Skip to main content
Home

Main navigation

  • Apps
  • Forum
  • Blog
    • Podcast
    • Guides
    • Hardware & Accessory Reviews
    • Bug Tracker
    • Developer Resources
  • Log in

Breadcrumb

  1. Home
  2. Forums
  3. Hardware and Accessories

Are there any Advantages to NOT getting MF-I hearing aids from Phonak?

By Mitchell, 22 December, 2019

Forum
Hardware and Accessories

So in the near future I will be getting hearing aids, as my hearing has started to deteriorate. The place where I am getting them from either has hearing aids from Oticon and Signia, and non-MfI hearing aids from Phonak that work with accessories called the Roger Partner Mic.
Is there any actual benefit to getting the Phonak as accessibility is concerned, and what would you say the minst useful features and best sound quality among these options are? Thanks for the input!

Options

  • Log in or register to post comments

Comments

mFI or not

By Travis Roth

3 years 3 months ago

Hi,
As I understand it the Phonak is more a universal Bluetooth situation. So you are not locked into iPhone. However, what I hear from those who have tried it, connectivity and latency between the Phonak and iPhone are problems and make it not a comfortable experience at this time.
mFI aids are typically more responsive. I use Starkey Livio AI and they connect when my phone unlocks very quickly. (For what it is worht I understand Starkey has started supporting Android's equivalent hearing aid support so you are not locked into iPhone. I however do not know what other manufacturers are doing this yet but in theory it will resolve more of the issues going the generic route Phonak does over time.)
Jonathan Mosen wrote a blog article about his experiences and I encourage you to read that if for no other reason than to get ideas of what to consider. I don't have the link but Google will find it.
As for sound quality this is subjective and lagely dependent on your hearing. You can also trial different models and since this is your first pair, you may find the extra work worth your time. I used to use Phonak, this is before mFI was a thing, at the time Phonak served me well. Each manufacturer uses a slightly different sound processing algorithm as well, so one may work better for you than another
Lastly, AppleVis is a good place to ask as you have done. Even more users are on the blind users hearing list and I think you'll get even more help there. You should be able to subscribe in the usual manner by sending mail to blindhearingaidusers+subscribe@groups.io

More Like This

iOS 13.1.1 and MFi Hearing Aids Caution (Forum Topic)
Accessibility problems in My phonak APp on ios (Forum Topic)
Using airbod 2nd Generation as A Hearing aid (Forum Topic)
Say What? : Hearing Aids, iPhones and My Apple Watch (Blog Post)
Phonak Compilot air2, hearing aids., any comments with Voice over? (Forum Topic)
Onward Through The Fog: iPhones and Hearing Aids (Blog Post)
My experiences with KS8 Made for iPHONE hearing aids (Forum Topic)
MFI hearing aids (a solution) (Forum Topic)

Site Information

  • About
  • Club AppleVis
  • FAQ
  • Contact

Unless stated otherwise, all content is copyright AppleVis. All rights reserved. © 2023 | Accessibility | Terms | Privacy