to do trial and error very quickly that infrequent visits to a professional too far away would not help make possible.

Sonic and Oticon hearing aids are in the same umbrella under William Demant, who also owns than licenses the Philips hearing aids technology. If Sonic and Oticon aids used to work for you, it’s very unlikely that the Philips 9050 cannot help you similarly to the Sonic and Oticon aids. So don’t blame it on the aids, blame it on the fitter. Then do something differnt about it, instead of going back to the same fitter. If another fitter from the nearest Costco is 7 hours away and you can’t affort anything more costly than the 9050, then figure out how to help yourself via DIY.

I’ve ordered the NoahLink and expect it next Friday. I’m going to try it according to the basic instructions and I’ve asked my audiologist to help me if I need it. I’m really happy to be able to adjust my hearing aids myself, I can’t wait. I also have the software, so I’m ready. I trust Philips, they give such good results to others. I’ll keep you posted! Thank you

In reply to @Annikgill1234

I too got my at our nearest Costco only 75 mi. away in my case. The initial fitting seemed good in the store but within a week I experienced many of the same loudness and high frequency problems you mentioned. I went back and they summarily said" it’s not the HAs it your ears". But they did reduce the gain 2 levels and mid and high frequency ranges and sound was much improved.
I have to agree with the suggestion to “take them back”. You should try the Jabra20s that I and several others got at Costco and request a new fitting. THEN, if not fully satisfied with the fitting at Costco, get the self fitting program and NoahLink like I did and you may find that you can greatly improve the performance. If you do this, follow Tenkan’s instructions (which I unfortunately did not do) to SAVE your original fitting the first time you open the program, Exit and create a different user name for the new fittings you create.

In reply to @d_Wooluf

Good advice about both saving the original fitting before making changes but ALSO make up a different Patient name for subsequent changes…I forgot to do the second part and know the consequences. Eventually though you will get it right even with that mistake I made about a different user for changes.

In reply to @Volusiano

Best $200 I ever spent; BUT rememeber to not only save your first fitting, Exit and save it. THEN make up a new patient name for putting in new fittings. Your program will then have both your original name and a second patient name you can call New Fittings or whatever to not lose the first original when you make changes.

I will publish a more thorough review after wearing my ’s for a while longer, but in the meanwhile…

I have owned my 9050’s for a week now. My initial impression is that they are a vast improvement over the KS9’s I’ve been wearing since 2019. Wind noise has dropped to virtually zero when riding my bike, especially when compared to the KS9’s that sounded like I was in a wind tunnel with even a modest breeze, Bluetooth is much much better as well.

I’ve got a pretty good tech at Costco and I’ve pretty sure that he programmed my HA’s with the “recommended standard” for my . Things that I like: Increased clarity of higher frequency sounds… I can actually hear the timer “ding” on my microwave oven. I’ve not had issues yet with listening at a restaurant but a real noise test is still to come.

What I don’t like: I sound a little bit like I’m in a barrel but already getting used to it. The wife says I am speaking more quietly, so maybe there’s something there after all.

The real pain in the (r)ear is listening to music. For sustained high notes, like a flute or violing, or some new age music, the sustained notes are coming through with a “trilling” or “tremolo”. It’s as though the HA’s are attempted to fix what they perceive as background noise. It’s annoying.

I’m due back to Costco in a week for adjustments… I’ll give a full report then. Meanwhile, I have to think that either you really have a defective pair of HA’s or they are not programmed correctly.

@EagleHeart said:

For sustained high notes, like a flute or violing, or some new age music, the sustained notes are coming through with a “trilling” or “tremolo”

That’s the hidden feature I like to call TTTF (Talking Thru The Fan).
It’s the feedback manager, attempting to correct what it percieves as “Noise”. You should be using the HiFi Music program for music, so if it’s not already set up, have them add it.
Have your fitter turn off feedback manager in the fitting software for the Music program, and you should be good.

The problem with your voice sounds like occlusion, where your ears seem plugged up.
Perhaps your fitter can change the domes, or if your losss is severe to profound, custom molds with venting should help.
You should post your below your badge so we can see what’s going on.
Click on your profile pic at the top right, choose preferences, and and click on My Audiogram.

In reply to @flashb1024

Much appreciated. I thought I had my … apparently didn’t pick it up from Costco… will get it up in the next couple of days. Yes, my hearing loss has moved into the severe category, with multi-tone tinnitus as an added benefit. I’m not too unhappy with the occlusion situation… I did have custom molds in Singapore… I might look into them… although I found that sweating in humid Singapore, and now Houston, was/is a problem.

As a side note, is there a resource that explains all the different possible settings on these ’s and how they might interact with one another?

You may wish to visit the Self Programming catagory, and request a copy of the HearLink fitting software, because that way you could explore all the settings, and the help files would explain them.

In reply to @Kim-L

Someone can correct me if I am wrong, but I don’t believe the mode makes any difference for streaming music. If I cycle thru the different programs I don’t notice a difference in streaming. I find the music program is useful for external music, ie hearing live music.

The HiFi Music program does affect streaming music. All Philips programs change the streaming experience roughly in accord with how they change the experience of ambient sound.

Edited

In reply to @flashb1024

I went to visit my Costco fitter today, re my TTTF experience. Besides the tremolo and flanging, I was also experiencing a tonal feedback when my dryer buzzer went off. First, he swapped out my domes for smaller ones because the larger ones were causing ear discomfort. Still not vented because my fitter claimed that my hearing loss was severe enough that I would surely have feedback issues. Then he adjusted the feedback manager with white noise. Then he added the Hi Fi Music option to my programs.

Net effect? On the general program… flanging, trilling, and TTTF even worse as I was driving home in my pretty decent hi fi vehicle. Verdict: Mostly a waste of time, although the smaller domes are more comfortable and provide a bit deeper insertion into my weirdly shaped ear canals.

But the moment I switched to the Hi Fi Music channel… WOW! What a difference! Yes, the music no longer trills and flanges. But that’s not the half of it. I have a great deal more listening clarity in normal “not music” environments. In fact, the overall amplification is higher, especially of higher frequencies, so much so that I’ve reduced the overall amplification volume. And… NO FEEDBACK so far…

Now for the really amazing part. I put on my SoundCore Q45 active noise cancelling headphones which I use when flying. With my old KS9’s, I could not wear them at all because of feedback within the earcup. These 9050’s on the general program worked a lot better but still produced some feedback even with the volume turned down.

But the same 9050’s on the Hi Fi Music program covered up by my Q45’s? NO FEEDBACK! I’m amazed. I can’t possibily see why I’d want to go back to the general program.

Well, if your loss is severe (can’t tell without your ), you should probably request custom molds. That would definitely help your overall acoustical problems, as well as comfort.
I’m not sure how feedback manager works on Philips, but on Oticon there is a setting in software for turning down or off in any program, so you may wish to ask if they can do that for your general program.
Great to hear your music program is working well.
I always use over ear headphones with my , its great!

After 3 or 4 followup visits to make adjustments, my 9050’s are sounding pretty good.

Related discussions