The 7 Best Hearing Aids of 2019. Dr. Cliff Olson, Audiologist and founder of Applied Hearing Solutions in Anthem Arizona, discusses his favorite hearing aids as we enter 2019.
Website: https://www.AppliedHearingAZ.com
In 2018, we saw some amazing new technology hit the market, with more technological advancements already in the works for 2019. Of course, as with any new hearing aid, all of these new devices were designed to provide better sound quality and better speech understanding in background noise, so we are going to focus more on the specific features that sets these devices apart from the competition.
#7. Unitron Moxi All – The main feature that helped this hearing aid make the list is the Flex Upgrade. The Flex Upgrade lets you purchase a lower level of technology and upgrade it to a higher level of technology at a later date. You keep the same physical devices, you just have the technology inside of the devices upgraded. This way you can upgrade to new technology when you need it and when you can afford it, even if it is years down the road.
#6. Widex Evoke – Machine Learning is the main feature of the Evoke that helped it make the list. This device can learn your preferences by allowing you to make A/B comparisons in a real listening environment. All you do is tell the App if you prefer Sound A or Sound B. It then takes this data to improve how you hear, and learns your preferences over time.
#5. Starkey Livio Ai – This hearing aid has Artificial Intelligence right in the name. This is because it uses on-board sensors to track both body movement and social interaction. It is designed to help you become more physically and socially active which we know can improve health outcomes. It is packed with a bunch of features such as fall detection and real-time language translation. It now also has the capability of working with remote accessories such as a TV streamer and Remote Microphone which can improve your listening experience even more.
#4. Phonak Virto B-Titanium – The Virto B-Titanium is the only Invisible In Canal (IIC) hearing aid to make the list. As the name suggests, it is made out of Titanium so it can be 30% thinner and smaller than an Acrylic hearing aid. Not only is it extremely discrete, it is the best performing IIC hearing aid on the market. It does require a deem ear mold impression, and is not suited for extremely severe cases of hearing loss.
#3. Oticon OPN – The OPN has been an extremely popular hearing aid since 2016. The OPN Sound Navigator allows you to hear speech from different directions while still suppressing background noise. This is much different than the traditional way of hearing better in background noise by directing hearing aid microphones forward only. Combine this feature with decreased listening effort and good reported sound quality, and the Oticon OPN is one of the best hearing aids that money can buy.
#2. ReSound LiNX Quattro – The Quattro replaces the LiNX 3D line of devices. Along with its long lasting lithium rechargeable batteries, it will also have the capability of streaming from an Android device, not just Apple device. It also has the best Smartphone App in the industry. It allows you to make all kinds of adjustments to your program settings and even allows you to receive remote adjustments from your hearing care professional.
#1. Phonak Audeo Marvel – The Marvel is the closest thing that you will find to an All-In-One device because it basically does everything. It is the ONLY device to stream audio directly from Android & Apple devices because it uses Bluetooth Classic. The New AutoSense 3.0 allows the hearing aid to make better adjustments on its own vs. a hearing aid user making adjustments with a push button. Later in 2019 Phonak will come out with Telecoil Versions of the 312, 13, and Rechargeable Battery Models. They can also be remotely adjusted and are Roger Ready. This means that your hearing care provider can do a firmware update to make the already installed internal Roger Receiver active so you can use any of the great Phonak Roger FM accessories.
In my opinion, those are the best hearing aids of 2019. Which one is right for you? This depends on your wants and needs, and how familiar your hearing care provider is with each type.
No matter how great a hearing aid is, it will not perform its best unless you’ve had real ear measurement performed on them. Now if you don’t know what real ear measurement is, I highly recommend you check out my REM video because it is the only way to ensure that your hearing aids are programmed correctly to your hearing loss prescription. REM Video: https://youtu.be/cHR0Oa6I-wY