ReSound offers the Sensia hearing aid in four technology levels: 9, 7, 5, and 4. They share many of the same core features, but higher levels add more advanced sound processing and tools for hearing speech in challenging environments.
The biggest differences are apparent when speech and background noise compete for your attention.
Summary of differences:
- Sensia 9 has ReSound’s most advanced sound processing and is the only level that gives you access to its highest-level AI-based speech-in-noise technology in the rechargeable microRIE.
- Sensia 7 keeps many advanced speech and noise-management features, but without the top-level AI processing.
- Sensia 5 provides the core Sensia experience with fewer sound-processing options used in complex environments.
- Sensia 4 is the entry technology level, with fewer noise-management features but many of the same basic connectivity and fitting capabilities.
Prescription Hearing currently offers the ReSound Sensia Micro RIE 4, 5, 7, and 9 for sale online with free U.S. shipping, a 60-day risk-free trial, and a 3-year warranty.
The best performance level isn’t automatically the highest number. The right fit depends on your hearing loss, the places where you need to hear well, and whether the additional technology helps with problems you actually experience.
ReSound Sensia 9 vs. 7 vs. 5 vs. 4 at a glance
Here are the features and differences that matter most when comparing the Sensia technology levels.
| Feature | Sensia 9 | Sensia 7 | Sensia 5 | Sensia 4 |
| Overall technology level | Highest | Advanced | Mid-level | Entry level |
| Processing channels | 17 | 14 | 12 | 12 |
| Noise Tracker II | 5 settings | 4 settings | 3 settings | 2 settings |
| Wind noise reduction | 3 settings | 3 settings | 2 settings | 2 settings |
| Impulse noise reduction | 3 settings | 3 settings | 2 settings | 2 settings |
| Advanced speech-in-noise tools | Most extensive | More advanced | More limited | Most limited |
| Bluetooth/Auracast | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| ReSound Smart 3D app | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Four listening programs | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| IP68 rating | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
There are 17 processing channels for level 9, 14 for level 7, and 12 each for levels 5 and 4. Also note progressively fewer Noise Tracker II settings as you move down the range.
Dialing in to the specific differences is important. It would be an oversimplification to say Sensia 4 has “less power” than Sensia 9. Rather, the technology levels define how much processing the hearing aids can use to analyze sound, reduce unwanted noise, emphasize speech, and adapt to different environments.
What do ReSound Sensia technology levels mean?
Hearing aid manufacturers commonly offer several technology levels for the same product family.
Higher levels generally give your audiologist more tools to work with, and give the hearing aids more sophisticated ways to respond when listening gets difficult. That makes a much bigger difference in a crowded restaurant than it does in a quiet room talking with one other person.
A higher technology level doesn’t necessarily mean the hearing aid can treat more severe hearing loss. Any ReSound Sensia technology level can be paired with different receiver strengths, including LP, MP, HP, and UP (low, medium, high, and ultra power).
The 9/7/5/4 technology level describes the sound-processing features. The LP/MP/HP/UP receiver determines how much acoustic output the hearing aid can provide. Those are separate choices. The best technology level and receiver strength depend on your audiogram and hearing needs.
ReSound Sensia 9: the most advanced technology level
Sensia 9 is the highest technology level in the Sensia family.
Its main advantage isn’t just having the most processing channels. It has ReSound’s most sophisticated tools for separating the speech you want to hear from competing sounds.
The Sensia platform introduced ReSound’s Deep Neural Network (DNN) technology. A DNN is a form of artificial intelligence trained on large amounts of sound data so the hearing aid can better distinguish useful speech from surrounding noise. Our audiologist’s Resound hearing aid review describes it this way: DNN automatically adapts to the listening environment to make it easier for you to focus on speech.
New to all Sensia 9 over-the-ear models is DNN technology powers Intelligent All-Around, ReSound’s highest-level speech-in-noise feature.
Sensia 9 gives you:
- 17 processing channels for detailed professional fine-tuning
- Five levels of Noise Tracker II
- ReSound’s more advanced environmental processing
- Three levels each of wind, impulse-noise, and expansion processing
- The broadest set of speech-in-noise tools in the Sensia family
Who benefits most from Sensia 9?
Sensia 9 makes the most sense when challenging listening situations are a regular part of your life.
That could include someone who:
- Frequently eats in busy restaurants
- Regularly attends meetings, classes, clubs, worship services, or community events
- Has trouble following conversation at family gatherings
- Needs to understand speech when several people are talking
- Works or volunteers in changing listening environments
- Wants the greatest amount of automatic sound processing available in the Sensia line
The added technology won’t make as much of a noticeable difference if most of your conversations happen one-on-one in quiet places.
ReSound Sensia 9 vs. 7
For many hearing aid shoppers, Sensia 9 vs. Sensia 7 is the most important comparison.
They’re both higher-level Sensia hearing aids. The key distinction is how aggressively and precisely each can handle difficult sound.
Sensia 9 gives you 17 processing channels instead of 14, five Noise Tracker II settings instead of four, access to ReSound’s highest-level sound-processing features, and DNN-powered Intelligent All-Around.
Sensia 7 still includes advanced directional and noise-management tools designed to help you focus on speech in busy environments. The main step up with Sensia 9 is it can do more of that work automatically and with greater precision with Intelligent All-Around, which uses AI-based processing to help separate speech from surrounding noise. Sensia 7 uses 360 All-Around, which emphasizes speech coming from in front of you (but doesn’t have the same top-level AI processing).
The question isn’t whether Sensia 7 is “good enough.” It’s whether you’re routinely in listening situations where the additional processing in Sensia 9 would be useful, and worth the extra cost.
