New Hearing Aids

[Mike Henderson]

I've worn hearing aids for over 30 years, probably close to 40 years. During that time, I haven't been able to listen to music very well. I can't put ear buds in my ears because of the hearing aids, and headphones don't work well because of feedback. When you cover the aids, the output sound from the aids feeds back into the microphone.

Recently, I got some aids that have Bluetooth capability. So now, I can use the cell phone and hear the other person directly in my ears. Very nice and really improves my ability to understand on the phone.

But the other thing is that I can stream music to my aids from my phone. You can't imagine what it felt like to hear music clearly again. It's just amazing.

Those of you with normal hearing would have difficulty appreciating how wonderful that experience has been.

Just wanted to share this.

Mike

[Gordon Eyre]

I too suffer from the same problem. Thanks for the input.

[David Ragan]

thanks for posting that Mike.

Lots of times folks have no control over having lost their hearing-mishaps, war veterans, medications, infections, etc.

But, for a lot of us, we could do better @ wearing a decent ear plug any time noise is irritating, and especially around impact noise (I'll spare you the science lecture on why impact)..I mean hammering, pneumatic tools, etc.

I used some cotton for hearing plugs recently and was suprised about how well it worked. Plus, cheap, disposable, etc.

I personally wear them all the time, whenever I do anything except Neander stuff.

And-(hope this passes OK with Mods-I have no biz interest) there is a place here called Ambit. the main guy, Mr. Pepper, was the cheif engineer @ Siemens hearing aid division for a few decades. Siemens makes the majority of the hearing aids on the market.

Pepper now has 'retired' and sells the same hearing aid for about 1/3 retail.

[Mike Henderson]

Thanks for the information, David. I got mine at Costco and they're made by ReSound. They were $1,800 for the two, which is a lot less than what my ear doctor wanted to charge - about $6,400 for two.

Yep, good hearing aids are very expensive.

Mike

[Matt Marsh]

Mike, I've had a pair of Phonak brand hearing aids since the summer of 2012. I wish I had bought them years before! Mine also Bluetooth. I wear a "Compilot" around my neck. The Compilot acts as the antenna and Bluetooth receiver. I also have a TV link that plugs into the audio jacks on a TV, then bluetooths it to my hearing aids. I love that feature. I also love being able to talk on my cell phone through my hearing aids. They're not perfect, but it more or less changed my life being able to hear sounds that I had been missing for years.... crickets, frogs, birds etc. Two little nits I have with them is that that road noise while driving drowns out their volume. The other is that there is no "safety" switch on the Compilot, so if you bump it, it changes the mode, the volume, etc. Mine cost around $5500.00 per pair.

[Mike Henderson]

Mike, I've had a pair of Phonak brand hearing aids since the summer of 2012. I wish I had bought them years before! Mine also Bluetooth. I wear a "Compilot" around my neck. The Compilot acts as the antenna and Bluetooth receiver. I also have a TV link that plugs into the audio jacks on a TV, then bluetooths it to my hearing aids. I love that feature. I also love being able to talk on my cell phone through my hearing aids. They're not perfect, but it more or less changed my life being able to hear sounds that I had been missing for years.... crickets, frogs, birds etc. Two little nits I have with them is that that road noise while driving drowns out their volume. The other is that there is no "safety" switch on the Compilot, so if you bump it, it changes the mode, the volume, etc. Mine cost around $5500.00 per pair.

I had looked at those aids and had a friend who had purchased that unit. But I was put off by the need to wear that unit around my neck. I knew that it would bother me and I probably wouldn't wear it all the time. Also, I was worried about having something around my neck while working in the shop - afraid it might catch on the saw blade, etc. if I wasn't careful. So I waited for the ones that have Bluetooth in the aids.

But I well understand what you're saying. For people who don't need aids, it's like the first time you put on eye glasses after needing them for years. You can see that trees have leaves. Well, hearing aids are like that in the sound domain.

Mike

[Larry Browning]

Mike,
I don't wear hearing aids, but my wife does. When we got her latest aids a couple years ago, they told her that bluetooth was not available directly in the aid. She has a little device called surflink which has the bluetooth receiver in it and it transmits to the aids via some other wireless technology. It also has microphone, so it can be placed close to the sound source and transmit to her aids. She can place it next to the TV speaker and can hear the TV sound very clearly. She also uses it at church, placing it next to one of the PA speakers and can hear the sermon very clearly. It has a range of about 40 or 50 feet. We were told that they couldn't get the BT electronics small enough to fit into the aid. So your new aids have the bluetooth built right in so there is no "linking" device, correct? That is good news for the next set she gets.

