Phonak Hearing Aids: Costs, Reviews, and Sound Samples

Phonak is the top global hearing aid brand by sales volume and a leader in speech-in-noise, wireless connectivity, and rechargeable technology. The company offers a wide range of quality hearing aids for people with mild to profound hearing loss, with products that cover almost any lifestyle.

Phonak's latest hearing aid, Sphere Infinio, is the first to offer a dedicated AI chip for speech enhancement in background noise—and testing from independent hearing aid lab HearAdvisor show they are leaps and bounds ahead of the competition.

Over the last 10+ years, HearingTracker has reviewed over 25 Phonak product families. While many of the reviews are now archived, you'll find a number of recent reviews using the links below.

Who is Phonak?

Founded in 1947 in Switzerland, Phonak quickly emerged as a leading developer of early electronic hearing aids. In 1985, after acquiring multiple additional hearing aid brands, it took on the name Phonak Holding AG and subsequently moved its headquarters to Stäfa, just outside of Zürich. In 2007, the holding company renamed itself Sonova Holding AG, or Sonova Group. Today, Sonova serves as the parent group for hearing aid manufacturers Phonak, Unitron, Sennheiser, and Hansaton, and distributors Connect Hearing, Alpaca, AudioNova, and more.

Phonak is Sonova Group's flagship brand, known not only as a market leader but also as an innovator in digital hearing aid products and technologies. In 2017, Phonak was the first to deliver lithium-ion rechargeable hearing aids with all-day power. And in 2018, they delivered the first hearing aid with truly universal Bluetooth connectivity. And now in 2024, they are the first to introduce a dedicated AI chip for speech-in-noise enhancement.

Phonak Technology Highlights

Before we get into Phonak's extensive product catalog, it might be worthwhile to review some of the major technological innovations that have made Phonak hearing aids stand out in the areas of hearing in noise, Bluetooth^® connectivity, and rechargeability.

Speech understanding in noise

Understanding speech in noise has been the "brass ring" for hearing aid manufacturers for decades and continues to be the number-one item on consumers' wish lists for improvements in hearing aids.

Phonak has been a pioneer of hearing in noise strategies. In 1994, the company introduced the first commercially successful directional microphone system, called AudioZoom, which resulted in better performance in noise and higher rates of customer satisfaction. By 2000, virtually all hearing aid manufacturers were employing directional mic systems in their top products, and these resulted in a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) improvement of about 2-3 dB. This might not sound like much, but in fact, a 1 dB SNR has been roughly characterized as translating to as much as 11% greater speech understanding in noise under certain conditions.

In 2012, Phonak introduced StereoZoom, which combined all 4 microphones in a binaural set (two on the left and two on the right hearing aid) via a wireless link, resulting in a narrower beamforming pattern with an even greater signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) improvement to the front of the user. This boosted SNR improvement by as much as 4-6 dB.

Phonak continues to break new ground with its latest hearing aid, Audéo Sphere Infinio and its artificial intelligence (AI) driven chip, DEEPSONIC. Using a Deep Neural Network (DNN) trained on 22 million sound samples, it allows for real-time audio processing while denoising the speech stream and effectively separating speech from noise—reportedly yielding an industry-leading 10 dB SNR improvement. Phonak says its tests indicate you’re 2 to 3 times more likely to understand speech from any direction with Infinio compared to two leading competitors.

Bluetooth technology

Phonak took many people by surprise in November 2018 when it launched Marvel, the first hearing aid capable of streaming audio—in stereo—directly to and from any Bluetooth-enabled audio device. Previously, no other hearing aid manufacturer had solved the technical challenges of universal Bluetooth connectivity. And in 2020, Phonak introduced Paradise, which added the ability to pair up to 8 Bluetooth devices simultaneously with 2 possible active connections.

Phonak is now in its fourth generation of Bluetooth-compatible hearing aids with the new Infinio hearing aids and its standard ERA chip. These aids enable uninterrupted hands-free calls and streaming across twice the distance and are said to be compatible with all Bluetooth-enabled devices. Infinio is also designed to quickly change streams without having to miss important parts of conversations.

Before Phonak introduced Marvel, only iPhone users had exclusive access to hassle-free direct stereo streaming and Android users had to purchase and tote around separate streaming accessories. While many hearing aid manufacturers now offer direct audio streaming from Android, hands-free calling with Android with Sonova-brand products like Phonak and Unitron remains relatively rare.

To deliver binaural streaming of music and phone calls over Bluetooth, Phonak has integrated all the communication protocols on a single hearing aid chip, which lessens power consumption and overcomes battery life limitations. Phonak’s PRISM chip, available in Paradise and Lumity, and the latest ERA chip found in Infinio increase memory while enabling 8 paired devices and 2 active Bluetooth connections.

