Audiology Expert & Founder
Phonak Paradise vs Marvel Hearing Aids
What is the difference between the two ranges?
At launch, both were designed to improve hearing and communication abilities with advanced technology
Phonak Paradise and Phonak Marvel are both brand names for hearing aids manufactured by Phonak, a Swiss company that specialises in hearing solutions. Both Paradise and Marvel hearing aids are designed to improve the hearing and communication abilities of people with hearing loss, and they both offer a range of features and technologies to help users hear better in different environments.
But what are the differences between the two platforms? What's changed and what's better? Let's take a look...
Comparing Phonak Marvel with Phonak Paradise hearing aids
Since Phonak was founded in 1947, they have maintained their goal of developing some great hearing aid technology for the industry. There have also been some world-firsts along the way, such as the first hearing aid to provide connectivity to both iPhone and Android and the first manufacturer to bring multiple Bluetooth connectivities to the table (first seen in Paradise in 2020).
Looking at their most recent hearing aid ranges, since Marvel back in 2018, Phonak's main technology upgrade has predominantly been speech understanding. Even though Marvel was popular with consumers - there was still room for improvement. Paradise trumped Marvel in quite a few areas such as speech enhancement, sound processing with a more powerful chipset and connectivity in general.
How to decide which Phonak hearing solution is right for you
Phonak has launched quite a few hearing aid ranges recently and now Audeo Lumity comes only a few months after their last major product launches (Audeo Life and Audeo Fit). It replaces some of these newly released products and, in short, this launch was a rather unexpected one.
Arguably, these changes seen in Lumity could have just been a free software update to the current Paradise hearing aid models, rather than being introduced as a new model. Now with so many ranges to choose from, it can be hard to understand the differences and decide which hearing solution might suit you better.
Below we have a simple chart that outlines the main differences between Phonak Paradise and other latest hearing aid ranges with Marvel. Showing you the features they offer and whether they are worthy successors.
Hearing Aid Comparison Chart
Phonak Paradise Versus Phonak Marvel Hearing Aids
SmartSpeech Technology | Phonak Lumity | Phonak Paradise | Phonak Marvel | Phonak Belong | Phonak Venture |
| AutoSense OS | 5.0 | 4.0 | 3.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 |
| StereoZoom 2.0 | Tech Levels 90 & 70 | No | No | No | No |
| StereoZoom | Tech Levels 90 & 70 | Tech Levels 90 & 70 | Tech Levels 90 & 70 | Tech Levels 90 & 70 | Tech Levels 90 & 70 |
| Dynamic Noise Cancellation | Tech Levels 90 & 70 | Tech Level 90 | No | No | No |
| SpeechSensor | Tech Level 90 | No | No | No | No |
| Motion Sensor Hearing | Tech Levels 90, 70 & 50 | Tech Levels 90, 70 & 50 | No | No | No |
| Speech Enhancer | Tech Level 90 | Tech Level 90 | No | No | No |
What did our customers think when comparing Paradise with Marvel?
Since the launch of Paradise, we have had some useful feedback from our customers who have worn Phonak Marvel hearing aids and have now upgraded to Paradise. All in all, Paradise has advanced on what Marvel did right and improved on what needed focus.
But, what improvements did they notice? What worked better? Did they think Marvel's successor was worth it? Below we look at the main categories of the most noticeable differences.
The Paradise sound
Customers have commented that the overall sound of Paradise was more natural than Marvel and that included their own voice. There were a few people who found soft speech easier to hear with the Speech Enhancer feature. It is worth noting that, in both cases, this seemed to be the same for those who didn't opt for the premium performance level.
We've heard from customers that they have seen a noticeable difference in their hearing when in challenging listening environments. This is also true for the lower performance levels. In such times as these, they've made use of the signal-to-noise ratio booster with the Dynamic Noise Cancellation feature.
Why might you need this? This would be handy if you needed an extra boost in challenging environments, so your hearing aids would assist you more effectively. This might be set by your audiologist, knowing your unique needs in such environments or you can activate it as and when you need that boost on the go.
The Paradise sound also has better clarity in movement, than Marvel, with the Motion Sensor technology. Why is this a good thing? In instances when you are walking and talking at the same time, the sensors allow you to access sound and speech on the go. This is also without the annoyance of turning your head to hear who you are talking to.
Paradise's Bluetooth quality
The Paradise Bluetooth technology was said to be more stable and reliable than Marvel, which back then, brought a few issues surrounding mobile phone connections. Even those customers who have been using the two Bluetooth connections at the same time feature noted that the connection was a seamless transition.
Why is this beneficial? Well, it's all about the convenience of switching between your favourite devices at home faster and easier. You pair a device to your hearing aids and then it's stored - no fuss and no reconnecting.
Connecting this way means that when you are streaming audio on your laptop you can answer calls without any problems. This is also great if you have both a personal and work mobile phone and wanted to access them simultaneously without having to switch your Bluetooth on and off each one.
However, the new tap control, first featured in Paradise, brought mixed feelings. Some people said it worked straight away, whilst others commented that the feature was too sensitive. For instance, one scenario was that the voice assistant would start when an ear was scratched.
I can relate to this, as there have been times when I've used earbuds to play music, whilst running in winter, and when my hat touched the earbuds the tap control feature would stop the music or turn the volume up. This is still a very new feature, so we are sure this will be developed to be more successful for all users in time.
Paradise versus Marvel - In conclusion
Ultimately, the best choice between Phonak Paradise and Phonak Marvel hearing aids will depend on the individual's specific hearing needs and preferences. It is important to consult with a hearing healthcare professional to determine the best solution for your individual needs.
