Phonak Paradise Hearing Aid

Phonak has introduced a successor to its previous model, the Marvel.  It’s called the Paradise and uses a new digital processor called the Prism (which stands for Processing Real-time Intelligent Sound Management).  This processor doubles the memory and gives you more connectivity with other devices. 

AutoSense 4.0

The PRISM chip uses the new software called AutoSense 4.0.  The AutoSense 4.0 has some new features that have been added from the previous operating system. 

• Speech Enhance:  designed to bring up the soft sounds of speech in a quiet environment.  These are usually the most difficult sounds for you to hear.
• Dynamic Noise Cancellation:   When you are in a noisy environment, it is hard to tell where noise is coming from.  With Dynamic Noise Cancellation and the use of the Phonak app, you can control the amount of noise around you.  There is a slider bar in the app that lets you change the level of noise you are hearing. You can also change the way the directional microphones work.  For example, if you are at a table and someone is sitting across from you, you can use the app to have a very narrow focus of hearing in front of you.  This lets you hear the person you are facing much better.
• Tap your Ear to control your aids:  The Paradise has a motion sensor in it that can tell when you are moving or stationary.  This motion sensor can also let you just tap your ear to start streaming phone calls, music, and activate voice assistants (such as Siri in the I-Phone) just by tapping your ear.   This makes your phone calls truly hands free.  It is, however, only available in the rechargeable version.
• Connect to more than one device:  With the Paradise, you can stay simultaneously connected to two devices at the same time.  For example, you can be using both your I-Phone and I-Pad without having to disconnect the Bluetooth connection on one before using the other. 

The Paradise is what is known as a RITE (Receiver in the Ear) aid.  This is a small device that fits behind your ear.  A thin, nearly invisible wire comes from the aid and goes into the ear canal.  At the end of the wire is a receiver that sends the processed sound into the ear. 

The Paradise comes in several levels of technology. The Premium is the P90. The P90 also gives the hearing care professional the most software adjustments for precise fine-tuning of the aids. If you have two devices, they will work together to adjust the sound in more diverse listening environments. The P90 gives you the most features and choices of programs (a program is a different way of hearing in other listening environments. For example, you might have a restaurant program or one to listen to music) that are not available in the other models. The other model of Paradise aids are the P70 (the midlevel), the P50 (the basic) and the P30 (entry level). The different models will all work the same with the Phonak app. There are more details in the comparisons between levels at Phonak.com

Mini Charger

All of the Paradise RITE style aids are available in a rechargeable version. The rechargeable hearing aids are very convenient, since you just put them in the charger overnight and then put them on the next morning. The charge will last 18 to 20 hours, even with a lot of Bluetooth use in streaming music or phone calls.

TV Connector

In addition to the charger, there are some great accessories. One is the TV Connector. This is a small device that is connected to the audio out in the back of the TV. The sound from the TV is streamed directly from the TV Connector to the aids wirelessly. The aids will connect to the devices automatically when you turn the Tv on and are in the same room. This direct wireless input to the aids gives better sound quality and speech understanding than using the aids to pick up the sound of the TV.

PartnerMic

Another useful add-on is the PartnerMic. This is a small microphone that either clips on to the clothing (usually a shirt collar or blouse) of the person you are trying to hear better. The microphone should be near the mouth of the person speaking. If you want to hear more than one person in a noisy situation you could place the microphone on the table. The microphone is used most often when there is noise. When the person is wearing the microphone their voice is heard in your ears louder than the background noise. That is why it is easier to understand speech in the presensce of background noise.

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