Phonak Audéo Infinio Ultra Sphere

If your TV supports Bluetooth audio output—and most TVs from the last 5 years do—you can pair your Sphere hearing aids to your TV. However, Phonak doesn’t recommend this, as users often experience excessive battery drain. For better sound quality, a more reliable connection, and reduced battery drain, Phonak suggests using their TV Connector accessory (shown below on this page). This small device plugs into your TV’s audio output, typically via the optical out port, and streams sound wirelessly to your hearing aids. A notable feature of the TV Connector is that you can control the volume in your hearing aids independently from the TV’s speakers. This allows you to adjust the volume to your preferred listening level without affecting the volume for others in the room.

Yes, Phonak was the first brand to implement this technology in 2017. That makes Audéo Sphere their fifth generation hearing aid to have this feature, and it shows. Hands-free calling is simple to use, and it essentially turns the hearing aids into a wireless headset. When you have an incoming call, you will hear the phone ringing through the hearing aids. With the tap of a button on the hearing aid (or by accepting the call on the phone) you can then answer the call and just start talking—you will hear the caller through both hearing aids. You can keep your phone in your pocket, or even on the other side of the room, and your voice will be picked up by the microphones on the hearing aids so the caller can hear you. This feature works best in quiet environments. If you use hands-free calling when you're outdoors or in a noisy environment, the caller on the other end may say you sound like you're on speakerphone. If you’re ever struggling to hear the caller over background noise in your environment, Phonak has included a nice feature in the app called Environmental Balance. While on the call, you can open the app and use this feature to adjust streamed signal volume against the surrounding environment volume. The call can be ended either traditionally on the phone or with a long push on the push button.

As of the August 2024 release, Phonak Audéo Sphere Infinio uses Bluetooth 5.3 and is compatible with nearly all tablets and phones for the direct streaming of music, phone calls, and more. You can check your device compatibility with Sphere hearing aids here. Sphere hearing aids are also Auracast™-ready. Auracast is a new Bluetooth feature that will allow multiple devices—like hearing aids—to share an audio stream. In the coming years, as public venues like airports and theaters install Auracast transmitters, that means Sphere users will be able to stream that venue’s audio directly into their hearing aids. When Phonak is ready to enable the Auracast feature in these hearing aids, it will require a visit to your hearing care provider’s office for a firmware update. We believe—though we haven’t received a clear answer yet—that when this update happens, Sphere hearing aids will also be upgraded to use the Bluetooth LE Audio specification.

Yes. All Audéo Sphere Infinio models can pair directly to Roger devices. In most cases we’d recommend the Roger On 3 device (read more on that below), as we’ve found it to be the most versatile Roger device that meets most of the needs and use cases of our customers.

We wish there were a clear answer, but battery life depends on several factors. It can be affected by how hard your hearing aids are working, which depends on your level of hearing loss and the acoustic environments you’re in. It can also be influenced by how much (if any) Bluetooth streaming you do (like from your phone or TV).In general, based on reports from our customers, here’s what you can expect: assuming your hearing aids were fully charged the night before and that you don’t do any Bluetooth streaming, you can expect 20–24 hours of battery life. Phonak reports that with 3 hours of Bluetooth streaming a day, you’ll still get around 16 hours of power. We have heard from our customers that, in general, an hour of Bluetooth streaming reduces battery life by about 2.5 hours. So if you consider that the default battery life with no streaming is about 24 hours, 1 hour of streaming should leave you with 21.5 hours.But wait—it gets trickier! The Audéo Infinio Ultra Sphere is the most power-hungry hearing aid Phonak has ever made, thanks to the computational power of the deep neural network (DNN). The battery will drain at a faster pace than normal when you’re in noisy environments. For this reason, we recommend keeping a close eye on your battery charge status (available inside the myPhonak app) before entering a noisy situation. If you’re going to be in a noisy environment for several hours, we suggest ensuring your hearing aids have at least a 40% charge before entering.

Chargers for earlier Phonak models used to include space for a desiccant/dehumidifier puck. In recent years, including with the Audéo Sphere, Phonak chargers no longer offer this option. Phonak explains this is because the newer models are IP68-rated, meaning they can technically withstand complete submersion in water, so regular exposure to moisture, sweat, and humidity will not affect the hearing aids. If you are concerned about this, you could consider something like the PerfectDry Lux (download info here), a dehumidifier that, within 45 minutes, removes moisture and uses a UV-C lamp designed to sanitize the hearing aids with ultraviolet (UV) light. This accessory can be ordered through your Phonak provider.

This is totally normal for Phonak hearing aids and has been for several generations of products. One of your hearing aids actually establishes the initial Bluetooth connection with your phone/tablet/etc, and then relays the audio stream and other information to the other hearing aid. Whichever hearing aid makes that initial Bluetooth connection will drain slightly faster than the other aid.

Phonak says they will last at least 5 years. Based on past reports from our customers who used previous generation Phonak models, we think that's a bit optimistic and would recommend counting on 3–4 years. The battery is built into the hearing aid, so when it needs to be replaced, your hearing care provider will ship the hearing aid to Phonak and Phonak will replace the battery. Most people have a 3-year warranty with their hearing aids, so by the time the battery needs to be replaced, that is unfortunately outside the warranty period. This means Phonak charges your hearing provider, and your provider passes that charge along to you. Expect that price to be somewhere in the range of $150–$300.