Phonak Virto B Titanium – Sounds of Life Reviews Phonak’s Smallest Ever Custom hearing aid

phonak virto b reviews

 

 Sounds of Life reviews the Phonak Virto B Titanium

 

phonak virto b pricesThis month Phonak launched its new ultra-discreet, micro hearing aid range called Titanium.  The Titanium range is available in both a completely-in-the canal (CIC) hearing aid style and the smaller invisible-in-the-canal (IIC) hearing aid style.  The name Titanium refers to the fact that the new shell material Phonak is using to manufacturer the hearing aid is titanium.

Traditional custom hearing aids use an acrylic shell.  These shells are made using a 3D-printer from a 3D image of the wearer’s ear canal.  To achieve smaller designs, such as CIC and IIC styles, manufacturers have had to build the shells to be thin so all the electronic components could fit in.  Unfortunately, this has resulted in a reduction in robustness.  For many users of IICs they often find their shells break (or crack) regularly requiring repair.

 

Instead of acrylic, Phonak has chosen to use medical grade titanium as the shell material.  The titanium material addresses the above issue, so that the hearing aids can be both ultra-discreet and robust.  Like traditional acrylic, the Phonak Titanium shells are manufactured by a 3D printer from images of the wearer’s ear canal.  However, the shells are far more durable and lightweight than acrylic.  By using titanium, Phonak can achieve a much thinner shell while increasing durability.  In fact the new titanium shell is half the width of traditional acrylic shells, yet 15 times stronger.  In addition, the Phonak Titanium hearing aids have achieved an IP68 rating for resistance to both water and dust.

In addition to this new shell material, the Phonak Titanium uses smaller electronic components.  The combination of having a thinner shell and smaller components not only means the overall hearing aid design is smaller, but there is also more room for venting.  For most hearing aid fittings, adequate venting is critical to eliminate the “occlusion effect”, the blocked up feeling that occurs when hearing aids are worn, particularly common in wearers with high frequency hearing loss.  Phonak claims that using smaller components and the new titanium shell material they can reduce the size of their IIC hearing aid by up to 26%.

 

 

The new Phonak Virto B Titanium is being released on Phonak’s latest generation platform: Belong.  The Belong platform features Phonak’s new AutoSense operating system.  According to Phonak, the new AutoSense OS analyses the soundscape every 0.4 seconds and adaptively manages an array of features to create 200 distinct settings to manage different sound environments.   Users also have the option of manually adjusting programs via a program change control integrated into the battery door.

Sounds of Life’s Phonak Titanium pricing

The Phonak Titanium is a fantastic hearing aid solution for clients wanting a discreet, virtually-invisible hearing aid solution.  Currently it is available at two performance levels: Premium B90 and High-end B70.  As an introductory special, Sounds of Life is offering the Titanium at the following prices:

Premium- Titanium CIC/IIC B90 $3890

High-End- Titanium CIC/B70 $2990

Fitting and follow-up consultation fees apply: Binaural $380/Monaural $280

The product come standard with a three-year warranty and 3-year free care package from Sounds of Life.

If you feel hearing loss is impacting your life contact Sounds of Life.

Contact us today on 1300 744 432 or via our contact form below:

 

    Your Name (required)

    Your Phone Number (required)

    Your Message

     

     

    About Sounds of Life

    Sounds of Life Audiology is a leading, independent hearing aid specialist.  We offer transparent and affordable hearing aid pricing on quality hearing aids (including virtually invisible hearing aid technology) from the world’s leading brands.

     

     

    Rechargeable Hearing Aids: Cellion Primax and Audeo Belong R Review

    rechargeable hearing aids brisbane

     

    Cellion Primax and Audeo Belong R Hearing Aids Review

     

    Rechargeable hearing aids, are they worth it?

