The loss of a person’s ability to hear is common as we age, yet there is a shocking lack of innovation in the hearing aid industry. Oftentimes people are also too embarrassed to use a hearing aid product, especially if it doesn’t work that well, and they end up ditching it. But if they really end up not using a hearing aid product, their hearing ability might even depreciate more over time. This is why it is important to use a hearing aid if your natural hearing is a challenge for you, but that only makes sense if the product you choose is actually working well. Today we want to introduce to you the Widex MOMENT and share our testing results with you in this review of a modern hearing aid solution.
How did we test the Widex MOMENT?
First of all, I want to assure you that we didn’t just plug this in and give it a try. For the test and review period, we worked together with a person who is challenged by hearing and relies on a hearing aid to enjoy the full quality of life. We simply assumed that it would make much more sense than just giving it a technical check, and the results of doing it like this appear to be much more value-adding.
The test period was also extended from a few days to a few weeks to make sure the Widex MOMENT could be tested in all kinds of situations and environments. With all this testing, we could make sure to give you optimal insight into how the product performs.
What’s interesting about the Widex MOMENT?
The Danish company Widex (WS Audiology A/S) was founded in 1956 and is a pioneer of digital hearing aids. They introduced the world’s first commercially available 100% digital in-the-ear hearing aid as early as 1995. Ever since, they have grown to become one of the world’s six largest hearing aid manufacturers. In 2020 they introduced the Widex MOMENT as the smallest rechargeable lithium-ion hearing aid on the market that incorporated AI technology to deliver a natural sound to the user.
When you receive your Widex MOMENT, you are instantly able to tell that they added a lot of accessories to come with the actual hearing aid units. You get all the cables, plugs, filters, batteries, a charging unit, and a box to keep it all protected from harm as well. The manual and some other information material were only in the English language, which might be a challenge for some, but should not be a problem for native speakers, of course.
As a pioneer of digital technology, Widex naturally also offers its users an app that allows you to pair your hearing aid units and fine-tune them. You could also make use of presets and swap the configuration based on your type of environment and activity to optimize your hearing quality accordingly. However, one thing to note down here is that the app doesn’t work with all Android versions.
For instance, because Huawei uses a special version of Android OS, they changed some aspects in their build that somehow caused issues during the test on Huawei smartphones which resulted in the app not being able to pair and connect the Widex MOMENT hearing aid units. If you’re an Android user, you should either try to stick to a stock version of Android OS or try to test it out first if it all works with your phone. We are not aware of any issues with iOS, and it worked fine on other Android smartphones made by companies other than Huawei.
Do the fitting with a local expert
If you are interested in testing the device you can make an appointment with a local hearing care professional (HCP) to help you with the initial configuration of the Widex MOMENT. This will help to ensure everything works perfectly fine with your Advancements in Hearing Aid Technology, and generally, the HCP will make sure you get the maximum hearing quality out of the product. This is a required procedure for hearing aids.
Most hearing aids will be bought in consultation with HCPs, and they will also step you through the fitting process. This is not just the case for Widex products. This is the case for most, if not all, hearing aid solutions. If you require help or support later on you can also use the Widex Remote Link and the Widex Remote Care app to get a remote expert to check into your configuration and make sure everything is right.
We were also lucky enough to see a software update during our test period and are happy to report that the process went through very smoothly, very easily. The units only had to be re-paired again after the update was completed. Even though our tester is not a technical expert and not a native English speaker, he was able to do all of this on his own. It is fair to say that the Widex MOMENT is designed to work fine not only for people with a deeper understanding of technology but for all sorts of people who simply seek to improve their quality of life through innovative hearing aids.
Summary
The Widex MOMENT solution for digital hearing aid does not only work, it works great. As a matter of fact, our tester clearly stated it was the best he had tried yet. The technology supports your hearing experience but does not make it harder to use just because it’s digital or because it can connect to your smartphone. Based on our test, we are confident to recommend anybody with a hearing impairment to try out the Widex MOMENT solution for better hearing.
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The only thing left to check now is the question of the price. Since the product is not just available from random shops, the price may vary depending on your location, but I believe they all range from around $1,500 to $3,500. While that might sound like a lot to some, high-end hearing aids often can cost $8,000 or even more. In some cases, it’s also worth checking with your health insurance if they might even cover it fully or at least partially. Certainly a more than fair price in comparison to the solution of other companies.
Photo credit: All media shown is owned by Widex.