Phonak has also worked with Sonova brand Advanced Bionics (AB) to integrate universal Bluetooth connectivity technology into cochlear implants sold by AB, like the Naída CI Marvel and Naída Lumity.

Rechargeable hearing aids

While rechargeable hearing aids have been available for many years, lithium-ion powered hearing aids have only been on the market since 2016, when Phonak introduced its Audéo B-R rechargeable hearing aids. Previous generations of rechargeable hearing aids simply weren’t ready for prime time. Consumers experienced problems with short battery life, leading to less than one full day of power. Inconsistent power output also caused hearing aids to malfunction on a regular basis.

Advances in rechargeable lithium-ion battery technology have overcome those issues. Phonak reports that its latest rechargeable Lumity hearing aids can easily last a full day (up to 24 hours for Lumity and 16 hours for Audéo Sphere Infinio). Thanks to the consistent power output of the lithium-ion battery technology, users won’t experience any of the malfunctions or intermittence that limited older models. Phonak has also recently introduced its first rechargeable wireless in-ear hearing aid: Virto Infinio R.

Phonak hearing aid prices

Like other prescription hearing aids, prices on Phonak hearing aids vary from clinic to clinic. Lower technology levels should come in at or below $2,000 a pair, while higher technology levels may run $5000-8000 per pair. When purchasing through HearingTracker's partner network, you can expect to pay $2,498 to $4,398 per pair for the latest Infinio or Infinio Sphere models. Explore prices for all Phonak models by visiting our hearing aid comparison engine.

Phonak hearing aid models

Phonak makes premium prescription hearing aids, which are programmed by an audiologist or other hearing care provider based on the results of your hearing test. The company has a broad range of hearing aid models addressing all levels of hearing loss. They come in multiple form factors, with advanced Bluetooth and other connectivity features and a variety of accessories.

Audéo Infinio and Infinio Sphere: Dual ERA + DEEPSONIC chips for impressive gains in hearing in noise and connectivity

You can think of Phonak's latest flagship family, Infinio, as having impressive new innovations in sound quality, Bluetooth connectivity, reliability, and personalization—topped off with groundbreaking AI-driven speech separation in noise in the Infinio Sphere model.

Launched in August 2024, Infinio quickly grabbed the attention of hearing care professionals and consumers alike—so much so that HearingTracker Audiologist Matthew Allsop created two videos: one on the Infinio product line (see video below) and another dedicated exclusively to the Audéo Sphere Infinio RIC (see video at the top of page).

All Infinio hearing aids use the new ERA chip that is designed to provide improvements over Phonak’s previously successful flagship platform, Lumity. Infinio offers Phonak’s latest APD 3.0 audiological fitting model designed to give better sound quality from the first moment of the fitting, an AI-Dome Proposer for better personalization, more robust safeguards against moisture and better durability, and faster connectivity with twice the streaming transmission distance.

Importantly, Infinio is also Auracast-ready, so it is future-proofed for this exciting new broadcast technology. Additionally, Phonak has finally added a "Find My Hearing Aid" feature to the myPhonak app to help you locate your missing hearing aids if you lose or misplace them. The Audéo RIC models come in two tech tiers (70 and 90) and 8 different colors.

The new ERA chip delivers new features and enhancements:

• Enhanced connectivity and greater stability - The ERA chip can shift between streaming and acoustic input without missing conversations and provides twice the distance for transmitting audio from a smartphone to the aids compared to two other competitors.
• Exceptional sound quality - Phonak's new APD 3.0 algorithm in its fitting software now uses Harman Curves (a tool typically found in headphones and loudspeakers) for finding the most natural and pleasing sound experience
• Smarter processing - Using AI, AutoSense OS 6.0 with SmartSpeech technology identifies your speech environment then reportedly helps improve speech understanding by 16% and reduce listening effort by 45%
• New personalization features - New AI Dome Proposer for better RIC fittings from the get-to and an acoustically optimized vent that opens and closes depending on the listening situation
• Discreet options - Using the ERA chip, Virto R Infinio is Phonak's first custom, rechargeable, wireless in-ear hearing aid; non-wireless battery-powered options also available.
• Spheric Speech Clarity - And for those with the additional DEEPSONIC chip, found inside Sphere Infinio, you'll hear speech within background noise, no matter where those voices come from

Features shared by both Infinio and Phonak's previous flagship hearing aid, Lumity:

