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Pilgrim1099

Suspended
Apr 30, 2008
1,109
602
From the Midwest to the Northeast
There are different types of hearing aids which work with different types of hearing loss and also with different physical situations. Not everyone can wear a hearing aid that fits behind the ear or in the ear. Some people need a bone-conduction aid for various reasons and that can be limiting. The news is good for all of us who wear hearing aids in that technology is changing and improving day by day. Recently I learned that the company which makes my particular hearing aids is coming out with something which will work with BlueTooth technology....boy, am I ready for that!

I won't be able to get that until a couple of years from now, though, when (I hope) I can be assured of Medicare coverage for those sound processors. Three years ago I got my current BAHA sound processors through Medicare. Yes, in most cases regular insurance does not cover regular hearing aids, except for children...... Medicare pretty much takes the same approach -- however, in some particular situations such as mine, the sound processors are considered as part of an overall integral system involving an implant [ie, for Medicare's purposes, a "prosthesis" replacing what has been lost in the normal hearing mechanism). I'm not talking about cochlear implants (which are also covered by Medicare) here, but rather bone-anchored implants and sound processors (BAHA).

Am I looking forward to BT technology and my next set of sound processors? YOU BET!!!!


Interestingly, an agency acquired a receiver with an induction loop over my neck. It was called the Amigo by Oticon. The loop is rechargeable and I think is BT ( need to check the specs) while the microphone device is put on the table or clipped to a jacket of the speaking person. It allows me to hear him or her from a distance as if I was sitting real close. It's usually ideal for conferences or special events. With the loop, I just go on T-coil mode that blocks the entire background noise focusing on one source.

One thing I hate about t coil mode is the buzzing sound due to electronic interference when using the HATIS headset or any receiver.
 
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MikhailT

macrumors 601
Nov 12, 2007
4,582
1,325
I wonder how battery saving ble is. It's a radio, and radios use power. I suspect that in when streaming it isn't much better than normal Bluetooth, but I have no real data to back that up. I'd love to be proven wrong.

Power can still be made more efficient if you manage it properly. For an example, reducing the need to have it on all the time.

Streaming audio, it won't be more power efficient than classic bluetooth at all. However, if you stop streaming, the bluetooth will then be turned off or switched to the low power mode. In the previous BT protocol, it won't be and it'd eat the same amount of power regardless if you stream or not.

I am very jealous by that comment. I go through a set of batteries every 2 days... I have the Phonak Cassia CROS. I really would like to see someone come out with hearing aids that don't drain the batteries so fast that still use the CROS system.

I also use the ComPilot for work since their Cisco wifi phones interfere with the CROS system, so I use the bluetooth for that.

I would love to see Apple partner with Phonak to create MFi hearing aids. I would probably be one of the first to snatch them up.

I have Phonak Nadia V. I'd go through a brand battery like every other day but when I found PowerOne, it lasted two weeks for me. I'd suggest finding PowerOne batteries for your Cassia and see if it'll work.

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LiNX is a brand not a company, the company that make these are GN Resound, a Danish company and one of the worlds leaders in this type of tech.

Oops, thanks. For me, I've never heard of Resound and it wasn't never mentioned by any of my audiologists nor did any of my buddies heard of them.
 
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Pardus

macrumors member
Aug 9, 2006
53
11
Vancouver, BC
I got Widex Dream hearing aids this fall for hearing loss and Tinnitus. I have to use a wireless controller for changing settings and can connect to my iPhone, TV or most bluetooth devices. It is a pain though, has to be within 16" inches of my ears or else it cuts out, even turning my head causes drop outs.

It would be great if it offers greater range to connect, don't really want to have my iPhone dangling around my neck or in a front pocket, where would my pencils go?

Anyone know if it can produce white noise on it's own or have to be connected? I have whitenoise going all the time.

Btw, on the battery life. I am 3-4 days with whitenoise generation. only take them out while sleeping and flick the batter door open to turn them off.
 
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jelew1985

macrumors member
May 12, 2011
54
14
I have Phonak Nadia V. I'd go through a brand battery like every other day but when I found PowerOne, it lasted two weeks for me. I'd suggest finding PowerOne batteries for your Cassia and see if it'll work.

I have been using PowerOne batteries for 8 years now. I refuse to use the other brands as they don't do any justice comparing to PowerOne batteries.
 

MikhailT

macrumors 601
Nov 12, 2007
4,582
1,325
Another vote here for PowerOne! Great batteries that really DO last!

I order mine online from Microbattery.com and they come very quickly.

Same but when I found out that Amazon had it cheaper by 10-15$, I couldn't justify buying from Microbattery.com anymore. I used to love them.
 

ShermanL

macrumors newbie
Nov 4, 2010
9
1
This hearing aid industry is filled with snake oil salesmen

I've had hearing aids for two years, and have been dissatisfied with a number of "analog" issues like, "You hang this around your neck and you can get phone calls right to your ears." The technology has been awful, especially for the prices you have to pay.

Addressing price first, buying a hearing aid from anywhere without going to Costco first is lunacy. I have recently gone on a shopping, information, and price comparison spree about hearing aids. I have visited more stores with "hearing aid specialists" and others with "audiologists." I think, for the most part, there is more theater involved here than anything else. You get the same theater at Costco for about half the price. Same for their battery pricing.

Price aside, in my painful travels to various hearing aid places, I've found that reSound offers the clearest sound to me, and I guess that's what you look for in hearing aids before anything else. And...

Having Apple in their corner, "helping them" design the app and the product interaction, is a big plus to me. I no longer believe any of the "automatic programming" that is built into the hearing aids. I also don't believe that any of the hearing aids can block noise behind you, like in a noisy restaurant. So, being able to do this on my iPhone is a gigantic plus. I get the best sound I've tested, along with the most features (and I can even tell everyone at the table that I'm just adjusting my hearing aid when I'm checking e-mail. Ha!)

I heartedly agree with most people that this is a really nice step forward.

Thanks, ReSound!
 
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MgNoir

macrumors newbie
Mar 19, 2014
1
1
I just picked my ReSound Linx hearing aids up today. Man what a geek rush I must say.

When I started looking for new hearing aids, I really wanted to have something that allowed direct integration with phones, microphones, etc. When I started seeing that most solutions required me to carry a new device in my pocket or around my neck, I really was turned off by the idea. Why? Because I already have a device in my pocket - my iPhone. Why do I need something else?

So yea I'm hooked on the idea. Still learning the ins and outs and how to work with it, but when my ears started ringing (from a call on the phone), and I chatted with my wife with it all coming out of the hearing aids, I was sold. I was also grinning :)

If you have an iPhone, do get the ReSound app for Linx. It has a demo mode that lets you play around with some of the things it can do. One of my favorite features is how the phone records the map coordinates of the last place it was when it connected with the hearing aids. So if you ever lose one, your phone can tell you precisely where it was when it last connected with them. As someone who lost a $2500 aid once, that's a feature worth a lot.

Some have mentioned cost as well as insurance not covering them. I totally agree and this is a big issue that companies need to address via their insurance policies, and employees need to raise with HR. Everyone understands that people need glasses to interact with the work environment effectively. When will HR understand that hearing aids are just glasses for your ears? Spendy ones yes, but ones that not very many people need.

If you have a job that provides insurance, and your HR doesn't provide coverage, go ask them why. Ask them how they can justify not supporting hearing aids, but can justify glasses. Ask them why they buy people glasses, and the answer will probably be, "Well people need to be able to see well to be a safe and contributing member of the work force!" Now ask them if that's not exactly the same reason people need hearing aids.
 
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