Hearing Aid Hacking

DIY - using a standard handsfree kit with DAI
Hi Folks,

I own a Triano SP BTE pair from Siemens. My current mode of listening to music is through a pair of Bluetooth enabled conventional headphones (HT820 from Motorola). This works really well with normal voice calls as I hear the conversation on both ears.

Of late I have been bugged by the fact that conventional headphones press on my ear+BTE, which over a period of time induces a certain amount of discomfort.

So I set about to try a few options:
1) Standard Audio Jack -> 2 DAI -> 1 Audio Shoe for each hearing aid:
- advantages: clean sound direct to the hearing aid
- disadvantages:
- cable supplied at this part of the world (Bangalore, India) is unwieldy and log (can be modified no doubt, but ..)
- no way to hook to my Motorola Z6 ROKR mobile phone (it uses USB for audio and charging)

Summary: Doesn't really do it for me.

2) DIY a standard handsfree connection:
Here is where I seek some opinion from your experience.

I propose to take my USB based handsfree kit that comes with my Motorola Z6 ROKR phone. Its got a mic in the middle, and it branches a pair of wires to each ear piece. I thought I would cut off the ear piece wire mid-way, and electrically connect it to a DAI cable - for both the earpiecs.

For this solution, I assume that I would see 2 wires in each of the cables leading to the earpiece. It would "some how" need to be connected to 2 of the pins in the DAI wire (I guess one of the pins are useless, as indicated in an earlier post).

Do you folks see any issues with this approach?

Thanks a lot for your support!

Arvind

DIY earhooks?
So I ordered myself a pair of Music Link ear hooks, very much excited about the prospect of sound that was a) not coming through headphones (which seem to jam my hearing aids into my head => headachey after a bit) and b) stereo sound (which is one of my many gripes with neckloops). Unfortunately, upon trying them they don't seem to align well with my t-coils on my Siemens Artis SP hearing aids, and produce pretty weak sound. I can hold them just so and get great sound, but they don't stay in said position without me holding them there.

Soooo, it appears I need something with a larger "projection" surface area, like (I would assume) the Hatis style set. True seperate stereo sound is important to me, and with the Hatis is that I can't seem to find out if it provides true stereo to right and left sides instead of unified stereo (or even just that it's not mono). Given that they seem to never mention true stereo as a feature, it makes me doubt it does. Put that together with the pricing, which seems a bit inflated, and that I've seen several random mentions of how cheap/flimsy the Hatis stuff seems to be, and I finally arrive at...

my question: Is it reasonable to put together your own earhook headset, and if so, have any of you done something similar? Are there resources on how to do this? I'm a fairly crafty, intelligent fellow, but the science of proper wiring for induction couplers in a earhook type fashion eludes my search skills. Any help/advice/suggestions/warnings/stern-talking-to's would be much appreciated.

"Exploring" DAI shoes' electrical wiring
Contains actual hack-y stuff!

( Read more... )

Thanks!
Thanks everyone for the comments and suggestions to my last post.
I've moved up my appt for adjustments to this Friday.
There is already a different ear mold with a larger tube waiting at the office. Maybe changing that out will help. Also switching it out of the "universal mode" and trying some of the different programs may help as well.

As someone pointed out, perhaps my expectations of a hearing aid aren't up to par with the technology.
Unlike some who've had some degree of hearing loss all or most of their lives, I went from a relative 15% loss in both ears to 80% loss in the left ear over the course of one 10 hour long surgery.
I don't deny the fact that I still have the right side as my "good ear". And trust me, I'm glad to have a bit of hearing in the left ear, as the surgeons works fairly hard to retain the nerves and keep me from having to step up to a Cochlear implant.

Who knows, maybe this isn't the right unit for me. There certainly seems to be a confusing number of hearing aids on the market, and I haven't been able to find any material that really compares them like you would a car or computer and any other relative bit of electronics or machinery.

