Hearing aid reviews: Phonak Virto Infinio R ITC, the smallest rechargeable ITC
- Koorosh Nejad
- Aug 12
- 8 min read
Updated: 4 days ago
We are delighted to announce that Phonak is ready to accept orders for Phonak Virto Infinio R hearing aids. The Phonak Virto is a range of in-the-ear and in-the-canal hearing aids. The invisible IIC and CIC of the infinio platform became available in early 2025, and now the Phonak Virto Infinio, the smallest rechargeable ITC, have become available to order in the UK.
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What is new and unique about Phonak Virto Infinio R ITC?
Virto R Infinio is the first rechargeable, custom hearing solution from Phonak. It is powered by AutoSense OS™ 7.0, which uses advanced machine learning to recognise and adapt to your clients’ sound environments with even greater precision. Trained with 18x more sound environments, it now adapts 24% more accurately to real-world listening situations.
Designed with RightFit™ customisation, Virto R Infinio ensures a personalised, comfortable fit that is as small and discreet as possible for every individual ear.
The highlights of Phonak Virto Infinio R ITC are:
Exceptional sound quality and speech understanding - APD 3.0 delivers instant comfort, instant love with 93% client satisfaction from the first fit versus a competitor solution (according to Phonak's publications).
Universal Bluetooth connectivity - Phonak's ultra-responsive ERA chip provides hands-free calls and streaming, now with one-step pairing to smartphones and tablets.
Simple and intuitive use - A proprietary snap and charge system makes charging easy and secure.
An accelerometer that enables tap control to stop/start streaming or pick up and end hands-free calls.
A motion sensor, which enables the Phonak Virto Infinio R ITC to focus on the user's speech from the direction they are facing, i.e., improved directionality.
15% smaller than its predecessor, Phonak Paradise ITC 312.
Phonak Virto Infinio R ITC is LE Bluetooth Audio and Auracast ready.
IP68 rated, meaning it is highly dust and moisture-resistant.
Why you might want to consider Phonak Virto Infinio R ITC?
Several groups of patients are very keen for a pair of Phonak Virto Infinio R ITC:
Patients with an active lifestyle who do skiing, horseback riding, mountain biking,... and other sports that they can enjoy in the canal hearing aid with classic Bluetooth connectivity. Active sports often require wearing a helmet, which goes against any model of behind-the-ear hearing aids, including RIC hearing aids. Also, it is so much fun to listen to your favourite soundtrack on Bluetooth while doing an active sport.
Patients in the medical line of work who use masks. This group of patients appreciate having a mask and glasses on, which leaves not much room behind their ears for hearing aids, so they wish to have a hearing aid that goes in the canal. This group of patient are mostly still active and socially active, so they need a Bluetooth streaming capability in their hearing aids that Phonak Virto Infinio ITC can perfectly provide.
Patients who work from home and need a pair of hearing aids with classic Bluetooth to be able to connect to their laptop and computer, as well as their Android mobile phone. Phonak Virto Infinio R ITC can easily replace using headphones for Zoom and other work-related streaming. Please see more about the best hearing aids for streaming in this article.
Patients with dexterity and/or sight problems do appreciate rechargeable ITC hearing aids. Grabbing the aids and putting them on and removing them will be easier, while charging them is as simple as dropping them on top of the charger station.
If you have an Android mobile phone and are looking for in-ear hearing aids, then Phonak Virto Infinio R ITC is your only option in the market. Other suppliers do have rechargeable ITCs that are Bluetooth, but they are all MFI (made for iPhone), hence the streaming experience with your Android mobile phone might be sub-optimal at best. Phonak Virto Infinio R ITC uses 5,3 classic Bluetooth. It can be paired to 8 Bluetooth devices and at the same time be connected to two of them. That makes switching between a hands-free call on your mobile phone to a Zoom meeting on your laptop pretty much seamless.
Is Phonak Virto Infinio R ITC better than Oticon Own ITC?
Here are the areas of comparison between these two hearing aids:
Oticon Own ITC takes a 312 battery, while Phonak Virto Infino ITC is rechargeable.
The Oticon Own still uses the old model of the Oticon chipset, which was released in August 2022, versus the Phonak Virto Infinio, which has the latest Phonak ERA chipset.
Phonak Virto Infinio ITC uses the generation 6.0 of Phonak speaker units, which is par to Oticon speakers in terms of sound quality, depth and dynamic range.
Oticon Own ITC is MFI, so it will have a shorter and less stable Bluetooth and streaming experience, especially for Android mobile holders, compared to Phonak Virto Infinio, which uses classic Bluetooth, which has a much longer range and more stable connectivity.
Based on the above comparison, my vote goes to Phonak Virto Infinio R ITC.
Does the Phonak Virto Infinio R ITC have Spheric mode?
No, the Phonak Virto Infinio R ITC does not have the Spheric mod. However, it has Stereozoom 2.0 and a full suite of smart speech technology. It has Autosense 7.0, which has more advanced training than the previous generations of Phonak ITC products.
What range of hearing loss does Phonak Virto Infinio R ITC cover?
The Phonak Virto Infinio R ITC can cover any hearing loss from mild to moderate to severe and to severely profound hearing loss. If you have severe to severely profound hearing loss and are keen to try Phonak Virto Infinio R ITC, my best advice is to also consider Phonak Roger On iN V3 for a better hearing experience in noisy environments. Also, I would highly recommend having a clinic fitting that offers you a real-ear-measurement (REM) fitting for optimum adjustment of your Phonak Virto Infinio R ITC.