In practical terms, Sensia 7 is still a strong choice for restaurants, groups, and other moderately noisy settings. But Sensia 9 adds more advanced processing for people who regularly struggle with complex background noise and want their hearing aids to do more automatically.
ReSound Sensia 7 vs. 5
The difference between Sensia 5 and Sensia 7 is also a meaningful one.
A step up from Sensia 5, Sensia 7 increases the number of processing channels from 12 to 14 and gives the hearing aids more noise-reduction capability. It also adds a higher level of speech-in-noise processing:
- Sensia 7: 360 All-Around, four Noise Tracker II settings and three impulse-noise-reduction settings
- Sensia 5: All Access Directionality, three Noise Tracker II settings and two impulse-noise-reduction settings
In everyday terms, Sensia 7 has more capability for situations where sound is changing around you or competing voices make conversation harder to follow.
Sensia 5 is still a solid option for someone whose listening needs are pretty predictable, and who doesn’t spend much time in challenging background noise.
ReSound Sensia 5 vs. 7 vs. 9
Another way to think about these three commonly compared levels is by the amount of listening complexity you experience in daily life.
Sensia 5: Core everyday performance
Sensia 5 is a good fit for someone who spends much of their day in relatively quieter or more predictable environments, for example:
- Conversations at home
- Television
- Small groups
- Quieter restaurants
- Routine errands
- Occasional (rather than frequent) noisy events
You still get the Sensia platform, Bluetooth connectivity, Auracast support, app control and professional programming. You’re just opting out of some of the more sophisticated processing that kicks in when noise and speech get complicated.
Sensia 7: Better performance in complex environments
Sensia 7 makes sense if you regularly move between home, restaurants, groups, meetings and other moderately challenging sound environments, but don’t necessarily need every premium processing feature.
Compared with Sensia 5, the Sensia 7 gives you more processing channels, another level of noise reduction and additional speech-in-noise capability.
Sensia 9: Maximum help for difficult listening situations
Sensia 9 is best for people who want access to everything ReSound offers in the Sensia platform.
This technology level is most relevant when your listening environment is often difficult. Think: multiple voices, significant background noise, changing sound sources or bustling social interactions.
If these are the scenes where hearing loss affects you most, and you’re in them regularly, Sensia 9 is most likely to make a difference for you.
What about ReSound Sensia 4?
Sensia 4 sometimes receives less attention because most comparisons concentrate on the 5, 7 and 9. But Sensia 4 has 12 processing channels, the same as Sensia 5!
The difference is that level 4 offers fewer options for how the hearing aid reduces steady background noise. ReSound’s Noise Tracker II is designed to identify ongoing background sounds like HVAC hum or road noise, and reduce them without suppressing speech. Sensia 4 has just two levels for that adjustment (compared with three on Sensia 5, four on Sensia 7, and five on Sensia 9).
Sensia 4 is a good fit if you want the advantages of the Sensia platform for the lowest cost, and your day-to-day listening environments are generally manageable.
What features do all ReSound Sensia levels share?
ReSound Sensia hearing aids of all technology levels share several core capabilities, including:
- Bluetooth Auracast
- Direct audio streaming with compatible iOS and Android devices
- ReSound Smart 3D app compatibility
- TV-Streamer+, Multi-Mic+ and Remote Control compatibility
- Remote fine-tuning and updates
- ReSound Assist and ReSound Assist Live
- Four flexible listening programs
- Ear-to-ear communication
- Tinnitus Sound Generator
- DFS Ultra III feedback management
- IP68 protection
So if streaming, Auracast or app control are your main priorities, you don’t necessarily need a higher technology level to get those features.
Will you actually hear a difference between technology levels?
Possibly. But the difference won’t be equally obvious to everyone, since each person’s hearing loss is unique.
Think about where your hearing aids struggle most. If your biggest challenge is hearing one person clearly in a quiet room, going up a technology level will have less obvious benefit than it would for someone who regularly struggles to hear in restaurants, large groups and meetings.
The more demanding the listening environment, the more valuable a higher technology level becomes.
That’s why comparing hearing aids based only on a feature chart can be misleading. A feature has value only if it helps in a situation you experience!
Is a higher technology level worth paying more for?
It can be, especially if background noise is one of your biggest hearing challenges.
The core value question is:
How often will I actually use what I’m paying extra for?
Consider these four factors:
- How often are you in background noise?
Frequent restaurants, meetings and social events give premium noise-processing technology more opportunities to help. - How difficult are those situations for you now?
If these are the places where you miss the most conversation, moving up a technology level will be more meaningful. - How much automated help do you want?
Higher levels mean the hearing aids have more technology available to automatically analyze and respond to changing sounds, without relying as much on manual adjustments. - How important is the price difference to you?
Paying for additional technology that rarely comes into play might not be worth it. But investing more makes sense when the added features improve situations in your everyday life.
How to choose the right ReSound Sensia technology level
Start by defining the places where you most want to hear better.
If those situations are mostly quiet and predictable, Sensia 4 or 5 could have all the features you need.
If your life regularly includes group conversations, restaurants and changing environments, Sensia 7 gives you more advanced processing to help you focus on hearing speech more clearly.
If speech in noise is one of your biggest problems and you want ReSound Sensia’s most advanced automatic sound processing, then Sensia 9 is the technology level for you.
A feature chart can narrow things down, but the right choice only comes from matching those features to your hearing loss and the situations that matter most in your life. That’s exactly where an audiologist can help. We’ve provided a guide to hearing aid technology levels focused on lifestyle to help simplify the decision.
At Prescription Hearing, we can review your hearing test, talk through where you struggle most, and help you decide whether the extra technology in a higher Sensia level is likely to make a meaningful difference for you. You can connect with us in person in Palos Park or remotely, whichever is most convenient for you.
