The Latest Phonak Hearing Aids

In late 2016 they launched their latest generation of hearing aid technology with the ‘Belong’ platform which has all but replaced their Venture hearing aids. This is their innovative new sound processing chip technology which replaced their previous ‘Venture’ chip. The initial introduction was their Audeo Belong Receiver In Canal hearing aid range. In 2017 they released the Bolero Belong range they have also launched a Virto Titanium custom hearing aid. The full range of Virto Belong hearing aids have yet to be launched, so for now outside the Titanium, you will have to look at the Virto Venture range for custom in the ear hearing aids.

Audéo B Direct Hearing Aids

Launched in late 2017, the Audéo B Direct goes all-out on connectivity, allowing you to connect your hearing aids directly to any mobile phone that supports Bluetooth – meaning that it doesn’t matter whether you use Android or Apple, you can simply pair your phone to your hearing aids and effortlessly take calls directly through your hearing aids. Audéo B models also include Phonak’s usual high-level of sound quality and speech recognition to create a winning product.

Up to 24 hours of hearing with one charge

Audéo B Direct use rechargable batteries. Simply dock your hearing aids on the charger before you go to sleep and you can enjoy hearing the next day, safe in the knowledge that you won’t need to worry about having to perform an awkward battery change in public.

The best hearing in all situations

Enjoy unmatched hearing performance in all enviornments, without having to adjust your hearing aids. Audéo B is constantly working to reduce unwanted background noise and focus on the voices and sounds you do want to hear.

Hear quiet voices

Tests have shown that Audéo B offers a 10% improvement in hearing and understanding soft speech.

Virto B

Another new hearing aid from Phonak at the tail-end of 2017. The Virto B range is focused on providing the perfect fit, these are small in-the-ear hearing aids that are practically invisible to others.

These discrete hearing aids sit deep and snug inside the ear canal, giving you the confidence to go about your day, knowing you will hear well at all times.

Each ear is unique

Each and every person is individual. Just like a fingerprint, every ear is unique. Even our left ear differs from our right. The distinctive characteristics of our ear anatomy has an influence on how sound is captured, directed towards the ear drum and converted into information that the brain can understand.

Effortless hearing at all times

Virto B hearing aids feature a unique operating system called AutoSense OS. It automatically senses your surroundings and adjusts your hearing aids every step of the way. It can recognise and respond to your environments, giving you optimal hearing ability in restaraunt, the car or at home.

Virto B-Titanium Invisible Hearing Aids

As part of a raft of introductions in 2017, Phonak announced that they were introducing a new Virto hearing aid type as part of their Virto Belong range. The device is groundbreaking, it is the first hearing aid device to use medical grade titanium to form the custom shell. They say that they have used the properties of the metal to ensure that they can offer discreet custom hearing aids to more people than ever before possible.

The Technology Levels

• Phonak Virto B-90 Titanium – Premium: a vast array of advanced features. 20 frequency channels
• Phonak Virto B-70 Titanium – Advanced: but less automatics and speech focus than above. 16 frequency channels

A Titanium Shell

The named the hearing aid as the Virto B-Titanium and said it will be the most discreet in ear device they have ever made. It is a fascinating device that uses titanium for the shell instead of the usual hard acrylic. This is the first time that titanium has been used in the manufacture of a custom hearing aid.

Super discreet

Virto B-Titanium is the smallest Phonak in-the-ear hearing aid ever! It is for all intent and purpose an invisible hearing aid device.

Half as Thin

Using titanium allows for a shell that’s half as thin as traditional custom shells. This will result in a deep, comfortable fit. Phonak say that the overall size is reduced significantly, thus increasing invisible-in-the-canal (IIC) fit rate by 64%. That simply means that more people than ever will be physically suitable for their latest invisible hearing aid.

Three Levels of Receiver

The device comes available with three levels of receiver which allows it to cover even more hearing losses than ever before. Because of the use of Titanium, it also allows for bigger vents in their hearing aids which means less occlussion problems for people with good low frequency hearing.

Fully automatic

Virto B-Titanium features AutoSense OS™. It adapts to every sound environment automatically for excellent hearing performance everywhere. There will be no need to manually adjust the hearing aids. Although, they can come with an optional push button for just that.

Technology Levels

The Virto B-Titanium will only be available in the B90 and the B70 levels of technology. Anyone looking for something that isn’t as advanced will need to look to the Virto Venture which will remain available for a while.

Will Fit More People Than Ever

The material is exceptionally strong, which allows Phonak to make the shell much thinner than ever before with even more strength. This combined with new component design allows them to deliver an invisible hearing device that they say will fit 68% more ears.

The deep position in the ear canal of the device will allow the hearing aid to use the natural shape of the ear to funnel sound to the microphone. This strategy has always proved to deliver excellent directional hearing.

Bolero Belong Hearing Devices

With the launch of the new Bolero Belong platform of Behind The Ear hearing aids, Phonak have launched their anticipated lithium-ion rechargeable BTE, the Bolero B-PR. It is the first Lithium-ion rechargeable BTE to the market and the first rechargeable BTE for Phonak. They say that the battery pack will deliver 24 hours of hearing with one simple charge (expected results when fully charged, and up to 80 minutes wireless streaming time) which is in line with the performance of the Audeo B-R.

The P hearing aid style is quite a powerful aid and can be expected to be fitted to people with severe hearing loss. The device has a programme button, volume control and a telecoil onboard. The amplification output of this aid demands a lot of power, so Phonak must be very confident with the battery technology.