I don't feel too bad though in saying the unit isn't doing much for me, because after having worn it today for nearing 7 hours, I finally realized that the battery had died during the night and the unit wasn't even on.
Me thinks, that not being able to tell any difference between having it in and working and in and not working means it either needs a lot of adjusting or I need a unit with a bit more "ummph".
LOL, I should have noticed sooner because there was no crackling from the wind :)
But I do like the fact that I've already gotten used to the ear mold, that I totally forgot I had it in.

Again thanks for all the feedback (and not the high pitched whistley sort). :)

moisture problems
Until recently I have been using ITE aids for years with no problems due to moisture at all.

A couple of months ago I had to upgrade to BHE to get the extra gain. Since then I've had the original device quit on me twice - once with a loud pop, the second time it just would not start in the morning.
The first time I took it to the audiologist's office, he put a new battery in the unit and it worked - I had tried the same at home without any luck - and BTW, the battery expiry date is more than 2 years in the future :-).
Following that second time, the audiologist replaced the unit with a brand new device. A week later it did the same thing and would not start one morning, although it did seem to work at a much lower volume some of the time.
I tried to start it several days, with new batteries - even checked them with a tester designed for the type of batteries - all without much luck.
The day I was to see the audiologist I tried it once more and lo and behold it started working again and has for the past three days.
Some of the mail flying back and forth between his office and myself suggested possible moisture problems.
While I can't prove or disprove that theory - and not having had any problems for many years with a different type and manufacturer , I am skeptical and am now wondering whether that is a common problem for BHE and something I'll have to get used to or ....

First hearing aid
I lost the majority of my left ear's hearing due to surgery to remove a brain tumor two months ago.
Despite my insurance companies refusal to pay for a hearing aid, I dropped a few grand last week (ouch) on a Sonic Innovations Ion 400 micro BTE. I'm wondering if anyone has this model, because in my first 3 days of having it, I'd say its complete rubbish!
I can't wear it outside AT ALL. I live in San Francisco and its often windy here... so all I hear now is the crackle and whistle of the wind... and it kinda hurts!
I wore it out to dinner and drinks with friends on Friday and I couldn't hear them any better than I could without it. I had to keep turning to hear with my good ear, seems kinda pointless to have the hearing aid.

At home, I keep putting it on and removing it, trying to decide if I can actually hear the tv any better, and honestly, I can't tell any difference.
So far, the only time I've gone "WOW, I can hear better with this", was in a small room, that was VERY quiet and the voice of the other person was nice and clear.

I realize it has to be adjusted, but I would have expected the Universal setting to be better than this.

So either this hearing aid is garbage, or I have to admit I need an even more powerful one.

Thoughts?

Bluetooth to FM - FM Transmitter - Other FM Goodies?

I'm about to purchase a new hearing aid for my one usable ear and I'm exploring FM receiver options.

My main question: Is purchasing an FM receiver option for my HA a good investment?

Are there others in this community that own an FM receiver option? If so, how often do you use it and for what purposes?

Are there any bluetooth to FM (instead of a neck loop or BTE inductor) devices? I couldn't find any using google. This seems like it would be a really good application of FM.

The first thing I thought of was purchasing an FM transmitter; I could hook-up to the television, laptop output, etc. But, when I went looking for such a transmitter (that used the same band as the HA) I went into vapor lock. Jimminy Cricket, that stuff is expensive... How can they justify that kind of pricing?

In the past, I've done some electronics work. Kit assembly, radio repair, etc. So, even though I'm not an IEEE, I'm not inept with a pencil iron. I wen't looking for any kit for building such a transmitter or DIY hacks for modifying a standard FM transmitter to the proper band. Again, I came up empty. Maybe my google-fu is lacking.

I guess I'm trying to find a good reason to purchase the FM option, but so far I've found none. Can anyone comment on their use of FM? Or, can anyone point me to some links for FM gadgets that might make the investment worth it?

Thank you in advance!
Marp

RITE Maintenance Question
I'm still a bit hesitant on this RITE thing. My first pair of devices were ITC's that went into the shop every 3 mos. My ear canals apparently do serious damage to electronics.