    The first generation of lithium-ion rechargeable hearing aids have hit Australia.  Lithium-ion rechargeable technology is commonly used in consumer electronics due to their high capacity (relative to size), minimal memory effect and low self-discharge.   Only recently has this technology been utilised in hearing aid technology.  The following lithium-ion rechargeable hearing aids are available in Australia:

    • Signia (formerly Siemens) Cellion primax receiver-in-canal model
    • Phonak Audeo Belong R receiver-in-canal model

    signia cellion hearing aid review

    The Signia Cellion primax is available in four performance levels from premium to entry-level (7px, 5 px, 3px and 2px) and features a 48mAhs inductive-charging system (the highest in the industry delivering at least 24 hours of hearing even if streaming audio).  Using an inductive charging system, the Cellion is designed to be extremely easy to use as there is no need to plug it in to be charged.  When the hearing aids are placed in the charger cradle they turn off automatically and when removed, they turn on automatically (no need to fiddle with the controls).  The inductive charger comes with a mains power adaptor but is also compatible with a range of off-the-shelf power packs.

     

    phonak audeo reviewThe Phonak Audeo Belong R is available in the premium, high-end and mid-range levels (B90, B70, B50) and features a 42mAhs traditional contact-charging system (delivering 24 hours of hearing including 80 mins of streaming audio).  Compared to the Cellion primax, the Audeo Belong R offers the technology at more price-points including a mid-level offering.   In addition, Phonak offers two charger options: charger case and mini-charger (a great travel option).  There is also an optional Phonak power packs that can be purchased.

     

     

     

    What are the Pros and Cons of the technology?

    Pros

    • Convenience and ease of use – this is certainly the main advantage of the lithium-ion rechargeability. Users never need to change fiddly batteries.  The systems are designed so that they are charged every night so they deliver a full day’s hearing.  If users charge their hearing aids every night they never need to worry about their hearing aids running out of power unexpectedly during the day (a common occurrence with disposable zinc air batteries).
    • Improved robustness – Doing away with disposable zinc-air batteries means here is no need for a battery door that opens and closes. This means the housing is designed with less gaps improving the hearing aid’s water resistance and general reliability.  If fact both the Cellion and Audeo R have an ingress-protection raining of IP68 meaning they are both water and dust resistant.

    Cons

    • The unexpected – If the user forgets to charge the hearing aids and they are flat, there is no option to use disposable batteries. Although both systems provide significant life after only a short charge, there is a risk of not having operational hearing aids for a short period.

     

    Lithium-ion technology is often the battery technology of choice for consumer electronics as it offers several advantages over disposable battery technology:

    • Saves money over time for the owner
    • Devices can be designed to be smaller (due to the integrated-design of the batteries)

    Lithium-ion technology is new in hearing aids and at this stage does not offer these advantages.  Firstly, the cost of the current generation lithium-ion hearing aids is very high (significantly higher than their non-rechargeable equivalents.)  From our basic calculations over a 5-year lifespan (taking into consideration the cost savings of not having to purchase disposable batteries), they appear to be slightly more expensive than their traditional equivalents.  Secondly, the current lithium-ion cell is larger than the most commonly used zinc-air batteries (size 10 and 312) and consequently the lithium-ion hearing aids are slightly larger than their traditional equivalents.

    As the price of the technology decreases, lithium-ion technology will be used in more and more hearing aids.  Currently we feel these new lithium-ion hearing aid options are a great option for clients who have difficulty managing disposable batteries or clients who are active and want a highly convenient hearing aid solution.

     

    Sounds of Life offers the Cellion and Audeo B hearing aids at Brisbane’s lowest prices:

     

    Signia (Siemens)

    • Premium: Cellion 7 px RIC $3690 (+ $299 for the charger)
    • High-end: Cellion 5 px RIC $2850 (+ $299 for the charger)
    • Mid-range: Cellion 3 px RIC $1950 (+ $299 for the charger)
    • Entry-Level: Cellion 2 px RIC $1590 (+ $299 for the charger)

    Phonak

    • Premium: Audeo 90 B R RIC $4200 (includes free charger)
    • High-end: Audeo 70 B R RIC $3350 (includes free charger)
    • Mid-range: Audeo 50 B R RIC $2300 (includes free charger)

     

    About Sounds of Life

    Sounds of Life Audiology is a leading, independent hearing aid specialist.  We offer affordable hearing aid pricing on quality hearing aids (including virtually invisible hearing aid technology) from the world’s leading brands including Siemens, Signia, Phonak, Starkey, Unitron, Resound, Bernafon, Oticon and Sonic Innovations.

    Contact Us today on 1300 744 432