The Bernafon Alpha 9 CIC in review
Dieses Gerät ist bereits einer neueren, verbesserten Version auf dem Markt, dem Bernafon Alpha XT. Wir haben die Gesamtnote daher mit einem Abschlag versehen.
What hearing comfort does the Alpha 9 CIC offer? How is it operated? Is it worth the purchase? Answers to these questions can be found in our test report on this hearing aid from Bernafon. First, the basics: It is worn in the ear, and due to its direct placement in the ear canal, sound can easily travel towards the eardrum. This is important because only in this way can a really good, broad-band sound be produced.
The Alpha 9 CIC is a petite, small hearing aid from the premium segment that can cover mild, moderate, and even severe hearing losses. Read more details:
Hearing comfort
Good speech understanding is a given in contemporary hearing aids. Equally important is listening comfort. Only when the relationship between speech transmission and the level of background noise is right can hearing be perceived as pleasant. That’s why we take a look at the comfort features: We were impressed with the excellent noise management in the Alpha 9 CIC. Normal background noises like street noise, the sound of a vacuum cleaner, or noise from a fan should be suppressed by classic noise reduction. This Bernafon hearing aid has one of the most powerful noise suppression systems on the market.
Once you experience impulse sound suppression in a hearing aid, you won’t want to give it up. The Alpha 9 CIC has such a feature and can effortlessly handle all short and intense sound events. This includes, for example, dishes clattering in the kitchen or footfalls on a hard floor. There is no wind management here. This is perfectly fine, as the placement directly in the ear canal provides a natural protection against wind noise. In spatial hearing, the Alpha 9 CIC shows its full strength: due to its deep placement just before the eardrum, sound capture happens like with a normal ear without a hearing aid. The outer ear naturally directs sound into the ear canal, and the existing head shadow effects are still utilized. Such good 3D hearing could probably not be artificially generated. With 24 channels, the frequency band count in the Alpha 9 CIC is very high. This allows the hearing aid to be perfectly adjusted to each ear and also offers good long-term tuning options.
Artificial intelligence is also utilized in the signal processing of the Alpha 9 CIC. This allows for a significantly more realistic analysis of the listening environment, and especially clarity in noisy environments is considerably better.
Rating Hearing comfort: 1,0
Bernafon Alpha 9 CIC:
Operation & connectivity
Digital hearing aids have long evolved beyond the basic amplification function. Apps and other control options significantly expand the range of features, which is why we are also looking at this important topic with the Alpha 9 CIC from Bernafon. A very quick way to adjust the volume is the small button on the device. It is easy to feel, and you can set it to be louder or quieter in several steps. Additional programs for specific hearing situations can also be activated with this. If you want to do without the button, you can simply have it deactivated. We would have liked a remote control, but Bernafon does not offer one for this model. So, no points in this regard.
Voice commands are a fairly new way of controlling hearing aids. However, we do not yet have this option in this model. That's not too bad - the main thing is that you can hear well. Another option for controlling the hearing aids is tap control. Here, you simply tap your fingers on your ear, which triggers a specific function. But this option is not available in this Bernafon device.
If you are looking for an app, you will unfortunately be disappointed here. The Alpha 9 CIC has to make do without smart control functions. This point is lost. Wireless connectivity options are completely absent in this variant. This is somewhat outdated, but it is likely due to the small size of the hearing aid.
Rating Operation & connectivity: 3,5
The best alternatives to the Alpha 9 CIC
Our database contains 70 reviews of hearing aids with similar technical features to this one (i.e., In the ear (ITE) in sehr kompakter Bauform in Size "", not rechargable, geeignet für Hörverlust-Grad leicht, mittel & stark). Here are the top 3 (Redaktionsstand 02.10.2025):
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Starkey Genesis AI 24 CIC Wireless | Rating: 5 / 5 |
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Starkey Genesis AI 20 CIC Wireless | Rating: 4.5 / 5 |
Simplicity & security
Another point in our checklist is handling. Does everything work simply and reliably? What does the hearing aid offer to ensure safe use in everyday life? The situational automation of the Alpha 9 CIC includes almost everything you can experience in daily life. It provides me with the perfect settings at all times, without me having to actively do anything. Especially in varied situations, this is extremely convenient and allows me to almost forget that I'm wearing the hearing aid. Some people find it difficult to get used to it, but this hearing aid makes it easy for us to cope with the new volume. There is a familiarization manager that gradually introduces us to the required target amplification. The period can range from a few weeks to several months, depending on individual settings. The individual steps are so small that you hardly notice there has been an increase in volume.
