I’ve been a full-time hearing aid user for many years. I started wearing aids after an injury to my ears while serving in the Navy.
I am also the CEO of hearing clinics in the Tampa Bay area of Florida. My Audiology Doctors work with all 6 of the major hearing aid manufacturers. I am the first to sample their new product releases before we decide to offer those models to our 20,000 patients. All these manufacturers are improving the sound quality of their newest hearing aids with noticeable advances in technology with each new generation.
Starkey just released their new line of Genesis AI hearing aids, so I was eager to test them out. I am an iPhone user and Starkey originally designed their Bluetooth connections around the iPhone operating system.
I could go into the minute technical details about Genesis aids such as fall alerts, health tracking, personalized phone app and superior music sound. But I was more interested in how Genesis AI 24 would sound in the real world. I always want to experience what my patients experience with new technology in real life situations.
Let me get straight to the point of my review. Starkey Genesis hearing aids have a wow factor that I have not heard in other new technologies. For example, I’ve been traveling a lot, so I expect the road noise, air conditioner fan noise and radio music to mask a passenger’s voice. The first time I experienced that situation while wearing the Genesis the speech of the passenger came through effortlessly and clearly. My immediate thought was, WOW! How did Starkey do that? Everything sounds so natural with understandable sound quality, especially in noise.
I really don’t use phone apps very much to control my aids. With my iPhone’s native controls, I can adjust the Genesis’s volume and Bluetooth transmission of music and phone calls without opening the app. The RIC model that I’m wearing has an ear level toggle switch that also allows me to adjust the aids without the app. The rechargeable battery lasted for a full two days of use, but I would not recommend that. For long term health of the rechargeable batteries, the aids should be put in the charger every night or when not in use.
Congratulations Starkey. All your long hours of research and design have resulted in an amazing hearing device worthy of accolades and awards.
