Patient: "When will the Phonak Audeo Sphere Infinio i90 CROS hearing aid be available, please?
Me: "Hi, thank you for contacting us. A CROS unit for Phonak Infinio Sphere is not on the horizon for now, especially since a standard Infinio i90 CROS has already been introduced. Based on our experience and the market trend Phonak might be focusing on satisfying the demand for the Infinio platform in the next 12 months as a top priority before it introduces any additional form factor (such as CROS for Sphere).
Patient: "Many thanks for your prompt reply. Based on that would you say that it would be worth the wait ie 12 months or should I consider the infinio i90 cross?"
Me: "Hi again, you need to be cautious about the 12 months. That figure is just a wild guess based on the past experience. We asked the same question from Phonak but no one has received a response from them yet. Waiting for a Phonak Infinio Sphere CROS or going with Standard Infinio CROS is a lifestyle and priority decision. Some factors to consider are how comfortable and happy you are with your current CROS system,
how much exposure you have to a loud environment that needs better speech intelligibility, your budget, and so on."
"If you are reasonably happy with your current CROS system then you may decide to wait for a Sphere CROS to become available. If you are unhappy with your current CROS system you may want to consider the Infinio CROS knowing that within the next 12-24 months a Sphere CROS may become available."
"The other factor is your lifestyle. If you often find yourself having a conversation in a very noisy environment then Sphere is for you so you better wait for Phonak Sphere CROS to become available."
"I have patients who don't like the size of the Sphere (especially females with small ears), and some other patients who based on their age, lifestyle and priorities do not find themselves in noisy environments much. These patients are quite satisfied with the standard Phonak Audeo Infinio for its better sound (vs Lumity and Paradise) and more stable Bluetooth."
If you work in exhibitions, events, conferences, dining hospitality or entertainment then waiting for Phonak Sphere CROS makes more sense. Another possibility is that Phonak may never release a CROS model for Sphere."
"From a product development point of view, Sphere is Phonak's first attempt at artificial intelligence and deep neural networks. Since the standard Audeo Infinio already has a CROS system, Phonak's product development pathway for Sphere may have other priorities on their list such as getting a longer battery life for Sphere, or making it smaller which will result in more market acceptance that would bring in more benefits to the user and the company."
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