Sivantos Signia Styletto Connect
Signia Styletto Connect
From the manufacturer
“The world’s first SLIM-RIC hearwear combines style with high-tech hearing powered by Signia Nx.
Styletto wearers enjoy full-day wearing enabled by unique lithium-ion batteries and charging-on-the-go via our ultra-slim portable charging case.
This delivers an astounding four days* of user autonomy, free from plugs or cables – perfect for a relaxing weekend getaway or an important business trip.
* Based on 16 hours wearing per day
From Us
The Styletto is certainly an interesting product, challenging the way hearing aids should look…
MODEL REVIEWED: Styletto Connect (Premium – RIC style)
OUR VERDICT:
IF you can get a trial first, it could be worth a try. In today’s competitive market, you should be able to negotiate a free trial on all hearing aids. Just ask.
Alternative:
Price: Around £2800 to £3600 for a pair from an established independent practice
APPEARANCE AND FEEL:
(the weight, size, shape, how well it fits ergonomically to the ear; the thickness and flexibility of the wire; the shell construction, quality, finish, IP properties, construction of buttons / switches / battery compartment)
‘What a weird looking thing. The pictures didn’t really do it justice. It’s actually smaller and thinner than I thought.
The charger is super-cute’.
SOUND PRODUCTION:
(tested for how natural sounds are; how owner’s voice sounds; quality of classical and popular amplified music; naturalness of everyday quiet sounds such as indicator click, and loud sounds such as toilet flush, wind)
‘Sounds good. A little brittle, but that might suit some people.’
BACKGROUND NOISE PERFORMANCE:
(how well the instrument appears to cope with the suppression of background noises, such as party speech babble, traffic noise, loud wind noise, car engine sound)
‘Seemed to be excellent, except when the noise got very overpowering.’
EASE OF PROGRAMMING:
(from the audiologist perspective – how easy and user-friendly the programming software is: this can affect the quality of the results for the end-user)
‘The software is great – quite a lot going on, but fine if the audiologist is familiar with it.’
‘The feedback is better controlled than on the previous models.’
MAINTENANCE & RUNNING COSTS:
(cost of out-of-warranty repairs, cost of shell repairs, spare parts, ease of procuring replacement parts, consumables such as domes, wax guards, receiver wires; shell integrity when put under stress)
‘Parts are too expensive, domes are still a clear colour which is a bad idea if one ever comes off loose in your ear, receiver wires are too fiddly.’
OTHER COMMENT:
‘The touchControl App™ is great to use.’
H.A.R. Overall Score – in the Premium range
By RD (May 2019),