Phonax Cros Hearing Aid?

[Jaki]

Hi everyone,

Yesterday I went to a Phonak representative and apparently I will be the first one trying out the cross system. Now I was wondering: those who have tried or use cross: do you have in-ear or behind-the ear apparatus and on which side? He said it is better to leave the good ear opened and recommended BTE, but then, how does it eliminate the noise? I imagine that with no filtration (with BTE the ear is closed only by a small syllicon capsule) the sound is only added to the good side.

Which hearing device do you find is still reasonable (effective vs. price) to use with the cross system? Which ones do you use?

Thanks,
Jaki

[Denise S]

Thanks ALL for the info here!!!

Denise S (MI)

[Paul F]

I traded in my BAHA Intenso for the new Phonak Cros system.  The cros unit is a BTE and I have it being held in place with an ear mold.  That was my choice because I did not want to loose it.  My hearing side is using a Phonic Audio S Smart, also a BTE aid and the two are programmed to work together.  This choice of hearing aid was made by my audiologist.  The units work extremely well together and I am very satisfied with the results.  They can make the hearing aid an ITE unit if you desire.

Battery life is very short.  My units both use the 312 size which is not a very strong battery at all.  I only get two days from a battery which means I'm using a battery a day.  I am using Power One's as recommended.  The size 13 battery would give twice that but they won't fit.

Paul

[Denise S]

So how expensive are the batteries for these things???    I take it they don't make a rechargable battery??

[Jaki]

Denise,

I think that here a box of 6 comes at about 5 euros if you buy them from a representative. You can try online, they would be cheaper, I imagine. I haven't heard of a rechargeable battery with this device, they are very small, but it would be great.

[spgreenfield]

So no one answered the request for the price of this unit....and does anyone know if insurance covers this at all?   I know that BAHA's are tricky sometimes which would mean these might be as well - but you're not dealing with the surgical issues either....

Pam

[Archer]

So no one answered the request for the price of this unit....and does anyone know if insurance covers this at all?   I know that BAHA's are tricky sometimes which would mean these might be as well - but you're not dealing with the surgical issues either....

Pam

Pam,
You can get some added info on another thread at    http://www.anausa.org/smf/index.php?topic=16500.0

Rich

[Phillies]

Hi everyone,

Yesterday I went to a Phonak representative and apparently I will be the first one trying out the cross system. Now I was wondering: those who have tried or use cross: do you have in-ear or behind-the ear apparatus and on which side? He said it is better to leave the good ear opened and recommended BTE, but then, how does it eliminate the noise? I imagine that with no filtration (with BTE the ear is closed only by a small syllicon capsule) the sound is only added to the good side.

Which hearing device do you find is still reasonable (effective vs. price) to use with the cross system? Which ones do you use?

Thanks,
Jaki

New Phonax Cross? I go mine in December. Is there a new cross coming out that is replacing that one??

[Ross]

As someone who has recently discovered the device, I have to say that it is a very promising one.

HEARING EXPERIENCE: For my initial 10 day trial, I chose to use both BTE pieces. They are the least obtrusive. In fact, when I let a close colleague of mine know that I was wearing them, she did a double take...she could barely see them on my ears.

They're good at handling relatively noisy situations. But, I did wear them on a noisy bus heading to Fenway Park just the other day and they didn't help much. Sometimes too much noise is just too much noise. I'm learning that it's all experiment. Sometimes they will help, sometimes not.

BATTERIES: A typical day may be putting the aids on heading to work, but leaving the battery compartments disengaged until I need them in action. This allows me flexibility and also helps to manage battery life significantly.  I'm still using the same batteries from 5 days ago.

COSTS: I've been quoted $2150 for the Audeo BTE hearing aid (their cheapest model since I don't need a lot of features) and $1000 for the BTE Transmitter. My audiologist also provides batteries for 4 years. So battery costs are tucked in there. Since batteries costs can add up, this may be a good question to ask any center...do they provide batteries!?!

INSURANCE:  MA insurance doesn't cover hearing aids.  Other states do.

TECHNOLOGY:  The new CROS is based on the new wireless platform they introduced on all their aids last year. So anyone who recently got theirs (post 2/11, I believe) has the latest. My audiologist who also used to work for Phonak told me that an upgrade is probably not likely in the near future because the CROS is a pretty niche business and the need to iterate on that specific unit isn't needed...features are pretty basic and their finding success with the current platform for now. As they upgrade their more mainstream units, CROS may benefit from some new discoveries at that time.

NEXT STEPS: I see my audiologist again in Thursday to determine whether I go forward with a 30 day trial. That allows you to have the devices for 30 more days and only forfeit $250 should you not want to keep them. I'm going to move forward with the next trial period.  I have a big work event/conference from Apr 28-May 2. Lots of opportunity to test these around noisy dinners and hallways!

[Jaki]

Phillies,

I didn't mean a new cross. I will be the first one in the country wearing one (audeo smart) as there are so few cases and usually people choose to wear BAHA.
Ross, keep us posted. I will start my trial period tomorrow. I hope it works for me ...

Jaki

[Phillies]

Oh, ok. 

[leeclinton]

To address the cost of batteries:  I've found an online retailer that sells a pack of 60 of the PowerOne Size 312 batteries for the CROS for $29.00 (US).  That's about $0.48/each.  I find that to be reasonable.

[Ross]

So if the batteries last 3-4 days as reported by members on this site, a four year supply is around $360-$450. For those exploring cost, you'll want to understand whether batteries are included from your audiologist in the cost of the device.

Mine is charging $3150, but giving me $450 worth of batteries.    So the cost is around $2700.

Not sure how that compares to others.

[mk]

BATTERIES: A typical day may be putting the aids on heading to work, but leaving the battery compartments disengaged until I need them in action. This allows me flexibility and also helps to manage battery life significantly.  I'm still using the same batteries from 5 days ago.

Ross,

I had an appointment with the audiologist today to get a prescription for the Phonak. I told her that I didn't think I would need the aids all the time (for most of the day I work in a very quite office, so I figured that I don't need them). I was thinking that I would be using them whenever teaching, in meetings, social situations etc.  Of course I was also thinking that I would be also saving on batteries this way.  She told me that this is not advisable, and that I should wear the aid constantly so that the brain becomes retrained and adapts better to the aid. she also said that the brain becomes trained to recognize directionality.
Were you told something like that too? What is your experience, do you think that wearing the aid constantly is more beneficial?

Marianna

[Ross]

Marianna, I actually never asked about directionality. It never came up in the conversation. Regarding having to wear the aids all the time, I certainly don't. I only "turn them on" when I need them.

When I am working in my office and not engaging in any meetings, there's no reason to have them on. Even with a small team meeting in my office, I leave them off. I find they're mostly helpful in larger meeting venues or walking down the hall with someone on my bad side. They've made a huge difference for me in those cases.

BTW, in additional to four years of batteries, I also received a Zephyr store & drying unit.  This keeps the aids from gaining too much moisture which can cause problems down the road. That unit is about $80. It's amazing how variable the costs are based on location.

While the CROS has its issues, I find that there are more pros than cons.