How often should I be replacing the waxstops?

I figured once a week, but I today found a small piece of wax got past one of them. I got it out and they are much louder.

Current Mood: curious

Kinda curious, I've decided I want new molds but I was wondering if anyone knew an average price for JUST the molds.

baha
so I'm going in for my baha in april, I'm looking for feedback on how they preform with cellphones (will I get as much of that wretched feedback), and wondering about bluetooth devices that work with baha. I've been wearing a bone conduction my whole life and still don't really understand all the technical stuff so I'd really appreciate the help.
thanks
-Cas

Epoq Picoreview
I just got fitted for two Oticon Epoq RITE devices.

My first thoughts:

1) Compared to my (2 year old and in need of servicing) Widex Inteo devices these give me way better sound detail. I'm hearing things I did not before. Disclaimer: I always think this on new devices. Eventually I will notice what I could hear before what I now cannot.

2) Compared to the previous devices, the sound quality however is noticeably worse. Things sound tinny and muffled even if understandable. In fairness I have questions about some changes in my audiograph which I'm not sure if are accurate) but while I seem to be hearing much more, what I do hear does not sound nearly as good. I've noticed this trend before too. My choices way-to-often seem to be sounds-good vs hears-well.

3) I just love the features. Talking on a bluetooth phone is much better than with an ELI. Using the streamer for music works too, but this is REALLY where the sound quality of a Widex Device in its "Music Mode" shines and I am utterly SPOILED for it. Compared to the Inteo with DAI cables music quality is way worse (Do they make Boots for this thing?). Right now, it's the difference between having Stereo Headsets for a CD listening and a bedside FM-Radio.

In fairness I suspect that it's my 70db midrange loss pushing what can be done in a teeny-tiny RITE receiver, and I may be willing to swap these for non-RITE models but I'm going to be sooo disappointed if this is the reason. I had such hope for RITE. The speaker being closer to my ear would explain why I can hear more (#1) but being pushed too loudly sounds like it would explain why it sounds so tinny (#2).

4) Oticon feedback suppression is not as good as Widex's, but better than Danavox/ReSound's. More annoying is that my left device is having it kick in at odd times. I suspect this is the programming issue with my audiograph. Will go back in a week to have them tweaked.

Current Mood: uncertain

How can I increase output gain to Neckloop

Is there any device I can add to boost the output gain to the neckloop? Maybe some sort of small personal amplifier? I have a neckloop with a built in mic that I would like to use with my cell phone, the problem is, the signal is too weak, even if I increase the volume on my HA or the cell phone. If I physically put the loop near my HA, it works fine, but that sort of defeats the purpose of wearing the loop around the neck.

Add a NeckLoop to an existing bluetooth headset
Hi all, I am new to this board. I am hearing impaired since I was an infant where 2 BTE Widex P38 (severe/Profound loss in both ears). I just recently been using a neckloop and find it very helpful.

I wanted to use a bluetooth neckloop with my cell phone, and I see there are a few available, but I saw one in particular that looks like it should be easy to make myself. If you look at the Artone Blueetooth Loopset(http://artonecs.com/files/blunoflyer2.jpg), it looks like there should be an easy way to create this loop from any bluetooth headset. I can find a normal bluetooth headset that looks like the one Artone sells for $30. If I can figure out how to add the "loop" I can probably save about $100.

Any suggestions on how to hook this up if I could open up a regular Bluetooth headset? What I don't know is how I woudl create the inductive loop inside the headset? Or is it just a mater of soldering 2 wires.

Joe

Where do I start?
I looking for someone to help me know where to start . . .

I had a simple cold after Thanksgiving (2007), turned to a sinus infection, ear infection, hearing loss in my right ear, and debilitating vertigo.

After 3 months of being on intense motion sickness meds, a physical therapist was able to give me a VERY simple excersize, and bingo, that night, it was gone. Ahhh, no more bumping into walls, kinda nice.