Does the Phonak Virto Infinio R ITC come with a power pack charger?
At this stage, all Phonak Virto Infinio R ITC will be shipped with a standard desktop charger unit, which does not have a battery pack inside.
How long does the battery of Phonak Virto Infinio R ITC last?
The battery of Phonak Virto Infinio R ITC lasts for about 30 hours in Calm situations with no streaming, or 16 hours of hearing with 8 hours of streaming. It takes only 3 hours to fully charge a pair of Phonak Virto Infinio R ITC. Please note that the battery life of the rechargeable hearing aids varies based on the severity of your hearing loss, ambient temperature and the amount of hands-free and streaming you do with the hearing aids.
What are the colour options of Phonak Virto Infinio R ITC?
I like the black faceplate and transparent or Blue-Red colour-coded inner shell. But here is a list of all options that you can choose from for the face plate and the inner shell of your Phonak Virto Infinio R ITC.
How can I order Phonak Virto Infinio R ITC hearing aids?
If you are in or around London, the best starting point is to book a hearing test and consultation in one of our clinics in SE London. This would allow us to have a better understanding of the nature of your hearing loss and the suitability of the Phonak Virto Infinio R ITC for your hearing loss profile. We will take ear impressions in that appointment and forward the impressions to the Phonak lab. When the aids are ready, we will contact and invite you to visit the clinic for a fitting appointment.
Can I purchase Phonak Virto Infinio R ITC remotely?
Yes. Please email us a copy of your recent audiogram and book a free telecare consultation to discuss your options.
My ear canals are medium-sized. Can I order a Phonak Virto custom-made Infinio rechargeable?
Phonak Virto Infinio, built for mild to moderate to severe hearing loss, can be designed with Medium or Power receivers. This enables the lab technician to make them for medium or larger ear canals.
If your hearing loss is severe to profound, then you need Ultra-power speaker units to be installed in the Phonak Virto Infinio. A prerequisite for this is that your ear canals are large enough to allow placement of the Ultra-Power receivers in the custom-made Phonak Virto Infinio. This may be a show-stopper if your ear canals are small or small to medium size. My advice is to consult with a local audiologist to help you decide if Phonak Virto Infinio is suitable for the size of your ear canals and the profile of your hearing loss.
How small are the Phonak Virto Infinio ITC hearing aids?
The Phonak Virto Infinio ITC hearing aids are one of the smallest ITC hearing aids in the market. Please see the following comparison pictures of Phonak Virto Infinio rechargeable, versus Phonak Virto Paradise 312. As you can see, the Phonak Virto Infinio is much smaller in the faceplate, as well as overall body and shell.
Phonak Virto Infinio rechargeable, versus Phonak Virto Paradise 312
What is the warranty on Phonak Virto Infinio R ITC?
HearingNow offers 5 years manufacturer's UK warranty for Phonak Virto Infinio R ITC. Please read more about HearingNow's warranty and aftercare here. My advice for any type of rechargeable hearing aids is to aim for the longest warranty period that you can obtain from your supplier. This way, your investment is more secure, and if the battery run time declines, you can ask the supplier to replace it for free under the warranty terms.
I have a problem keeping the RIC receiver in my ears. Is Phonak Virto Infinio ITC suitable for me?
If you have a problem with hearing aid retention, you are not alone. A big part of the hearing aid users have an ear canal that cannot hold the RIC receiver in the ear canal for a long time. When we talk or chew food, the upper jaw muscles massage our ear canals. This is part of the system to guide the excess earwax out of the ear canal.
Depends on the shape of your ear canal and the pinna (the outer structure), your audiologist may consider a canal-lock, or a helix-lock or both or even a skeleton-lock for your acrylic earmould or your ITC. My advice is to ask the manufacturer to make the locks in transparent acrylic. Some manufacturers can do that, and some cannot. It's worth a try.
What are the technology levels of Phonak Virto Infinio R ITC?
Please see the technology levels and the specs of each level of Phonak Virto Infinio R ITC are the same as those of Phonak Audeo Infinio hearing aids. My best advice is to choose the Phonak Virto Infinio i90 ITC if you are keen to get the best performance of hearing speech in a noisy environment and the hearing aids dynamic noise reduction features.
If hearing speech in noise is not a massive factor in your criteria of selection, then I'd recommend Phonak Virto Infinio I70 or I50 to ensure you benefit from all the latest developments in the ERA chip.
Please note that at the time of publishing this article, I couldn't find a comparison table for the AutoSense 7.0, so I have used the one for AutoSense 6.0 for now until I find the one for AutoSense 7.0 and will replace it.
Have a question?
Please book a free telecare consultation if you are interested in learning more about Phonak Virto Infinio R ITC, or to place an order for Phonak Virto Infinio ITC rechargeable with us.
Disclaimer: This article is not sponsored by Phonak.
References
1 Latzel, M, Heeren, J and Lesimple, C. (2024) "Speech Enhancer reduces listening effort and fatigue." Phonak Field Study News retrieved from www.phonak.com/evidence
Appleton, J. (2020). AutoSense OS 4.0- significantly less listening effort and preferred for speech intelligibility. Phonak Field Study News retrieved from www.phonak.com/evidence, accessed February 2022.
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