The Alpha 9 CIC is not equipped with a battery, so it is not rechargeable. It is powered by a size 10 hearing aid battery. It needs to be replaced every few days.
We had an untroubled everyday experience during our test due to the IP-68 certification. This indicates that the hearing aid is particularly well protected against dust and water. We marched through the rain and then took out the hearing aids with wet hands - no problem at all. However, the water robustness really only applies to fresh, natural water and not to foamy bathwater or saltwater.
Rating Simplicity & security: 1,8
Extras
Finally, let's take a quick look at whether there are any extras available: Here we noticed the tinnitus option. Those who wish can have a special tinnitus program set up. If needed, it plays a soft noise to distract from the annoying tinnitus. The sounds can be tailored to personal hearing preferences.
An online contact to the hearing aid acoustician via the app would be very useful. This is already quite common today and helps with small adjustment problems. Unfortunately, Bernafon has opted out of this, which does not earn them any extra points.
If Bernafon had integrated motion sensors into this hearing aid, individualized health tracking could even be possible. However, this is not the case here. These points are lost for the Alpha 9 CIC in the rating. This Bernafon hearing aid has no additional lifestyle options on board. Elsewhere, there are voice assistants or reminder functions, but you don't need that for good hearing. It would have just made the product a bit cooler.
Rating Extras: 3,3
Conclusion: Bernafon Alpha 9 CIC
Mit der Endnote 3,03 behauptet sich dieses Modell im mittleren Bereich. Es hat eine ganz passable Komfortausstattung mit an Bord, die für die typischen Alltagsmomente reicht und ein zufriedenstellendes Hörerlebnis schafft.
What is the difference between the different styles of hearing aids? Are there mini hearing aids available with a battery? Or with Bluetooth? Read our comprehensive In-the-ear hearing aids comparison, which offers you this and many more interesting information.
Top alternatives in the same price range
Which devices in a comparable price range currently show the best technical performance? Here are the current top 3:
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ReSound Vivia 9 60S-DRWC | Rating: 5 / 5 |
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Phonak Audeo Infinio Sphere 90 R | Rating: 5 / 5 |
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Starkey Edge AI 24 ITC R | Rating: 5 / 5 |
Our Bernafon Alpha 9 CIC review was created on March 11, 2023 and lastly updated on June 25, 2024. The overall rating of 3,03 is composed of: »Hearing Comfort (40% weighting): Rating 5 | »Operation & Connectivity (28% weighting): Rating 2.5 | »Simplicity & Security (17% weighting): Rating 4.5 | »Extras (15% weighting): Rating 3 | Learn more about our evaluation criteria and testing standards in How We Test..
FAQ
Welche Größe hat das Alpha 9 CIC von Bernafon?
Groß oder klein hat mit der Wirkung nach außen zu tun. Wir beurteilen daher, wie groß Hörgeräte auf Außenstehende wirken. Das Bernafon Alpha 9 CIC befindet sich in der Größenklasse XS. Das bedeutet, es wirkt .
Wie gut höre ich mit dem Alpha 9 CIC von Bernafon?
Dieses Hörgerät schneidet mit einer Gesamtnote von 1,0 (*****) im Bereich "Hörkomfort" ab. Die Note setzt sich aus verschiedenen Komponenten zusammen. Wichtige Kriterien: Die Lärmunterdrückung erreicht . Die Anzahl der einstellbaren Frequenzbänder im Bernafon Alpha 9 CIC ist 24 (die Klassenbesten haben aktuell 24 Bänder). Für die Windgeräuschunterdrückung bekommt das Gerät von uns das Prädikat .
Ist das Bernafon Alpha 9 CIC für mich geeignet?
Den Eignungsbereich von Hörgeräten nennen Hörakustiker "Anpassbereich". Bernafon hat für das Alpha 9 CIC folgenden Anpassbereich festgelegt: . Lassen Sie einen Profi-Hörtest bei einem Hörakustikbetrieb in Ihrer Nähe durchführen, anschließend wissen Sie, ob dieses Hörgerät für Sie geeignet ist.
Was kostet das Bernafon Alpha 9 CIC?
Ist das Alpha 9 CIC von Bernafon teuer oder günstig? Es wird in Deutschland derzeit in einem ungefähren Preisrahmen von ab 3.000,00 € gehandelt. Wenn eine Krankenkasse sich beteiligt, fällt der Betrag deutlich geringer aus. Wichtig: Sie sollten den Preis zum Zusammenhang mit der Gesamtnote im Testbericht (3.0 (***)) und vor allen Dingen mit der Bewertung im Bereich Lärmunterdrückung () beurteilen.
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