• Stereo Bluetooth streaming - Streaming from iPhone, iPad, MacOS, Android, Windows, and any other Bluetooth-enabled audio device. It can pair with up to 8 Bluetooth devices and has 2 active Bluetooth connections.
• Hands-free calling in stereo - True hands-free calling from Bluetooth-enabled phones and VOIP services like Skype
• Clearer speech in quiet settings - StereoZoom 2.0 and SpeechSensor deliver clearer speech in background noise
• Tap controls - You can double-tap the hearing aids to accept/end phone calls, pause/result streaming, and access voice assistants like Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant
• Motion sensing - An ultra-low power accelerometer detects when you move and adjusts the hearing aid microphones and noise cancellation settings
• Health tracking - If using the myPhonak app, you’ll be able to track steps, distances walked or run, heart rate, activity levels, and hearing aid wear times
• Improved noise cancellation - First introduced in Phonak's Paradise line, “Dynamic Noise Cancellation” is an automated spatial noise cancellation system that works in combination with the directional beamformer microphones
• TV Streaming - Can stream directly from Bluetooth-enabled TVs, and can also stream from the Phonak TV Connector accessory
• Rechargeability - Hearing aids provide full day of hearing aid use from a single charge
• At-home adjustments - Hearing aids can be adjusted remotely by your hearing care provider
• Moisture protection - Lumity has an IP68 rating but is not quite as ruggedly tested as Infinio
• RogerDirect - Users can stream audio from Phonak's portable Roger remote microphone directly to their hearing aids.
• Phonak hearing aid technology - AutoSense OS™ 5.0 (6.0 in Infinio) helps users hear better in background noise
• Smartphone app - The MyPhonak app provides access to remote support services enabling your hearing care professional to customize your personal listening experience in real-time

Audéo Sphere Infinio R

Without question, the spotlight-stealer in the Phonak Infinio product portfolio is the rechargeable Audéo Sphere Infinio R receiver-in-canal (RIC) hearing aid, the industry's first dual-chip hearing aid that has a dedicated AI-powered denoising chip called DEEPSONIC. Sphere Infinio runs on both the ERA chip described below and the DEEPSONIC chip that has a Deep Neural Network (DNN) trained on 22 million sound samples. This means it allows real-time audio processing while denoising the speech stream, effectively separating speech from noise, and reportedly yielding an unprecedented 10 dB Signal-to-Noise (SNR) improvement.

According to the company, DEEPSONIC has 53 times more processing power than other industry chip technology and is capable of an astounding 7.7 billion operations per second. Previous hearing aids have employed artificial intelligence and DNN, including Starkey Genesis AI and Oticon Intent, but these systems have had to share chip space with all the other functions, limiting them in computational power, says Phonak. DEEPSONIC was built from the ground up and is dedicated to real-time processing and separation of speech from noise.

In HearAdvisor testing, Sphere Infinio has the top "tuned-fit" scores (i.e., professionally fit and adjusted) for both speech in quiet (4.8 out of 5) and speech in noise to date (4.6), earning it an "A" SoundScore and a 2024 Expert Choice Award.

Audéo Infinio R

Although it may be slightly overshadowed by the unique Audéo Sphere, the rechargeable Audéo Infinio R and its new ERA chip platform is also very impressive, even if it lacks all the AI-related buzzwords of the DEEPSONIC chip. Those looking for a smaller behind-the-ear hearing aid with better better life should consider the Infinio R, but be aware that you will be compromising a little on performance in background noise.

Virto Infinio

With the introduction of the Infinio family, Phonak also announced three new models of custom-made in-the-ear hearing aids, all powered by the ERA chip. With Virto Infinio, Phonak has introduced a new biometrical calibration process that results in a detailed map of your outer ear, predicting how sound is altered by the ear before it reaches the hearing aid microphone located near or inside your ear canal. The result, says Phonak, is a minimization of sound leakage and an optimization of sound quality.

Virto Infinio R is Phonak's first-ever rechargeable wireless in-the-ear (ITE) hearing aid which has a cool, modern, hybrid earbud/hearing aid appearance. This custom hearing aid, which comes in 4 technology levels, offers almost all of the features found in the Infinio R RIC, including exceptional sound quality, hearing-in-noise technologies like SmartSpeech, StereoZoom 2.0, and Speech Sensor. Importantly, the device also features twin directional microphones, a motion sensor and tap controls, a pushbutton control, and compatibility with the myPhonak app and Phonak's Roger wireless accessories.

For those looking for a more discreet cosmetic option, the Virto line also includes two even smaller non-wireless, battery-powered hearing aids: the Virto Infinio 10 NW O completely-in-canal (CIC) and Virto Infinio Titanium invisible-in-canal (IIC) hearing aids.

Lyric invisible hearing aids

Placed completely out of sight in your ear canal near the eardrum by a trained professional, the Phonak Lyric 4 is an invisible hearing aid. It's worn round the clock for several months at a time through daily activities including exercise and showering. While traditional hearing aids capture and process sound outside of the ear, Lyric uses the natural anatomy of the ear to amplify and provide a full, natural listening experience.

HearingTracker Audiologist Matthew Allsop provides an update on the latest features and benefits of Phonak Lyric.