[Michael Weber]

Glad you used Costco. Being a HA wearer of 45 years or so I developed a real distrust of the hearing aid sales industry. When my speech comprehension got too bad I got a cochlear implant. Heard things up to 8000 Hz I haven't heard in decades. Leaves rustling, crickets and birds, rain drops pinging, kitchen cabinet hinges squeaking, car rattles and more. Didn't happen overnight, it takes the brain a while to relearn how to hear and discriminate.

[Mike Henderson]

Mike,
I don't wear hearing aids, but my wife does. When we got her latest aids a couple years ago, they told her that bluetooth was not available directly in the aid. She has a little device called surflink which has the bluetooth receiver in it and it transmits to the aids via some other wireless technology. It also has microphone, so it can be placed close to the sound source and transmit to her aids. She can place it next to the TV speaker and can hear the TV sound very clearly. She also uses it at church, placing it next to one of the PA speakers and can hear the sermon very clearly. It has a range of about 40 or 50 feet. We were told that they couldn't get the BT electronics small enough to fit into the aid. So your new aids have the bluetooth built right in so there is no "linking" device, correct? That is good news for the next set she gets.

Yep, no linking device. The aids work just like a Bluetooth ear piece, except that you have to hold the phone in front of you so the person on the phone can hear you. I can also play music through the aids. When I walk my dog now, I have a playlist on my phone and listen to music - something I've never been able to do before. The aids do go through batteries a bit faster than my old ones but I get a week or more out of them.

I can use my iPhone the way you describe - within the limits of Bluetooth transmission. I can set the iPhone to be the microphone and set it by someone and it will transmit to my aids. It has limits, however. If I use it in a restaurant, say with my wife, it tends to pick up my voice when I talk (the mic is sensitive) so I get an echo to my own voice. It does pick up her voice well when I do that. In situations like you describe, such as listening to the TV, or at church, it would probably work fine - I haven't tried it that way yet.

I've thought that there should be a way to expand on this technology. It would be great if churches, concerts, etc. could transmit the sound to the smartphone (via cellphone data), which could then transmit it to the aids via Bluetooth. Maybe some kind of streaming app. A problem would be the delay in a system like that but it sure would be nice. You're very knowledgeable in PCs and the Internet - maybe you could come up with a solution!

Thanks for your comments.

Mike

[Added comment: They did a good job on the software. If I'm listening to music and phone call comes in, the music is put on hold, the programs in the aids are changed from music to voice, and the call is put through to the aids. All automatically. When the call is completed, the program in the aids switches back to music and the music picks up exactly where it was.

And for people who don't know what I mean by "program", think of it as an equalizer. For voice, you want to emphasize certain frequencies and reduce others. For music, you may want a flat equalization curve. That's what a "program" is - an equalization curve.]

[They also have a feature that will automatically change the program based on your location - since the iPhone has GPS in it. So if I set it up to use a "restaurant" equalization curve (program) when I'm at a certain restaurant, the aids will be automatically loaded with that program when it senses that I'm in the restaurant. That's optional. I tried it but decided I'd rather do it manually.]

[Charles Palmer]

I've worn HA for about 10 years now. I've needed them since I retired from the Corps in 94 buy the cost was prohibitive. It's not well advertised but several military facilities (WRAMC is one) will provide retires HA at cost. My first pair - Phonak behind the ear) cost around $700! I also bought the iCom for streaming and phone use. What a difference! I've since tried the Resound - don't like them at all - they're my backup set in case my current Starkey HAs die or get lost. The Starkey are great!!! And they have an app that links them directly with my iPhone ( nothing to wear around my neck).
I finally got the VA to consider my hearing loss as service related - so my Starkey HA were FREE!

[Justin Koenen]

Matt, I have Phonak aids and they are surely the best by far of the four sets I have had through the VA. Had not thought of the blue tooth feature....Will have to check on that. Thanks for the tip!

[ken masoumi]

5 years ago I found out I have Tinnitus(ringing in the ears), the doctor recommended HA (after all the tests were done) so I asked what would be the cost ,over $6000!! and there's no guarantee they will help.according to him some sufferers benefit from using HA but most don't.
I slowly got used to the ringing without using hearing aids. I'm sure I would seriously consider wearing them if they helped.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

The technology available today is pretty incredible.

I don't have blue tooth capability on CI. My hearing aid has the capability but I don't have it activated. The residual hear in the ear with the HA is so distorted that it would be of little use. I wear the HA only because coupled with my CI it gives me some directionality for high frequencies like sirens and bird chirps.


For music, I use some pretty good Bose headphones that I can wear over my CI and the HA.

[Vince Shriver]

Justin, I too have the Phonak aids with the blue tooth/TV, com-pilot feature. Like you, I got mine from the VA. Talk to your VA branch and see if they can hook you up -- It'll make a huge difference in your life. I go to the Santa Maria, CA branch, and those folks have been aces - I could not ask for better people. Regards, Vince