This is what I came up with. While I talked about it briefly in another post, this is more of a longform discussion of my thoughts on the subject. Of course this is all my subjective opinion and both products are very good. I think that I would be quite satisfied with either device.
I tested the Baha 5 and Ponto Plus side by side programmed for my hearing loss by an audi at a clinic that I didn't end up having the procedure with. I used both devices for an hour side by side on an elastic headband, switching back and forth over and over again. The sound was a little different but neither stood out as much better.
I was a little disappointed with the loudness of both devices but the Audi insisted a "power" was not needed for me with SSD and the sound quality would be worse underdriving a more powerful device. Everyone else that I talked with said that a "power" model was more appropriate for people with SSD to sufficiently amplify the high frequencies for transmission across the skull to the good ear.
This test proved to me that I actually did want the power model and ruled out the clinic/audi that said not to use a power model.
Having said that, the side by side comparison was really helpful from a software and design perspective.
Sound Quality is a Draw.
During my hour of testing, the BAHA 5 had many more issues with feedback from handling or touching the device than the Ponto Plus. This was consistent with a lot of feedback on the BAHA 5 Power that I tested too. It seems that Oticon's software is much better at feedback resistance. The feedback noise bothered my family members even more than it bothered me but this meant that they preferred Ponto.
Feedback Resistance Strongly Favors Ponto.
The attachment design is interesting to see the "insy" vs. "outsy" design of the BAHA vs. the Ponto. The attachment feels more secure with the Ponto and less subject to wear and tear. A little wear and tear on the plastic nub of the BAHA seems like it could make it much less secure. On the other hand, the BAHA design far less likely to capture hair. Also, skin growth is much less of an issue for a BAHA vs. the Ponto - it would need to grow up and over the edge of the abutment in order to cause a problem for the BAHA.
Abutment Attachment Slightly Favors BAHA.
Ponto's abutment design can accommodate both devices leaving an option open for the future of switching to BAHA. BAHA's abutment redesign does not allow for attaching a Ponto so this is a permanent vendor lock-in.
Abutment Device Flexibility Strongly favors Ponto.
Furthermore, Cochlear said that the warranty for the BAHA would not be honored if it was used on a Ponto abutment. This is more of a business practice that seems to be attempting to reinforce the vendor lockin. From a philosophical perspective, I prefer to let the best product win and keep options open. This feels like old 1990s Microsoft practice.
Abutment-related Warranty Business Practice Favors Ponto.
The integration of Bluetooth LE in the BAHA was very appealing - this is exactly what I want long term and not having Bluetooth built-in makes the Ponto Plus feel quite dated. The BAHA 5 Power worked pretty well with the remote mini microphone I tested during a Cochlear community meeting. At home over a weekend of testing I spent 6 hours trying to get streaming from an iPhone working to a BAHA 5 Power. I could only keep streaming from the phone working for a total of about 4 minutes. It does seem like the problems lie more with the BT LE implementation from Apple changing. Looking over forum comments and app store reviews seemed to show my experience was not unusual. A firmware upgrade on the phone or the BAHA might fix things so I waited as long as I could before making the device choice.
While much more primitive, the Ponto's neckloop streamer seemed more stable from a software/hardware reliability perspective.
As an electrical engineer and engineering professor, the potential of Bluetooth LE was very desirable but the current reality was more important.
Current Phone Connectivity Slightly Favors BAHA at the Current Time.
Smartphone apps both appear to be very nonstandard in look and feel from both companies. As of today, August 1st, the Ponto Oticon Connectline app for Android was at version 1.3.2 and had been last updated on May 12, 2015. This is ancient from the perspective of a smartphone app. The app looks like it is perhaps five years old. It has an average rating of 3.2 on 151 reviews and and 10000 downloads. It works on my Nexus 5x but doesn't seem helpful enough to actually use on a day to day basis so far.
The Baha 5 Smart App has a unique look. It doesn't look nearly as out of date as Ponto's app. The Android app was released on July 1st, 2016 and has a 3.0 average rating on 5 reviews and 100 downloads. On the Apple app store, it was last updated on June 2, 2016 to 2.0.0. Previous versions seemed to come out about every 6 months (December 23, 2015 for 1.0.1 and March 30, 2015 with 1.0.) The new version 2.0.0 does not have any reviews at this time. The reviews from the old version were very poor and I didn't have luck with 2.0 either. Apple doesn't show review scores for old versions but when I looked at it before, the average rating was 1.5 stars.
The Baha 5 Smart App seemed like I would actually use and receive some benefit. Right now I'm not using the Connectline app and just using the streamer on its own to connect via Bluetooth to the phone. The result is perhaps a net benefit to Cochlear.