Lumity is Phonak's previous generation

Although the spotlight has now been taken over by Infinio, and more precisely by the Infinio Sphere, Phonak's previous Lumity hearing aid line retains its status as a great performer. In fact, we've listed above the shared key features between Lumity and Infinio: universal Bluetooth audio streaming and hands-free calling from most Bluetooth-capable devices, speech in noise enhancement, noise cancelation, motion sensors, tap controls, AI sound scene identification (AutoSense 5.0), and more.

Naída Lumity for profound hearing loss

Naída Lumity is the Behind-the-Ear (BTE) hearing aid Phonak designed for a wider variety of hearing needs. Naída Lumity L-PR is a versatile rechargeable BTE, and Naída L-UP is an ultra-power device with a disposable size 675 battery designed particularly for people with severe to profound hearing loss. Both contain the best advanced Lumity features, although there are some differences. The rechargeable Naída L-PR comes with a motion sensor and tap controls, while the battery-powered Naída L-UP model does not; however, the L-UP comes with a telecoil while the L-PR does not.

Audéo Lumity hearing aids

Audéo Lumity, now superseded by Infinio, is still available to purchase in four Receiver-in-Canal (RIC) form factors, all of which are rechargeable. Lumity R (pictured above) is a rechargeable receiver-in-canal model that comes in a variety of colors from velvet black to sand beige. Lumity RT is similar to R, but adds a telecoil. And Lumity Life is like the R model (no telecoil) but adds much better water resistance—great for those who live in a more humid environment or have a more active lifestyle.

Finally, Lumity Slim was designed to look more like a high-tech communication device than a hearing aid, with a distinct left and right design for a contoured fit behind the ear, even for those who wear glasses.

Phonak Lumity received an "A" SoundScore in HearAdvisor's independent lab testing, and was recognized by the lab as a 2023 Expert Choice Award Winner.

Sky Lumity hearing aids for kids

Phonak also offers Sky Lumity for pediatric hearing loss. These hearing aids feature enhanced connectivity, enabling children to connect with and explore the digital world. Sky L hearing aids are designed to work seamlessly with myPhonak Junior—the only dedicated pediatric app—giving kids control over their hearing aids and lending a sense of ownership and personal connection to their devices. Parents can also utilize the app to monitor wearing time, schedule remote consultations with hearing providers, and set parental controls.

Phonak tinnitus solutions

The Phonak Tinnitus Balance Portfolio helps you manage the ringing, humming and buzzing sounds from tinnitus. Elements of the portfolio include a noise generator option for your hearing aids that distracts you from your tinnitus, a smartphone app that allows you to customize a library of in-ear sounds and music, and a separate accessory that streams sounds directly to your hearing aids.

CROS Infinio for single-sided hearing

The Phonak CROS Infinio offers a practical solution for individuals with unaidable hearing loss in one ear. It provides clear, natural sound by wirelessly transmitting audio from the non-hearing side to the functional ear, making it easier to engage in conversations and navigate daily environments. Designed with durability in mind, this device is built to handle the wear and tear of everyday life, and its fully rechargeable battery ensures reliable, all-day performance.

CROS Infinio offers universal Bluetooth connectivity for seamless integration with smartphones, tablets, and other devices. It incorporates the new ERA chip, giving it improved sound processing and stable wireless connections, enhancing speech clarity and hands-free communication. Keep in mind that CROS Infinio is compatible with Infinio R, but not Infinio Sphere.

Hearing aid accessories

Phonak provides a number of hearing aid accessories that improve hearing aid performance in challenging listening environments, while watching TV, when on the phone, and in numerous other ways. To learn which accessories work with the Phonak hearing aids you wear, consult with your hearing healthcare provider.

Accessories: TV Connector, myPhonak app, PartnerMic™ and RemoteControl

Unless otherwise noted, all Infinio (I) and Lumity (L) family hearing aids are compatible with the TV Connector, myPhonak app, PartnerMic™ and RemoteControl. In the Costco world (Phonak was previously sold there), the PartnerMic™ is referred to as PartnerMic Easy Line, and RemoteControl is referred to as Remote Control Easy Line.

Roger On: The Multipurpose Remote Mic

Struggling to hear in background noise? Hearing aids not helping? Roger On V2 may be the answer. With Phonak's MultiBeam 2.0 technology, Roger On V2 can analyze your environment and deliver clean speech directly to your hearing aids. And with table mode, presenter mode, and pointing mode, Roger On is the most versatile remote microphone on the market—it can handle almost all of the demanding listening situations you throw at it.

Roger Accessories

Phonak offers a strong portfolio of wireless accessories and apps. The wireless Roger portfolio is particularly innovative, with devices like the Roger Table Mic II being standouts in the industry. Multiple Table Mics can be connected to create a network and with a range of more than 20 meters (65 ft). Here are some of our favorites: