- In this video, I'm sharing my picks for the best receiver
in-canal hearing aids as we enter 2021, coming up. (upbeat hip hop music) Hi guys, Cliff Olson, Doctor of Audiology and founder of Applied Hearing Solutions in Phoenix, Arizona. And on this channel, I cover a bunch of
hearing-related information to help make you a
better informed consumer. So if you're into that, make sure you hit that Subscribe button, and don't forget to click the bell to receive a notification
every time I post a new video. 2020 may have been a horrible
year due to the pandemic, but when it came to the release of some new hearing aid technology, 2020 was absolutely fantastic. So I wanna take a few minutes and share my opinion on what I think are the best receiver
in-canal hearing aids as we enter 2021, and I'm also going to link the video where I talk about the
best in-ear hearing aids as we enter 2021 in the description of this video. But before I share my picks, I need to explain that it does not matter how awesome the hearing aids are that I share in this video if you do not have a
hearing care professional who can properly fit and
program these devices following best practices. Now if you do not know
what best practices are, then I highly recommend
that you check out my video that I will link in the description, because even the best
hearing aids in the world will underperform if best
practices are not followed. Also, I do not share pricing
information in this video, because pricing is heavily influenced by the city and state that you live in and whether or not your
hearing care professional dispenses hearing aids in a
bundled or unbundled fashion. All right, that being said, all of the hearing aids that
I talk about in this video also has a detailed review
on my YouTube channel. So if you're looking for some
more detailed information and specifications on
these particular devices, feel free to check out
those videos on my channel. Without further delay, let's go ahead and get into what I think are the best
receiver in-canal hearing aids as we enter 2021. And in no particular order, we're going to start with
the Starkey Livio Edge Ai. Starkey launched the Livio
Edge Ai in January of 2020 as an update to their Livio Ai devices. Starkey is well-known as being
the Fitbit of hearing aids, because with their Starkey Thrive app, they track a lot of your
brain and body data, and they compile this into a Thrive score. The intent of this type of tracking is to encourage you to use
your hearing aids more, since your hearing,
brain, and physical health are all closely linked. They come in a wide range
of technology levels, from the tier 1 premium i2400 model, all the way down to the
tier 5 base i1000 model. While it's impossible to give
specific price information, each time you go down in technology level, it typically saves you money, but you do have to give up different customizations and features inside of those devices as well. The Liveo Edge Ai hearing aids now have the ability
to be remotely adjusted by your hearing care
professional in real time so they can make adjustments while you're wearing the hearing aids in the comfort of your own home. These are also the perfect hearing aids for individuals who have caregivers. With Starkey Thrive Care, these hearing aids can send
information to a caregiver, so the caregiver can monitor
the usage of the wearer. Also, if an individual with
these hearing aids falls over, the hearing aids will send a
notification to the caregiver, so the caregiver can reach out and identify whether or not
that individual needs help. The Livio Edge Ai devices
are made for iPhone, but now they have the
ASHA Bluetooth protocol, so you can use them with
your Android device as well, and still be able to do streaming. Edge mode is a cool feature
that allows you to hear better in complex situations, and instead of me actually
explaining this to you, let me go ahead and give
you a quick sound sample. (crowd cheering) (announcers excitedly calling a game) - [Announcer] He's going, he's going, he's got it. (announcers calling simultaneously) No, not a flag, come on,
ref, are you kidding me? - Overall, the Livio Edge Ai hearing aids are very impressive hearing aids, especially if you want your
hearing aids to do other things than just treat your hearing loss. The second hearing aid on my list is the Phonak Audeo Paradise. The Audeo Paradise hearing aids were released in late
third quarter of 2020, improving upon the very
popular Marvel line of devices that were released in 2018. Like most hearing aid brands, the Paradise comes in four
different technology levels, ranging from the tier 1 premium P90 level down to the tier 4 basic P30 level. Once again, each time that you drop down in technology level, you
typically save money, but you do give up the
customizations and features each time you drop down. They do have disposable battery and rechargeable battery
options in their devices, and you do have the option
of a telecoil or no telecoil. The Paradise hearing aids
are still made for any phone, so if you have an Android
phone or an Apple phone, it does not matter, you can stream audio directly
into the hearing aids, and you can be completely hands-free. So when you're on a phone call, the microphones on the hearing aids actually take your voice and send it to the person on
the other end of the line. Phonak did add a couple
of nice new features with the Paradise devices that you could not get with
the Marvel line of devices. The first one is you can have two active
pairings at the same time using Bluetooth Classic. So if you want a tablet and a phone connected to the hearing aids and paired to the hearing aids at the exact same time, you can do that, and it's very seamless for how those interact with each other. The rechargeable version
of the hearing aids also have a motion sensor inside of them, which improves your ability
to hear and understand speech when there's movement involved, but more importantly, it
actually has a feature called Tap Control that you can use on the rechargeable
versions of these devices, so you can do things like
answer your phone call just by double-tapping your ear. You can actually double-tap
your ear to stop streaming. You can double-tap your
ear to resume streaming. You can also access a voice assistant with a double-tap as well. Phonak still has one of the best remote care platforms out there, so if you're one of those individuals who has difficulty getting in to see your hearing care professional, you can still have live
programming sessions with them when you're in the
comfort of your own home. Phonak also has some of the
best wireless accessories with the Roger line of remote microphones and the TV connector, which can take audio directly from your TV and stream it right
into your hearing aids. Overall, the Paradise hearing aids are very popular hearing aids, and I expect them to be extremely popular for the next several years. The third hearing aid I have on the list is the ReSound One. The ReSound One was also released in late third quarter of 2020, and it replaces the previous
LiNX line of devices. This is the first receiver
in-canal hearing aid ever to take a microphone and actually put it
inside of the ear canal. They call this the M&RIE, which stands for microphone
and receiver in-ear. The purpose of the M&RIE is to utilize the wearer's
natural pinna effect which helps you localize where
sound is coming from better, and it gives you more
natural ability to hear in noisy environments. The pinna effect is something that hearing aid manufacturers have been trying to replicate for years inside of the receiver
in-canal hearing aids. But actually taking a microphone and putting it inside of your ear canal to utilize your actual pinna the natural way it was intended to be used is always going to be better. The ReSound One only comes in
three different tech levels. You have the tier 1 premium level 9, the tier 2 advanced level 7, and the tier 3 basic level five. You can get these hearing aids in non-rechargeable,
disposable battery versions or rechargeable versions
that use a lithium battery. But if you want a telecoil, you have to go with the disposable
size 13 battery version. The ReSound One still uses
all of the great accessories that ReSound has used in the
past with the LiNX devices, so you have the Multi Mic, the Mini Mic, the TV Streamer, and the Phone Clip. Keeping up with the trend, ReSound One now has the ability to stream directly from an Android device using the ASHA Bluetooth protocol, but they are still
made-for-iPhone hearing aids. So whether you have an iPhone or an Apple device or an Android device, you can stream from both. Overall, the ReSound One
is a great hearing aid, and it is on par with any
of the best hearing aids on the market right now. Fourth on the list is the Oticon More. The Oticon More hearing aid was
released in January of 2021, which technically makes it the newest hearing aid on the list. Building on the extreme popularity of the Opn and Opn S devices, it uses the same methodology when you get into a
background noise something, which is to amplify selectively
sounds that are important, but not necessarily making it feel like you have blinders on. The More comes in three
different technology levels, starting with the tier 1 premium More 1, the tier 2 advanced More 2, and the tier 3 basic More 3. The More hearing aids have
a lot of adjustment handles so you can customize these
devices very precisely to hearing loss prescriptive targets using real ear measurement. The premium level has
24 adjustment handles; the advanced has 20, and the basic has a whopping
18 adjustment handles. As of this recording, there is only a rechargeable
option of the More, but we do expect there to be
disposable battery options as we head off into 2021. And the rechargeable version
that's available right now does have a telecoil. While there is not yet a cross available with the More line of devices, I do expect a cross
option to become available later on in 2021 or 2022. Oticon is also keeping up with the trend of using the ASHA Bluetooth protocol to be able to stream directly
from an Android device, as well as being able to
stream from an Apple device, since this hearing aid technically is a made-for-iPhone hearing aid. However, the real claim to fame of the Oticon More hearing aid is the use of a deep neural network so the hearing aid can use deep learning to help you hear better in
complex listening situations. Now there is nowhere near enough time for me to explain what a
deep neural network is, or what deep learning is, so I highly recommend that
you check out my review of this hearing aid that I
have on my YouTube channel. Overall, the Oticon More hearing aid could be the benchmark
for how sound is processed as we head into the
future of hearing aids. Fifth, on the list, we have
the WIDEX MOMENT hearing aid. The WIDEX MOMENT was released in mid-2020, replacing the EVOKE line of devices, which were very popular
in their own right. But the claim to fame for
the WIDEX MOMENT hearing aid is their extremely fast
sound processing speed. Where most hearing aids take anywhere between four to nine
milliseconds to process sound, the WIDEX MOMENT, using
the PureSound program with zero-delay sound processing, can process sound in less
than one millisecond. The reason why this is so important is because it reduces the
cone filter effect that occurs when delayed amplified
sound and natural sound combine inside of your ear canal. If this delay is too long, the cone filter effect
introduces distortion to the signal that you're hearing. So in order to eliminate
the cone filter effect, you have to get rid of the delay. And the way that you do that is to speed up the processing of the sound going
through the hearing aid. Widex also introduced TruAcoustics with their MOMENT hearing aids, which takes the vent effects and uses that in the
calculation of the first fit. So it's supposed to give
you a closer approximation to your prescriptive targets before verifying with
real ear measurement. The MOMENT hearing aids come
in disposable battery options, as well as rechargeable options, and you also have the
options of a telecoil. These hearing aids do come in four different technology levels, starting with the tier
1 premium 440 model, the tier 2 330, the tier 3 220, and a tier 4 basic 110 model. Now the WIDEX MOMENT is a
made-for-iPhone hearing aid, and they are supposed to be adding the ASHA Bluetooth protocol, but as of right now, you can not stream directly
from an Android device. Widex is also very well-known for their Zen fractal tones, which are excellent for treating tinnitus. Most hearing aid manufacturers
just use a static noise to mask over the perception
of your tinnitus, but Widex has a variety of
different Zen fractal tones, which do, in my opinion, better job. The WIDEX MOMENT has one
of the most fully featured remote care platforms for long distance live programming, and the MOMENT still uses
the popular machine learning SoundSense Learn app feature, that lets you train your
hearing aids on your preferences by making AB comparisons in
real world listening situations. Overall, the WIDEX MOMENT hearing aid is a fantastic hearing aid if you have a mild to
moderate hearing loss, so you can use that
zero-delay sound processing, or if you have tinnitus. And last, but definitely not least, the sixth hearing aid to make my list for best receiver in-canal
hearing aids in 2021 is the Signia Styletto X. Signia has continued to improve upon the performance and capabilities of their organizational
Styletto hearing aid that was released several years ago. However, just because Signia focused a lot on the style of these hearing aids, it does not mean that they
sacrifice performance. The Styletto X only comes
in a rechargeable option, and it does come with a
very sleek charging case that stores three additional charges without you having to have
this plugged into the wall. It comes in three different
technology levels. You have the tier 1 premium 7X model, the tier 2 advanced 5X model, and the tier 3 basic 3X model. Some of the key features
of the Styletto hearing aid is the motion sensor inside of them, so it can actually tell
if you're on the move or if you're in a static position so it can adjust the microphones of your hearing aids accordingly. And it has a very popular feature called Own Voice Processing. So if you're the type of individual that does not like the sound
of your amplified voice, you can actually train these hearing aids to reduce the amount of amplification that is given to your voice without reducing the sound that is being amplified from around you. The Styletto X can stream
directly from a smartphone, but it has to be an Apple smartphone. It is not yet compatible
with Android devices. Now you can use an Android
device with these devices, but you're not gonna be
getting any direct streaming. You do have remote care capabilities with these hearing aids, so if you, again, have
issues with mobility, you can have a live remote session with your hearing care professional without even going into their office. Overall, the Styletto X hearing aid is the perfect hearing aid for someone who wants to hear better and make a fashion
statement at the same time. There are a lot of great
hearing aid options out there, it just depends on what your
specific wants and needs are. Because what might be
right for someone else might not be right for you. Your success with any
one of these hearing aids also has a lot to do with whether or not your hearing care professional is really well versed at
programming that particular brand, and, of course, whether or not
they follow best practices. That's it for this video. If you have any questions, leave them in the Comment section below. If you the video, please share it, and if you wanna see other
videos just like this one, go ahead and hit that Subscribe button. Also feel free to check out
my website, DrCliffAuD.com. (upbeat hip hop music)
