Phonak Lumity Life Rechargeable DEAD after 1.5 years use

Hearing Aids
1

I won’t blame this on the Phonaks being rechargeable, but today, one of my two pairs of Lumity Life aids DIED. No warning. No low battery beep. Just all of a sudden at 6pm, the RIGHT aid stopped working completely. I don’t know if this is a speaker failure, or if the BTE bean has died or some combination, but there is NO sound going in that aid at all.

Oddly, I can still turn the aid ON and OFF. The light comes on green when it’s ON, but zero sound goes in the aid. I can turn the aid OFF and see the red light, too. I’ve got the pair in their charging cradle just to make certain, but my guess is, that right aid is toast.

I bought this pair of Lumity Life rechargeables just 1.5 yrs ago - ironically as a backup for the first pair of Lumity Life rechargeable aids I’d bought the month before. I needed TWO pairs of these rechargeable aids cuz I’d only get 11-12 hours of use per day. After updating my Android OS to 13 (it’s on 14 now), I was getting a whopping 17.5 hrs per day until just a week or so ago.

Suddently, the first pair of rechargeable Life aids went to 13 hrs a day. I pinged my audi and was all set to drop them off so she could send them in to Phonak for battery unit replacement (a good 1.5 YRS before the warranty is up!). But THANK GOD I hadn’t dropped them off yet, cuz just today the right aid on the backups DIED.

So here we are. I need TWO pairs of stoopid rechargeable aids just to get through my normal 16-hr day. I now have to get the backups in ASAP so they are working, then send in my original pair so the battery unit can be replaced. If this isn’t double-trouble, what is?

I’m not saying that battery powered aids never fail, but it seems strange that BOTH rechargeable aids need to be sent in right now, so I effectively have no backup aids and will have to dig out my good ol’ Marvel size 13 battery aids for use for a few weeks.

Is there something wrong with this picture? How could so much needed redundancy result in problematic redundancy? It seems that the rechargeable aids have failed WAY before their 3-yr warranty. I’ve had these just 1.5 yrs now.

I would love to just buy the new 312 Lumity Life aids to use day-to-day, but can’t justify a THIRD pair of identical aids. On top of which there is no trade-in on these pathetic rechargeables.

I’m lucky to be retired, cuz in NO WAY could I be on a job with no working aids.

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2

I don’t think your right HA failed. You obviously still can switch it on and off.
My guess is that the wax guard is clogged.
Or the receiver needs to be replaced. Easy done!

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I only joined these forums a few months ago but I’ve seen your other discussions about your experiences with your HAs and you are far more patient about your ongoing issues with the rechargable batteries than I would have been! This does seem to be the worst case scenario too. I wish I had some helpful advice but all I can give is my sympathy and best of luck to getting fast replacements :confused:

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4

Not sure this is a charging issue.

18-months for a wax/moisture issue killing a receiver is fair wear and tear for some users.

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I would imagine @1Bluejay if it’s not the wax guards, then your receivers are blown, especially so, with your level of loss… My old Marvel RIC’s where maxed out (I still have them) they still work fine, I am wearing them just now as I have an ear infection, and they don’t irritate it… If you swap out your other receiver’s, from your spare set, you will instantly know if that is indeed the problem? If the lights on the aids are functioning, then I would say the aids are not goosed… If you install the MyPhonak app on your phone, this will tell you if the aids are working, I know you have some issues with apps, but you can install, then uninstall, once you have checked the aids? Personally, my Marvel RIC receivers, would perhaps last 10 or 11 months, before they would blow, so I always had a new set of custom receivers made up for this eventuality, a PITA, but needs must… Good Luck, in finding a solution. Cheers Kev :wink:

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I’m putting money on this as well! I go in to see my dear audi in a couple hours. I think she can swap in a new receiver and I’ll be good to go! BLESS HER. Will come back and post the outcome later on…

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I also wondered if the POWER I need to keep these puppies going is simply beating them to death too soon - way faster than others’ aids may go? I’ll bring that up with my audi today.

Also intriguing is your idea to have a couple receivers on hand. Are they easy to just snap in? I would SO do that! Do I need to have the settings redone, or is all that part of the BTE “bean”? I am shamelessly clueless about the basic operation here, but perhaps these are just “dumb” speaker/receivers on the ends of the RIE?

Will ask my audi! And thanks ONE AND ALL for the suggestions! I think I’ve got a fix now.

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8

Yep. I don’t think it’s either wax or charging. The aids are clearly charging up, but it’s likely the receiver up and croaked on me.

My ears are dry as the Gobi dessert! I never have visible wax in my ears or need to change out the wax guards more than maybe once a year?

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9

They do just ‘die’, sometimes it’s a visible wire break, sometimes they just short out in the receiver casing, sometimes the receiver drive rod weld fails and they go ‘chattery’ first.

It’s based on the fact that the diaphragm moves 50-10,000 times a second for their working lives. So regard them as a longer term consumable.

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I have to change my wax guards frequently (every week) on my Phonak Paradise P90’s. Same wax guard I think. Every time I change them I hear better.
I have Power domes on the receivers.

I hope your problem is solved by the time you read this.

DaveL

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11

Yeah @1Bluejay, tis fairly simple, there are 3 prongs, the small pin at the top of the aids, releases the receiver wire, connected to the prongs… I use a small tool, it is for changing watch straps… Hopefully you are sorted now :smile: Cheers Kev.

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@Um_bongo Thanks for the info on receivers being a consumable item. I had always thought of them being able to last as long as the main body.

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Yeah. We’d usually expect to change them at least a couple of times in the life of an aid. Then there’s people who fiddle with them or have extra wax……

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My audiologist recommends replacing the receiver on an annual basis.

Since they’re free as part of my agreement, I’m happy to oblige.

15

The life model doesn’t even have a pin, it’s just friction fit.

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Hmmm, could that friction fit just be loose in her aid causing the issue?
Maybe sliding it in and out a couple times might get it going again.

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Thank you for that clarification @Neville, having never actually knowingly seen the life model, up close and personal, I stand corrected (again :blush:) I have only ever had one set of RIC’s, the Marvel 90’s, I assumed (wrongly) the life aids would be similar… Cheers Kev :upside_down_face:

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18

Maaaaybe? Probably not.

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19

Turns out that even swapping a NEW receiver into the aid yesterday didn’t fix the problem, my audi is sending both aids back to Phonak for repair/replacement. Glad they are under warranty another 1.5 yrs.

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Are you SWIMMING again :wink:

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