B90 / B-R90 Feature Summary:
Ease of use
- Breakthrough Lithium-ion battery technology
- 24 hours* of hearing with one simple charge
- Quickest charging, longest lasting rechargeable HI – 3 hours of charging time
- Fast charging option – 30 minutes for 6 hours of use
- Battery lifetime 4 years plus
- No disposable battery hassle
Hearing performance
- AutoSense OS with SoundRecover 2
- Industry leading automatic system provides unmatched hearing performance
- 20% better speech understanding thanks to automatic selection
Esthetics and design
- New industrial design – Innovative microphone positioning – New push button & indicator light
- Including innovative compact rechargeable system solution
Phonak B90 / B-R90 Review
These are the latest offerings from Phonak, the Audeo Belong range. First impressions are they have added a few curves over the last Audeo Venture and now the push button is larger but the real game changer is the technology on board these hearing aids.
There are two versions of the Audeo 90 one takes the usual hearing aid batteries and the other is fully rechargeable. It takes 6 hours to recharge and will last 24 hours, even on a quick 3o minute charge it will last 6 hours. Initially we were not convinced by the rechargeable battery but it seems to have a lot going for it:
- No more need to carry spare batteries around with you,
- No more running out in the middle of the day during that important meeting
- No more hassle trying to get the small battery in the hearing aid
- No battery draw to turn the hearing aid on and off, just use the button instead
The down side is that the rechargeable version is slightly larger in size than the normal battery version, but for some this may not be a problem.
Technology
Phonak have updated the technology in the hearing aid to improve the performance over their competition. Through testing it shows that the belong range has:
- Understand more in noise 60% improvement in speech understanding by zooming in on a single voice in a noisy environment – versus without hearing aids.
- Better speech understanding 20% better speech understanding thanks to the automatic selection of the best setting for everyday listening situations.
- Hearing in car 37% reduction in effort when listening to conversations in car – compared to prior technology.
- Hear quiet voices 10% improvement in soft speech understanding with our newest products.
- Natural music experience Top rated hearing aid for music sound quality
This all means that it is out performing the other hearing aids in these situations. But interestingly enough, Phonak have not introduced any direct connection function to mobile phones. Direct wireless connections between hearing aids and mobile phones seems to be a popular feature among the younger users, such hearing aids as Oticon Opn, Starkey Halo and ReSound Linx2 all have this feature which enables the hearing aid wearer to take phone calls through the hearing aid, use the phone as a remote and wireless microphone. Instead Phonak have stuck with the additional accessories such as the Compilot Air 2 to connect the mobile phone TV and anything bluetooth.
Lets not forget that these hearing aids like the previous range are rated to a standard of IP68. This means they are dust proof and water proof down to 3 metres for 30 minutes.
You will find that hearing aids companies always conduct trials of their new hearing aids before they are released onto the market. The above Phonak user trials some a very high level of satisfaction with the rechargeable battery version (B-R).
Overall Summary
Seems that Phonak have made a great product, giving the option of a normal battery powered version or re-chargable version. Both versions seem to be a great improvement on previous technology. If you don’t mind the slightly larger hearing aid then the re-chargeable B-R is going to be the most convenient of the two, and the best option for you. To find the best prices CLICK HERE