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Common FAQs when researching hearing aids and hearing loss
If you are looking at this page then it is likely that an audiologist has suggested that you purchase this particular hearing aid, so is this the best model for you?
In general, any audiologist will always be recommending to you the model that best suits your needs. Here is a useful check list to make sure that is the case.
- Audiologist level of knowledge. The audiologist you have seen will hopefully have a wide knowledge of all available hearing aids, however some will only be familiar with a small number of brands and therefore may not really be in a position to know which model is the best for you. It is OK to challenge their recommendation and ask them to justify why this particular brand is the one for you.
- Do research. Read about the hearing aid that was recommended. Does it seem like it will suit your lifestyle? Does it have more or less features than you need?
- Be aware of sales targets. Many high street retailers have specific tie-ins to a particular manufacturer/brand. The hearing aid they have suggested may still be the correct one for you, but do your research so that you know why they might have recommended it.
If in doubt, feel free to give us a call. That's what we're here for.
If you have a significant hearing loss in both ears, you should be wearing two hearing aids. Here are the audiological reasons why:
Localisation. The brain decodes information from both ears and compares and contrasts them. By analysing the miniscule time delays as well as the difference in loudness of each sound reaching the ears, the person is able to accurately locate a sound source. Simply put, if you have better hearing on one side than the other, you can't accurately tell what direction sounds are coming from.
Less amplification required. A phenomena known as “binaural summation” means that the hearing aids can be set at a lower and more natural volume setting than than if you wore only one hearing aid.
Head shadow effect. High frequencies, the part of your hearing that gives clarity and meaning to speech sounds, cannot bend around your head. Only low frequencies can. Therefore if someone is talking on your unaided side you are likely to hear that they are speaking, but be unable to tell what they have said.
Noise reduction. The brain has it’s own built in noise reduction which is only really effective when it is receiving information from both ears. If only one ear is aided, even with the best hearing aid in the world, it will be difficult for you to hear in background noise as your brain is trying to retain all of the sounds (including background noise) rather than filtering it out.
Sound quality. We are designed to hear in stereo. Only hearing from one side sounds a lot less natural to us.
For most people, the main benefit of a rechargeable hearing aid is simple convenience. We are used to plugging in our phones and other devices overnight for them to charge up.
For anybody with poor dexterity or issues with their fingers, having a rechargeable aid makes a huge difference as normal hearing aid batteries are quite small and some people find them fiddly to change.
One downside is that if you forget to charge your hearing aid, then it is a problem that can't be instantly fixed. For most a 30 minute charge will get you at least two or three hours of hearing, but if you are the type of person who is likely to forget to plug them in regularly then you're probably better off with standard batteries.
Rechargeable aids are also a little bit bigger and are only available in behind the ear models.
Finally, just like with a mobile phone, the amount of charge you get on day one is not going to be the same as you get a few years down the line. Be sure to ask what the policy is with the manufacturer warranty when it comes to replacing the battery.
For most people, the answer is yes. But it's never that simple.
The majority of hearing problems affect the high frequencies a lot more than the low ones. Therefore open fitting hearing aids sound a lot more natural and ones that block your ears up can make your own voice sound like you are talking with your head in a bucket. Therefore in-ear aids tend to be less natural.
However the true answer is we can't tell until we have had a look in your ears to assess the size of your ear canal, and until we have tested your hearing to see which frequencies are being affected.
People with wider ear canals tend to have more flexibility, also there are open fitting modular CIC hearing aids now that do not block your ears.
There is also the age old rule to consider, that a hearing aid will not help you if it's sat in the drawer gathering dust. If the only hearing aid you would be happy wearing is one that people can't see, then that's what you should get.
Most people can adapt to any type of hearing aid, as long as they know what to expect. Have an honest conversation with your audiologist as to what your needs are.
Generally speaking, six or more. Unless it's none at all.
The number of channels a hearing aid has is often a simplistic way an audiologist will use to explain why one hearing aid is better than another, but channels are complex and it is really not that straightforward.
Hearing aids amplify sounds of different frequencies by different amounts. Most people have lost more high frequencies than low and therefore need more amplification in the high frequencies. The range of sounds you hear are split into frequency bands or channels and the hearing aids are set to provide the right amount of hearing at each frequency level.
Less than six channels and this cannot be done with much accuracy, so six is the magic number. However, a six channel aid is typically very basic with few other features and is suitable only for hearing a single speaker in a quiet room. The number of channels is not what you should be looking at, it's more the rest of the technology that comes with them.
As a final note, different manufacturers have different approaches. One method is not necessarily better than any other. For example some manufacturers have as many as 64 channels in their top aids. Most tend to have between 17 and 20. One manufacturer has no channels at all.
Hearing aids are easily lost, misplaced or damaged and typically are one of the most expensive personal possessions an individual can own. We offer hearing aid warranty cover for £80 per year per aid. Find out more here
All our audiologists use the very latest technology and provide the full range of tests to accurately measure your hearing for free. Find out about what we offer all our customers here
Hearing Aid UK offers all their customers free home visiting services and home visits for hearing aids - Including hearing tests, fittings, maintenance, check-ups and much more in the comfort of your own home and at your convenience. Find out more information here
Here, at Hearing Aid UK, we are dedicated to offering low hearing aid prices. We achieve this by having no head office and low marketing costs. Our hearing aid prices are amongst the lowest you will find anywhere in the world.
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When we refer to a product as 'New', we mean that the product is the newest hearing aid model on the market.
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