Smartphone App Favors BAHA.
At the time, BAHA lacked a "BAHA 5 Smart App" for Android and appeared to have an Apple-only orientation. With Apple there is always a risk of getting tied in so deeply to their APIs and protocols that multiplatform support becomes prohibitive. There was talk of an Android app but no specifics that I could find.
Android Support Favored Ponto at the Time but the recently released Android App makes this now makes Android Support is now a Draw.
I had a lot more interaction with the company reps from Cochlear about the BAHA. Everyone from Cochlear was quick and helpful going above and beyond expectations. This included loaning me a Baha 5 Power only shortly after the announcement. I only traded a couple of emails with Oticon.
Company Interaction Strongly Favors BAHA.
Clinic (surgeon and audi) familiarity with the device is important. While the surgeries are the same for an external abutment, the manufacturers seem to have their own gear and programming such that picking what they are most proficient with is a good idea. Having said that, I would give much greater weight to the surgeon's familiarity with a brand of cochlear implant since the surgery far more complex and invasive. Both my audi and neuro-otologist did dealt a lot more with the Ponto than the BAHA. The same was true of a second clinic that had both devices that I could demo but it seems like BAHA has a higher market share. In any case, this is specific to the clinic.
My Clinic's Experience Favored Ponto.
Personally, I'm not too worried about the device size but smaller is certainly better holding everything else equal. I don't feel the weight on my head and it is well hidden in the hair so size doesn't matter too much to me. The regular BAHA 5 (non-power) takes this to an extreme by removing the volume controls. This seems to echo Apple's iPhone design philosophy emphasizing thinness to an extreme priority where many users would prefer larger batteries (such as myself) and now they are even widely expected to remove the standard headphone jack in this Summer's upcoming new iPhone 7. Leaving out the volume switch might rule out the BAHA 5 in my book - especially given that volume then needs to be controlled by the SmartPhone App which is not very reliable as discussed above. Now that I've been using a Ponto for a week, I don't find that I actually use the power switch on the device so maybe I could live with it being left out.
The power models from both companies are bigger than the non-power devices to accommodate a stronger transducer for vibration and a bigger battery but the BAHA 5 Power is slightly smaller than the Ponto Plus Power.
Size Favors BAHA.
Cochlear has an option of having the processor attached magnetically to the screw with a magnet attached to that below the skin (i.e. subcutaneous.) This system is called the BAHA Attract. While the surgery is a little more invasive and the connection is not as strong as the physical connection, it would be really nice to not have the exposed screw for the rest of my life. With Cochlear, it would be an option to have a surgery to switch from the external abutment to the magnetic system or the reverse. The BAHA Attract has tradeoffs in terms of sound quality, skin issues, and strength of physical connection so that I didn't want to get the Attract surgery now but having the option would certainly be nice. Oticon's Ponto doesn't have an analogous system.
Subcutaneous Option Favors BAHA.
No BAHA or Ponto is waterproof but they are both water resistant. The Ponto Plus has water resistance and officially has an IP57 rating. This means that it is "protected from limited dust ingress [and]] from immersion between 15 centimeters and 1 meter in depth." I don't really it do well from a quick dip in water and certainly am not about to test it myself. In contrast, Cochlear says that their water resistance is similar to IP57 but have not received official certification. There is no way to test the claims so it is reassuring that there is some testing and rigor behind Ponto's claim.
I hope that in the future, both companies make a stronger push for water proofness. The recently introduced Samsung Galaxy S7 shows that a phone can be essentially waterproof with an IP rating of IP68. While a manufacturing problem caused some phones to not perform so well, this means that a device could be submerged for a half hour in a meter of water and expect (hope?) that it still works fine. Waterproof microphones are possible. Right now it seems that the battery compartment and the battery's need for air seem to be the biggest challenge.
Water Resistance Rating Favors Ponto.
An online community is helpful as users can help each other out. Cochlear has a rich online environment servicing both their BAHA and Cochlear Implant users with many subforums and a blog tool. While the online community system seems a little awkward compared to some of the other online forums that I use, this might be a result of it trying to do so much. I haven't found a similar forum for Oticon or the Ponto.
Online Community Strongly Favors BAHA.
In the end, both the Ponto Plus Power and the BAHA 5 Power are excellent devices. I selected the Ponto and am very satisfied with it.
People seem to replace their bone conduction hearing aids after five or six years. I hope that when the time comes, the new device will have improved sound quality but also reliable Bluetooth connectivity and be waterproof (IP68 rating).
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