Hearing Aid Hacking

Loop vs. hook

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 19:05:06 GMT

This might be a good starter hack if I end up doing it myself.

I've seen lots of discussion lately in other places about phone use with headsets, loops, and earhook devices. They seem to boil down to this:

Some of the best audio some people get is with those big studio, 70s-stereo-style headsets. The ones with lots of padding that block out most outside noise. These often have high sensitivity, a great frequency range, and the speakers are situated somewhat back from the ear, minimizing or eliminating typical headset feedback. But you might not want to be wearing them at WalMart while trying to take a phone call...

So after some other conversations and digging around among the stuff for sale, there seem to be two mobile t-coil options that might be ideal if combined.

The CLA7 neckloop gets it right in its portable amplification. The output of a typical cell's 2.5mm jack just may not cut it with some of the t-coils out there today, esp in smaller ITE configurations. But the loop can require fiddling to find the sweet spot, or be in the wrong plane altogether to couple with the t-coils.

Earhooks, like the HATIS or T-Link/Music Link _can_ be a little easier to couple and a little more like wearing an earphone, but are not amplified. While not perfect, many prefer the placement and simplicity in reviews I've read.

So the question is whether the CLA7 (I don't have one yet) can be disassembled without too much difficulty and given some connection options, either direct to hook or maybe replacing the loop with a jack.

Intended result: amplified earhook.

Neckloops revisited? (need info)

Sun, 21 Sep 2008 03:05:12 GMT

I have t-coils in ITE devices, and while my t-coil program needs adjustment to bring it up to speed with my mic programs (hopefully this week), I have seen the benefits of the inductive link with some phones I've tried them with, for example.

I've been reading a lot of descriptions of different types of neck loops available. Some are a simple loop-to-jack (with or without mic, as applicable), and some are amplified, usually with 2 AAA batteries. One I noticed connects via Bluetooth, with its own receiver.

Since reading here, I thought, why not hack a loop? And so I played around with some alligator clips, 3.5mm jack and different coils of different-gauge wire in various orientations around my ear.

In all cases, these loops work within close proximity to my t-coil when held at a favorable angle (varies with the type of loop). In general, this is parallel to the broadest dimension of my ear, or in the plane that a headset would rest against the outside of the ear. More than an inch away, however, and there is no reception.

So, I have to wonder at the jack-to-loop solutions. Do they work? Then, there's the orientation -- any neckloop would be roughly perpendicular to the plane I described. Does the amplification feature overcome that inefficiency? Are these loops so high-tech that they actually "squeeze" a lot more signal out of the input than I am with some simple wire loops?

I've been tempted to try one, but the hassle of online ordering and probably returning at least a couple of these at $50-$200 a pop has kept me from it so far.

I apologize if some of this has been covered earlier; search seems very difficult here.

Any and all experiences/knowledge are appreciated.

DAI Shoes--Widex Bravo

Fri, 19 Sep 2008 05:39:11 GMT

Hi,

Firstly, thanks for this forum. I'm the parent of a HOH, very athletic son and have struggled a bit to find the right technology to help him. He wears BTE aids (bright yellow with red molds, so he's not shy). I'm wondering if you could help me with a couple of questions I have?

1. What's the cheapest US source for these shoes that I can order on my own without an audiologist, and why do these seem so much cheaper in the UK? Can't see them anywhere for less than $90/each.
2. My son is a competitive ice speed skater. When he skates on Long Track he's going around a 400m indoor oval that has horrible acoustics. It would be helpful to have a way for his coach to communicate him during the sessions as they are often separated by quite a distance. Would Bluetooth together with a mobile phone be the answer? It's preferable that he not have to wear anything on his person (other than some sort of small headphones) while skating as it's a real distraction and can fall off and cause injuries. I love DIYing, so I'm not averse to any suggestion that would require me to gerrymander something out of pieces, I just don't know what pieces.

Cheers!

Approaching creating new DAI cables

Fri, 19 Sep 2008 03:19:04 GMT

Hey folks,
Yet another pair of DAI cables is flaking out on me after around a year of use. My third pair to do so. I chopped up my 4th cable (my 3rd inferior Phonak DAI cable) to make a replacement lead for my headphones.

I'm not paying out the rear for any more of these pieces of junk, if I can help it.

