Skip to content
HearingTracker
Log in

Widex Super 440

This topic is closed.

65 replies33.6k viewsLast reply

Jump
Link to this topic

I started out with the generic ear tips and feedback was a problem, music also sounded pretty tinny. Then I got the custom ear molds and it was way better, huge improvement in everything, except speech discrim wasn’t a great deal different.

I tried the hard full molds with the encased speaker. I, too, was amazed at how ugly they were…classic example of a clueless manufacturer. Why would anyone want that ugly beige patch, completely screams hearing aid, when the other molds are so inconspicuous. When my son saw me wearing them the first time he asked me why I was wearing “ear plugs”.

They didn’t buy me anything except the music program seemed better to me, higher fidelity, more bass response, but the ugliness, less comfort and no change in speech discrim had me sending these right back.

I have super 440 now, after trying it (only one hearing aid) for a month, then trying super 220 for a month.

I’m really pleased of the “extended audibility” feature, it gives me so much more new hearing.

to say the truth the difference between super 220 and super 440 is not so big, but i think the sounds are stronger. there are more options to “tune” it.

there is a serious problem with speech in noise - the extended audibility disappears and i don’t hear high sounds in noisy environments

it does give me better speech understanding in quiet environments. thanks to the added sounds (like shhh, sss, t) with the regular sounds that i hear with my analog h/a.

i have profound deafness (starting from 95dB and worse).

i’m still experimenting and trying to find the ideal settings for best hearing.

No is perfect in different hearing environments. So you have to compare trade offs for each HA you try. Super 440 (and 220) are probably the best HA’s on the market for someone with a severe to profound HA loss. And your post was pretty much spot on as far as how the HA’s performance. In a quiet environment 440 performs very good. It also offer decent speech recognition in quiet settings. In a noisy setting the 440 doesn’t adjust properly to incoming sounds versus speech recognition. But you can make that claim for most HA’s, especially so for powerful aids that are built to compensate for a radical hearing loss. You also have to remember that a lot of people with normal hearing have a hard time hearing in very noisy situations, though I wish Widex would of put more effort into improving the “Comfort setting” (supposed speech in noise setting) in the 440. Your comment regarding “low frequency sounds - setting” is probably incorrect and your audiologist’s needs adjust your HA to compensate for lack of low frequency sounds. When one tries a new HA, it takes at least 2 to 3 visits to a audiologist to get the proper program setting’s adjusted to the level best suited for the HA user. You can’t expect the first go around (trial period wearing HA) to be perfectly set for your long term hearing needs. You also should note that the 440 has the best remote hand control unit on the market (size wise - feature wise) and you can carry it in your pocket (shirt, pant or on key chain, etc.) With a simple button click you can bring up 5 different programs and adjust volume up or down.

Bottom line those of of us with a severe to profound hearing loss don’t have a lot of choices when it comes to HA’s. We only have a selection of 3 to 4 brands which have the power and range to compensate for a serious hearing loss. I’d like to hear how you make out with the 440 if you get a few more adjustments and also find out why you choose the 440 over the Widex Dream. My assumption is the 440 is more suited for your hearing loss, then the Dream but they are similar HA’s. Maybe too similar since the Dream came out a year or two after the 440 was introduced.

hi Chris thanks for your reply,

I’ve been at the audiologist today to change the settings and now i’m more pleased with the sound and the low frequencies so i edited my original message, the low frequency sounds are still weaker and not as rich and deep as they sound to me with my old 10 year old analog hearing aid but it sounds better and stronger than before.

overall I think it’s really the best hearing aid I’ve ever tried. before widex super 440, I tried oticon chili and phonak naida (III, I think?) but they didn’t give me any feeling of an improved hearing compared to my old resound viking H/A. I was a little disappointed because I hoped that the frequency compression in phonak naida would mean something new. it was before I heard about widex, then I tried widex super 220 and 440, only after trying 4 different hearing aids, I researched more and read about dream 440, which sounded even better, but I was starting to feel uncomfortable about asking the audiologist to return it and try a fifth new hearing aid… i will keep it for the future and i’m pleased to know that other possibly more advanced hearing aids are waiting out there. besides, it also costs much more. the super 220 costs here in Israel 8,000 shekel (2285$), super 440 costs 13,000 shekel (3700$) and i was told the dream 440 costs 18,000 shekel (5150$) which is really way too expensive for me. the final price for me after participation of my insurance and government for the super 440 is about 2700$ (1000$ less) which is much better. I’d like to know what are the prices in other countries.

anyway, I’ve researched more and there is a new hearing aid by Resound (Resound Magna) which if i understand right includes frequency transposition as well, it sounds promising but i don’t see any reviews on it and from my understanding it’s really new in the market (since January 2014?) , i’d like to hear about it. maybe i’ll ask to try it within a couple of months.

Getting the right for one’s particular needs is of course critical since HA’s are so expensive and are usually a five plus year investment. With that said myuval you will find different bells and whistles coming out from HA manufactures yearly. Most changes are not significant, but the HA manufactures wants you to think the “new and improved” model is a big improvement over last week’s model, or last month’s model or last year’s model. In almost all cases (HA changes) over a short period of time (one to two years) are not really major upgrades or improvements but just little changes - some of which the user will receive no benefit from. If your going to try different HA’s every other month - have fun since most HA dealers won’t let you shop until you drop. And the HA manufactures will have your name on record trying type A, or B, or C or what ever is offered during your trial period. Hope you find what you are looking for, but don’t get your hopes up just because a HA manufacturer promises the world, and then when you test the new aid, its just like the HA you tried six months ago. Your price quotes for the 220 - 440 are in the ball park, but a little on the high side. I’ve always felt that someone buying two aids should receive a price discount over someone just buying one HA, but unfortunately that is not the case.

Related discussions