First pair of hearing aids - Phonak brand

[Moonlit Rosettes]

Those of you who've had Phonak brand hearing aids: are they good quality? I'm getting my hearing aids through a local charity, so I'm not limited to just Phonak brand because that's what's available, and a friend of mine uses Phonak and she likes her HAs. When I went to look for reviews, though, they were all advertisement-style reviews. I want to know what to reasonably expect from these HAs. Anyone have any helpful info? Things you like or dislike, or if you've used multiple different brands which one is your favourite and how do Phonak compare to others? Thanks in advance!

 

[LoveBlue]

I had Phonak BTEs for about 10 years (Now have CIs). I liked them. I did try a different brand during those 10 years and was not as happy with them...perhaps because I was used to the Phonaks.

What you need is a really good audiologist. One who is interested in providing you good hearing, not money in their pocket.
You should be able to trial brands for 30 days (not at the same time, your brain has to get used to each one).

 

[Moonlit Rosettes]

I had Phonak BTEs for about 10 years (Now have CIs). I liked them. I did try a different brand during those 10 years and was not as happy with them...perhaps because I was used to the Phonaks.

What you need is a really good audiologist. One who is interested in providing you good hearing, not money in their pocket.
You should be able to trial brands for 30 days (not at the same time, your brain has to get used to each one).

My audiologist is a really good fit for me; much MUCH better than the one I went to before her. The unfortunate side to going through this charity for my HAs, though, is that they only offer vouchers for Phonak hearing aids. At least I won’t be getting some off-the-wall brand, lol. Thanks for the info!

 

[cdmeggers]

I grew up wearing Phonaks and have always been happy with them. I trialed an Oticon and didn't care for it, probably because I was used to hearing with Phonaks that the Oticon was just weird for me. Think I've worn 4 different types of Phonaks over the years that I know of (2 sets of Pico Forte analogs as a kid, Claro digital for high school years, Supero digital for a few years, Naida hearing aid until I went bilateral with cochlear implants).

 

[LoveBlue]

I grew up wearing Phonaks and have always been happy with them. I trialed an Oticon and didn't care for it, probably because I was used to hearing with Phonaks that the Oticon was just weird for me. Think I've worn 4 different types of Phonaks over the years that I know of (2 sets of Pico Forte analogs as a kid, Claro digital for high school years, Supero digital for a few years, Naida hearing aid until I went bilateral with cochlear implants).

And both went with AB. Wonder why? I hope people reading this thread don't think wearing Phonak's leads to CIs. I think what it really means is that Phonak has a great HA for severe to profound hearing loss.

 

[Moonlit Rosettes]

And both went with AB. Wonder why? I hope people reading this thread don't think wearing Phonak's leads to CIs. I think what it really means is that Phonak has a great HA for severe to profound hearing loss.

Hey, hope you don’t mind explaining; what does AB stand for? I don’t know if that’s an allDeaf term or something used in Deaf culture that I’m just not familiar with yet.

 

[Moonlit Rosettes]

I grew up wearing Phonaks and have always been happy with them. I trialed an Oticon and didn't care for it, probably because I was used to hearing with Phonaks that the Oticon was just weird for me. Think I've worn 4 different types of Phonaks over the years that I know of (2 sets of Pico Forte analogs as a kid, Claro digital for high school years, Supero digital for a few years, Naida hearing aid until I went bilateral with cochlear implants).

Awesome, thanks. I always see in HA advertisements that certain ones with the high end technology will adapt to different listening situations to help with speech clarity and such in noisy environments. I’ve always been skeptical of that claim, but my friend with Phonaks says it’s somewhat true for her and she doesn’t have the highest end technology. Have you found that to be true with yours?

 

[LoveBlue]

Hey, hope you don’t mind explaining; what does AB stand for? I don’t know if that’s an allDeaf term or something used in Deaf culture that I’m just not familiar with yet.

Sorry about that. AB is Advanced Bionics, one of the companies that makes cochlear implants (CIs). They partnered with and is now owned by the company that makes Phonak hearing aids. I can use the accessories that I had with with my Phonak hearing aids with my CIs.

 

[Moonlit Rosettes]

Sorry about that. AB is Advanced Bionics, one of the companies that makes cochlear implants (CIs). They partnered with and is now owned by the company that makes Phonak hearing aids. I can use the accessories that I had with with my Phonak hearing aids with my CIs.

Ah, okay. Thank you!

 

[cdmeggers]

When I had the Claro, it would auto-adjust depending on noise levels. It actually drove me out of my mind in high school, with switching classes (the noise in the hallways would trigger the auto-adjust, switching to the noise setting, but it'd switch back to normal, noise, normal, etc... within seconds). I had the auto options turned off later on, preferring to change the settings myself when needed.

Phoank has some neat features for their hearing aids (and for the Advanced Bionic's Naida line of CIs), such as feedback control, echo block, wind block, zoom, auto zoom, etc. I think with the Phonak hearing aids, you can also adjust the settings on one aid and it'll automatically adjust the settings for the other aid, and both aids will communicate with one another (if you were to use the DuoPhone feature, you can hold the phone up to one ear and the same stuff you're hearing on the phone will automatically be picked up by the other hearing aid, giving you bilateral hearing aid when using the phone). I use some of these features with my CIs (DuoPhone, Windblock, can't remember what else I have added). I like what Phonak has been doing, technology-wise, for their products. I can't say what the other hearing aid manufacturers are doing with their own line of products or what sort of technology and features they've developed.

 

[Moonlit Rosettes]

When I had the Claro, it would auto-adjust depending on noise levels. It actually drove me out of my mind in high school, with switching classes (the noise in the hallways would trigger the auto-adjust, switching to the noise setting, but it'd switch back to normal, noise, normal, etc... within seconds). I had the auto options turned off later on, preferring to change the settings myself when needed.

Phoank has some neat features for their hearing aids (and for the Advanced Bionic's Naida line of CIs), such as feedback control, echo block, wind block, zoom, auto zoom, etc. I think with the Phonak hearing aids, you can also adjust the settings on one aid and it'll automatically adjust the settings for the other aid, and both aids will communicate with one another (if you were to use the DuoPhone feature, you can hold the phone up to one ear and the same stuff you're hearing on the phone will automatically be picked up by the other hearing aid, giving you bilateral hearing aid when using the phone). I use some of these features with my CIs (DuoPhone, Windblock, can't remember what else I have added). I like what Phonak has been doing, technology-wise, for their products. I can't say what the other hearing aid manufacturers are doing with their own line of products or what sort of technology and features they've developed.

That’s incredibly helpful, thank you!!