So I have a few choices here, I think.
- I can chop up my currently flaky wires right at the head, as I did for my headphone wires, remove the pins from plastic holder, solder spliced headphone wires and resistor to the pins, re-insert pins into plastic, set the resistor+wires in glue/epoxy/filler, and cover it all with heat shrink tubing.
- I can attempt to get new/do the pins myself. Yee-haw!

There are a few ways I could get more pins:
- Find someone that sells brass pins that I can buy and modify slightly or not at all.
- Get brass rod of the two necessary diameters (I believe it's about 3/64" and 1/32"), cut them to length, file the tips into points (for ease of use), and maybe even drill tiny holes in one end for ease of soldering.
- Get someone/business to manufacture custom pins. Making the necessary drawings is easy.
In each case, I'd have to solder stuff to them, find a way to hold the pins in the correct position. Either drill holes in small pieces of plastic (a true PITA from experience) or seal in epoxy or similar. Tricky but doable.

Two examples of pins that might be modifiable that I've found so far:
http://www.gayatribrass.com/Brass_Electrical_Pin_Socket.htm#pin
http://www.rushilimpex.com/electrical_accessories.htm

If I can get easily modifiable pins or a custom run of these pins... would anyone be interested in virtually free pins? I'd just have people mail me an envelope addressed to them (with postage) and mail back the pins.

I'm pretty sure I've asked in the past here if any of the audiologists here could get a source of the pins, but have had no replies.

Most of my past work with DAI connectors can be seen in pictures on Flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gertlex/

Let me know, folks!

•Eric

Hacking an audio shoe

Tue, 16 Sep 2008 03:15:08 GMT

I got a new pair of Siemens (Artis 2P) hearing aids and just realized that the reason the old shoes I had for my last pair of Siemens (Signia) aids don't work is because they aren't quite exactly the same. Makes sense I guess... but the connection is the same so I figured the aids just hadn't been set up right to use a shoe....

Anyway... before I spend $100+ (connevans shipping is about the same as the cost of the shoes, but I can shop around some more) on new shoes... has anyone tried ummm... modifying... an old shoe to fit a new hearing aid? :)

Clearly I don't want to 'fry' the aids... but the shoes I don't care much about. Unless someone knows of some kind of exchange program or something.

Real Live User Groups

Fri, 12 Sep 2008 17:18:19 GMT

When I was a teenager, a friend of my parents' was really into radio controlled airplanes. A form of geek/tech hobby like any other niche, to be sure. He would take me to meetings down near DC, and they would have manufacturer reps come in and show off their latest radio system, or someone showcasing ideas that another club used on their flying field... You get the idea. As an inner-city kid, I also grew up with lots of exposure to my folks' local Community Association, and again as an adult in my own home. The topics are different, but it's pretty much the same idea.

Surely, somewhere out there is such a group of wearers and users of hearing tech. Somewhere you show up, know a few people, see the new gadgets they like or dislike, and (dare I say?) maybe get a chance to try them for five minutes to see what they actually do!

Almost as good would be a brick-and-mortar store that allows handling of the merch. Around here (MD), all I've found is one place in Rockville that sells a few flashers and bed-shakers. :/ It seems almost everything for sale is on the internet somewhere far away from here.

If there really are no user groups, I might be inclined to start one. I don't know how that might possibly benefit most of the folks here, but hey, you never know where word of mouth spreads, so I'm just planting the seed.

If anyone has any info even barely related, I encourage you to post it here in one place. Even if it's out in CA, it might help someone else in that area.

Cheers.

Hi all

Thu, 11 Sep 2008 02:15:04 GMT

Just posted a comment yesterday, didn't realize it would be buried in a sense.

I'm new here, just wanted to poke my head in. Looks kinda quiet in the last few weeks, and I hope that's not a trend. This place is a great resource.

I currently am wearing Phonak Valeo ITEs, have a deteriorating "sloping" loss from lower mids all the way up to about 70db in the high freqs.

I am very frustrated with audies in general and, with a background in IT and problem-solving, their less than methodical approach to handling my specific change requests.

I know there are professionals in this forum, and I've seen the message to look until I find the right one, but frankly, it's expensive after having moved and found a new one (all hourly atm) so I'm sticking with what I have for now.

I'm in Maryland. If anyone knows of any face-to-face, real life groups or organizations around here, sort of like HOH user groups, please clue me in. :)

I'm glad I found this place.