In line with the Audeo Belong, the range will run on the new improved AutoSense OS and will come in the usual four levels of technology. However, the new rechargeable option will not be available in the lowest level of technology.

The Technology Levels

In line with the Audeo Belong, the range will run on the new improved AutoSense OS and will come in the usual four levels of technology. However, the new rechargeable option will not be available in the lowest level of technology.

• Phonak Bolero Belong B-90 – Premium: a vast array of advanced features. 20 frequency channels
• Phonak Bolero Belong B-70 – Advanced: but less automatics and speech focus than above. 16 frequency channels
• Phonak Bolero Belong B-50 – Standard: a popular choice for the slightly less needy. 12 frequency channels
• Phonak Bolero Belong B-30 – Essential: some excellent albeit more basic features. 8 frequency channels and no rechargeable device

The Range

The Bolero range is a full model line up with four models. They will include B-M, B-P, B-SP, and the rechargeable B-PR.

The Bolero Range

Bolero Belong MPhonak Bolero B-M

The B-M model is the smallest of the range, a micro BTE powered with a 312 battery it will cover Moderate to Severe hearing losses. The device comes with a programme button and has an onboard telecoil.

The device can be fitted with a thin tube fitting or a traditional tube and mould configuration. The device will be available in the four levels of technology, the B90, the B70, the B50 and the B30.

Bolero Belong PPhonak Bolero B-P

The B-P model is slightly larger, it is powered by a 13 battery cell and comes with a programme button, volume control, telecoil and will cover up to severe hearing losses.

The device can be fitted with a thin tube fitting or a traditional tube and mould configuration. The device will be available in the four levels of technology, the B90, the B70, the B50 and the B30.

Bolero B-SP

The B-SP is the largest model, again it is powered by a 13 battery and comes with a programme button, volume control and telecoil. The device will cover severe to profound hearing losses.

The device can be fitted with a thin tube fitting or a traditional tube and mould configuration. The device will be available in the four levels of technology, the B90, the B70, the B50 and the B30.

Bolero Belong PRBolero B-PR

The B-PR is the rechargeable model which runs on a sealed and integrated lithium-ion powerpack. The device is similar in size to the Bolero B-SP. It also has a programme button, volume control and telecoil. The device can be fitted with a thin tube fitting or a traditional tube and mould configuration. It will cover moderate to severe hearing losses and it will be available in the B90, the B70 and the B50 levels of technology only.

What are the key features of the Bolero P-R

• Rechargeable lithium-ion power cell
• 24 hours continuous use with up to 5 hours streaming
• Easy charging
• Unique OneShell design
• Probably only available in the 90, 70 and 50 level of tech

Audeo Belong Hearing Devices

Audeo Belong rechargeable hearing aidThe Audeo Belong Receiver In Canal hearing device range is the first Phonak hearing device range with a rechargeable option. This in itself is quite an amazing innovation and a new direction for them. However there is much more that is new in this range than just that, the Belong comes with an upgraded operating system, the latest version of Phonak’s SoundRecover2 and new microphones and programme buttons.

The range uses the existing Venture chipset and is available in four technology levels, the 90, the 70, the 50 and the 30, although the rechargeable option is not available in the 30 level of technology.

The Technology Levels

• Phonak Audeo Belong B-90 – Premium: a vast array of advanced features. 20 frequency channels
• Phonak Audeo Belong B-70 – Advanced: but less automatics and speech focus than above. 16 frequency channels
• Phonak Audeo Belong B-50 – Standard: a popular choice for the slightly less needy. 12 frequency channels
• Phonak Audeo Belong B-30 – Essential: some excellent albeit more basic features. 8 frequency channels and no rechargeable device

New Autosense System

The operating system in the Belong range is an updated version of Phonak’s Autosense OS. They have improved the system with new settings that manage how the system works. Phonak’s continued research on AutoSense OS gave them the opportunity to make it even better.

They have tweaked the operating system, changing how the hearing aids respond to changes in the sound environment. They say that these changes deliver even better speech intelligibility across the different settings.

The Phonak Audeo Belong Hearing Aid Range

The range itself is a relatively typical full line Audeo offering, so that is a full range of Receiver in Canal devices. Let’s take a look:

Audeo B-10

Very small RIC device using a size 10 battery, it is quite discreet and can be used with several receiver variations meaning it can cover a lot of hearing losses. It doesn’t have a telecoil although as always it is a wireless device. It has a button but no volume control.

Audeo B-312

Again a very small RIC device, however, it uses a size 312 battery, it is still very discreet and can be used with several receiver variations meaning it can cover a lot of hearing losses. Like the 10, it doesn’t have a telecoil although as always it is a wireless device. It has a button but no volume control.

Audeo B-312T

Slightly bigger than the 312, it is still a small and discrete device RIC which uses a size 312 battery, it can be used with several receiver variations meaning it can cover a lot of hearing losses. Un-like the 10 and the 312, it has a telecoil as well as being a wireless device. It has a button but no volume control.

Audeo B-13

The largest of the Audeo B RIC range, it runs on a size 13 battery and can be used with several receiver variations meaning it can cover a lot of hearing losses. The 13 comes fully loaded with both a telecoil, programme button and a volume control as well as being a wireless device.

Audeo B-R

The RIC device that all the hype has been about, a rechargeable hearing device running on Lithium-ion power. A solid 24 hours of use from one three hour charge. It can be used with several receiver variations meaning it can cover a lot of hearing losses down to profound. It is also a wireless device with a programme button but no volume control or telecoil.