The difference between a 70 series hearing aid and a 90 can be found in the following features, which are only available in the 90 variant.
- If you are in a noisy environment, both hearing systems switch to an automatic program and then distinguish again between Stereo Zoom and Ultra Zoom
- Stereo Zoom zooms in on the person you are talking to for better speech intelligibility.
- Ultra Zoom automatically moves the microphone to the front for better understanding of multiple people.
- Voices coming from behind or from the side are reduced
- Automatically detects and optimizes reverberant listening situations, such as in church or halls.
- Easier understanding while driving, as driving noise is automatically reduced
- Understanding in loud background noise is optimized
- Understanding in wind around you
- Finer adjustment of hearing aids due to more channels in the 90 series
All other functions are shared between the series. The main difference is the larger number of listening situations that can be automatically detected with the Phonak 90.
For you, this means your Phonak 90 recognizes more situations in everyday life based on the sounds and volume around you and makes the hearing experience as optimal as possible for you. This makes it easier for you to get through everyday life.
So the question for you is whether you often find yourself in these situations. If you are often in church or in a museum, for example, the 90 helps you and you can listen more relaxed despite the reverberation. Because this reverberation is automatically detected by the 90 series and filtered out for you.
Exactly the same applies, of course, when driving or when it gets louder around you like at a birthday or other family celebration. Here, the 90 can show its full strengths compared to the 70.
Our tip is, try out both technology levels from Phonak. We as hearing care professionals can fit you with both systems and you have the opportunity to test them.
When Is the Difference Between a 90 and 70 Not Noticeable?
Both hearing aids are very good at detecting listening situations and then automatically improving them for you. However, if you are never or very rarely in a reverberant environment or never drive and are at home most of the day, the difference between the two hearing aids will be barely noticeable.
How Do You Benefit From the Difference of 20 Channels in the Phonak 90 and 70 to 16 Channels in the 30 and 50 Variants?
If a hearing aid has more channels, the gain can be fine-tuned for you. Let’s take a closer look at the following example. Imagine 20 bands next to each other. Each of these bands represents a range of tones that is deeper on the left and brighter on the right.
If the division of these areas is finer, the hearing aid (as in the 90 series) can reduce the amplification in a more targeted manner. This is a great advantage in noisy environments. Because especially here, the hearing system should only reduce the annoying background noise if possible and should not reduce speech if at all possible. Otherwise, you would again understand less well.
Thus, compared to the 70, the Phonak 90 allows you a finer automatic fitting by reducing the amplification only in the areas where it will affect speech understanding less.
The example below will give you a better idea of how this works. Here you have a picture on the right where you can see that the high tones are associated with the speech with sounds like S, T, or H. The high tones are associated with the speech.
If the hearing aid now has to filter out something annoying (reduce, for you less dominant audible), the hearing aid has to reduce the gain. It does this across the entire channel. However, if certain sounds, such as the high-frequency range, are affected by this, you will understand less well at that moment. Because the whole channel is negatively affected.
In such cases, the Phonak 90 can fine-tune how the amplification is controlled, allowing you to hear as well as possible even in difficult listening situations.
Comfort certainly plays a role here as well. Especially the sensation of volume is perceived more strongly over higher tone ranges. If these can be regulated more finely as with the 90 from Phonak, you have the volume where you need it and thus provides a more relaxed listening experience.
Please note that even the best hearing system can reach its limits. In such cases, it may make sense to choose accessories that make your everyday life easier.
Accessories for Phonak 90 and 70 Series
When it comes to accessories, there is no difference between the two series. You have the option to pair microphones or your cell phone. Depending on the version directly or via an additional device.
What Is the Difference Between the Appearance of a 90 and a 70 Hearing Aid From Phonak?
Visually, there are no differences between a 90 and a 70 from Phonak. You can get both variants as behind the ear variant with tube or cable or as in the ear variant.
All variants can vary in size depending on their function or design. This means that if you have a small ear canal, the hearing aid will be a bit more visible from the outside if you choose an in-the-ear variant. However, this applies to the 90 series to the same extent as the 70 series.
The same applies to the behind the ear styles from Phonak. You have a little more amplification with those hearing aids that are a little larger. In general, however, even the small versions are quite sufficient for 90% of wearers in terms of amplification.
What Is the Difference Between the B, M or P Series at Phonak?
The letter B, M or P stands for the generation in Phonak hearing aids. Each series has its own chip system and its own software, which is not compatible with other systems.
So with a Phonak B90 you get an older hearing system compared to the P90. Below you will find an overview of the generations of Phonak hearing instruments. Starting with the older chip platform.
Phonak Belong B30, B50, B70, B90 (AutoSense OS 2.0)
Phonak Marvel M30, M50, M70, M90 (AutoSense OS 3.0)
Phonak Paradise P30, P50, P70, P90 (AutoSense OS 4.0)
Older Phonak hearing aids do not have some features, such as the current touch control from the paradise model. The development of hearing instruments is always progressing. This is why receivers got improved with the newer versions which are not backward compatible.
For example, new inventions like the active vent receiver are only available for the paradise hearing aids. Although the Marvel and Paradise hearing aids share the same connectors.
If you would like to experience the difference between the Phonak 70 and the Phonak 90 for yourself, make an appointment with your local hearing care professionals. They will be happy to assist you. If you want to learn more about all the hearing aids from Phonak I have another article here for you written.