Starkey User Feedback

F

fulminty

New Member
Joined
Mar 11, 2013
Messages
107
Reaction score
0
Hey all- so I heard back from my audi yesterday, and well at the hearing test/consultation we had talked about some brands, I hadn't realized that she had ordered a set of Starkeys.

Now I know from what I've parsed through searching here (the majority of the results came from Lau2046 in regards to early digitals from them) that they do not have the same positive word of mouth as Phonak Naidas (which I gather to be the HOH equivalent of the iPhone), but I was wondering for people who have had recent experiences with the brand, say since 2008 or so, what has your experience been? Or even the experience of folks you know personally that have gotten them in the past 5 years?

My own loss, which I wish I'd learned more about now and as a child, was described as a cookie-bite for my right ear, and I *think* my left ear, which has the greater loss, looked like what would be a ski-slope.

Thanks for any feedback you can give!
 
I've worn Starkey for years. I can't really compare them to other brands because I have not really tried other brands. Given the talk here, however, I would say they aren't as good. People seem to love their Nadias, I have a love/hate relationship with my Starkey's. They are better than nothing, however, I have issues adjusting them to work for me. I don't know if it's me or them though.

They amplify sound, like they are supposed to. They last for several years--5-7 years so far. They are quick with repairs. I currently have the IQ's. I got them about 2 years ago. They are BTE and I like those a LOT better than any of the ITE one's I've had. They have made improvements since I got mine, mainly an on-processor volume switch. Mine I can only change the volume using a phone---which was a silly idea to begin with. They "auto-adjust" in most situations, but being able to fine tune that would be wonderful.

My hearing loss was sudden, and would have been classified as moderate to severe, it has since gone into the severe to profound stage. I am scheduled for cochlear implants next month.
 
I'd pick Phonak or Oticon over Starkey ... but that's just me.

Anytime you get a new HA though, I'd really suggest trying a few models and brands that are appropriate for your HL - hearing (and hearing loss) is so unique that you really need to find something that works best for you in terms of sound, programming, features, accessories/compatibility etc.
 
I have a Starkey DaVinci. I've had it since 2009. I like it. I have a very profound loss (115 db) so it's hard for me to measure whether the Starkey is as good for me as other brands could be. My other HA in my other ear is 8 years old and an analog, not even digital, but I seem to get about the same output as the Starkey. Meaning I can't tell one is newer than the other or that one is digital and one is not. Overall, I'm happy with it. I can't understand speech without lipreading, but I hear lots otherwise.
 
Cool, thanks. I'll have to ask about the specific model as she only mentioned it was Starkey. Since I am footing the bill this time instead of VR I'm not walking away until absolutely happy with them.


Posted from Alldeaf.com App for Android
 
Funny because I had Nadia's for 6 years and did not like them at all. I now have the Starkey 3-series i90 and love them and think they are much better than the Nadias. Go figure.
 
jgirardi said:
Funny because I had Nadia's for 6 years and did not like them at all. I now have the Starkey 3-series i90 and love them and think they are much better than the Nadias. Go figure.
Click to expand...

6 years?

I really like my Naida, but I thought they have only been out since about 2008 for the first generation.
 
I had starkeys, and they were a POS since day one, I would highly recommend to stay away from them. I am hearing good things about Widex and Phonak which I am trying for now.
 
They came out in 2008 it is now 2013 that's 6 years.

The bottom line is everyone reacts differently to all brands. to say starkey is a POS is a low blow, I happen to dislike Phonak HA, they were horrible for me for the 5 to 6 years I had them, but I would not call them a POS. Widex was also very good for me too.
 
jgirardi said:
They came out in 2008 it is now 2013 that's 6 years.

The bottom line is everyone reacts differently to all brands. to say starkey is a POS is a low blow, I happen to dislike Phonak HA, they were horrible for me for the 5 to 6 years I had them, but I would not call them a POS. Widex was also very good for me too.
Click to expand...

2008 to 2009 = 1 year
2009 to 2010 = 2 years
2010 to 2011 = 3 years
2011 to 2012 = 4 years
2012 to 2013 = 5 years

You are right that everyone reacts differently to HAs that's why it's best to try them :)
 
I had starkeys for about a month and I hated them. He could have been trying to get too much out of too little (I needed a BTE, not a RIC), but I had very poor sound quality and went through two receivers in that time period. He also could not adjust them correctly at all.

This very well could be a case of a bad Audi especially since I have a reverse slope conductive hearing loss which is a little unusual.
 
Starkeys are excellent without regard to handling feedback. As analogs, they were tops. Unfortunately the transition to digitals hasn't been as positive. There are simply too many other brands on the market that do a much better job with power, quality of sound, options within the hearing aid, customer service and overall customer satisfaction. Any dispenser or audiologist just pushing Starkey isn't doing you any favors. You would need to try them for a period to fully appreciate how different the sound quality is on Starkey compared to other more established companies producing digital hearing aids. Everything sounded mechanical with Starkeys for me. They had limited features that offered no improvement sound wise and Widex just offered me a great deal more with better sound than I could get with Starkey. This is something you would never know until you compared both. The VA sells Starkeys to veterans because they have a government contract with the company and they're essentially crap. My father has a pair and he's never worn them because he hates the sound quality and they never seem to work. That kind of says it all.....at least unlike me, he didn't pay anything for his....

Laura
 
I think it's all a matter of the individual and the audi's ability to properly adjust the HA. I am very happy with my new starkey's and know what good sound quality is since I have been wearing hearing aids for more than 44 years. I will tell you there was a period where my HA sounded mechanical, then we adjusted the compression and directional mic settings and now everything sounds crystal clear. So it could very well be you just were not able to get the right adjustments made. Or it could be that you just prefer the widex better. The point is it all depends on a lot of features and the individual.
 
Well Starkey may be a moot point for me now. After my insurance approved claim but limited my Audi's markup, the Audi tried to bait and switch me for lower quality HA. So I dropped her and will be going to another audi to start the process over. Thankfully I've got a few other choices for doctors.


Posted from Alldeaf.com App for Android
 
Back
Top