But, 3 months into this situation, and I still can't hear a lick out of my right ear. I went to the ENT guy this morning. Huge bummer. I have 60-80% loss in my right ear, and 60% recognition loss. The audiologist says it's nerve damage, and most likely permenant.

I had done some Google-ing before I went in, and found enough to know that I don't even know where to start. The audiologist that I went to services ReSound. And, of course, the most expensive one (Azure) was the one that "was probably going to serve me best." Of course. I liked the lady. She really was helpful, and wasn't pushy at all - I just want to make sure I understand what this world I am entering into is all about.

Is it possible that she is "repping" for ReSound? She said she doesn't get any kickbacks. But, in the sales world, that can mean a lot of different things, to different people.

Given the info on my hearing loss above, do some of you have some resources of where I can start doing my homework on all of this?

Have any of you researched a company called Varibel, from the Netherlands? Is there anyone who can direct me to reviews on the product? Is there anyone in the states that is selling & servicing these?

I appreciate your time & insight!

Can someone explain to me what a DAI shoe is? Since for some reason I am picturing like an actual shoe that connects to your hearing aid. Yet somehow this doesn't sound right since when does a HA connect to a shoe?

Thanks =)

bernafon oasis plus software ?
hi everyone, i'm wondering if anyone knows where/how to obtain the software that allows hearing aid programming/customization. i've found the software bernafon uses is called 'oasis plus' and my audiologist says it is only available from bernafon and not available to the general public.

on a related note, i've noticed there are special connectors that attach to what appears to be a common 'DAI shoe' that then connects to the computer serial port for the comm interface. does anyone know where these are available? thanks!

bernafon icos 105 shoe/boot/dai ?
hi there! does anyone know if a dai shoe exists for the bernafon icos 105? i've already searched through the archives and couldn't find anything. thanks!

Hearing Aid Technical Details

Greetings.
I am a HOH almost-retired electrical engineer with a hereditary loss of hearing; after about 50
all the males in my family lose their hearing gradually.

I am (reasonably) comfortable with this; if I must lose a sense, hearing's the one I'll sacrifice first.
However, for the sake of marital comfort and because I still work, I need hearing aids.

I was, at first, appalled at the prices that are charged for these devices. I have as time goes
on become inured to this, but knowing a bit about DSP and a lot about electronics,
I have been on a quest to see just what is inside the device and why it is worth upwards of $2K bucks each.

I have had no success whatever in getting technical details from anyone. Vendor data is always
"It'll make you hear better" or "It'll make you cuter" or "it'll cut out noise (a lie)". junk like that.
Discussion with my audiologist has been a bit helpful; she understands what I am looking
for, but has the same inability to get concrete data. Discussion with "the hearing aid guy down the street"
is worse than useless.

Is there anyone out there that has some idea of just what is inside my ITE hearing aid?
I presently use a pair of GN Resound Canta 4's.

Any help or advice would be appreciated.

Current Mood:

curious

Purchasing a Tego BTE?
I've been trying to buy a Tego BTE for a relative who lives overseas but I'm have been unable to find someone who sell it to me. I was advised to have her buy it there but it costs at least twice as much. She does have a subscription from a local doctor and access to a licensed technician to assist fitting it. So, we only want to purchase the devices and take advantage of the lower US prices. Any ideas?

Thanks...

Cochlear Baja
Just wondering if anyone here is a user of the Baha system?
I'm 5 hours away from surgery to remove an acoustic neuroma on the left side of my brain, and the docs aren't giving me the greatest odds of retaining the nerves (of course I'm holding out for them be wrong on that point).

Certainly living with single sided deafness wouldn't be the end of the world. Heck, I never pay attention to what people say anyway :)
But going from 39 years of hearing out of two ears, down to one... in my mind, I find it hard to imagine what life would be like.
I've chatted with a few folks using the Cochlear Freedom systems, but so far have yet to meet anyone with the Baja systems.

So... just wondering. Anyone?

Thanks!
G