Exelia BTE

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 02:59:11 GMT

I just got Phonak's Exelia BTE with a BiCros for my deaf ear. It is a great hearing aid, but one thing it does I can't figure out. Does anyone have experience with the Exelia? Whenever I try to put my headphones (just regular cheap headphones) over my hearing aid it does two short beeps and goes into a setting that I can't switch out of unless I take the headphones off. What is that? i want to put my hearing aid on the T-coil and for it to STAY there, but it keeps switching into this other setting...

Thanks!

Need Advice: New Widex Bravissimo BV 18 BTEs

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 15:55:10 GMT

Hi,
I have binaural bilateral sensorineural loss. Unlike the usual “sloping type” loss, my audiogram shows moderate loss at high frequencies and high loss at some lower frequencies. I have been told (by audiologists and specialists alike) that this is a rare condition and it is difficult to fine tune a hearing aid towards this kind of loss.

I bought a pair of Widex Bravissimo BV 18 BTEs last month. I have been using Widex B2 CICs for the past 4 years. During this time my hearing loss increased, and I found out that my CIC’s could not be amplified beyond a certain limit. They had been of limited benefit anyway. Now I feel like an idiot for putting up with CICs in the first place. During the 5 day trial period, the performance of the BV 18s totally blew me away. I started hearing sounds that I had forgotten, started having proper conversations, and saw a film in theatre sans subtitles for the first time in years. They worked very well inside theatres and auditoriums. In noisy situations, the voice literally floated on the top of noise which was a remarkable improvement. This is not to say that I got 100% benefit. Some problems still existed: At the end of the trial, I was assured that after some corrections the fit would be perfected. After the first fitting the following problems existed:

1) Volume: Very loud overall. On the road my ears would begin to hurt within minutes (I live in a traffic choked city). During conversations, I felt uncomfortable as even when people were speaking softly, their voice would grate on my ears. Slamming, banging, clapping noises were also getting overamplified. I tried to get used it, after a day and a half decided that it may actually harm my ears. So I took to reducing the volume as and when the situation demanded it.

2) Thickness: Voices, my own and others, were thick. I particularly felt uncomfortable when talking to male speakers as their voice felt like thunder falling on my ears. The problem was more with sounds like “pa”, “ba”, “ma”, “da”.

3) Conversations at a distance, group conversations and television: These areas have always been problematic for me. My CIC was no good in these situations. The new BTE’s have been of some benefit though. I was able to hear about 30-50 % of the words and thus follow the gist of the conversation. But in absolute terms, it was of little use. More performance was needed.

Now when I approached my audiologist for a second fitting session, he warned me that any reduction in volume would compromise the aids performance. After I detailed my problems as above, he agreed to reduce the volume and sharpen voices to improve clarity. I was told to try the aids over the next week and report back on their performance. While the reduced volume and thickness did not affect the performance (improved it slightly, in fact), it still made me uncomfortable and I felt it needed to be reduced further.

At this point unfortunately, my audiologist became unavailable, and I was left at the mercy of a less experienced young audiologist. I had my doubts about him, and he proved them true by totally screwing up the settings on several occasions. The problems with thickness and volume have been resolved but only after a lot of pain.

I’ve had 8 sessions with him, and out of these, three ended with totally unacceptable fittings. The ‘better’ of these sessions have always resulted in a compromise; performance inside a cinema hall has fallen. Fan noise has increased. Talking in noisy situations has become difficult as has talking in a group and the overall quality of sound has fallen. With the first fitting I was able to cherish the richness of sound in noisy environments. This is not possible anymore. When I confronted the younger audiologist over this, he said that it was because of the reduction in volume and thickness that I have been suffering these ill effects.

Personally, I don’t believe him. This guy didn’t really build upon the fitting done by his senior. He messed it up then tried to correct it. The ‘corrected’ setting was where the first compromise crept in; increased fan noise. After that our sessions have followed this pattern of screw up, correct and compromise. So my guess is that reduced performance is more because of his ineptitude.

All the same, I cannot ignore the fact that I have had the volume reduced considerably. Also I think that reducing thickness of voice could have affected the overall performance, though in what measure I cannot say.

I would like to know if anyone has experienced similar problems. Can reduction in volume really result in reduced speech clarity and speech discrimination? Does tuning the HA to make the voice sharper distort other sounds? Should I try to ‘get used to’ high volume levels even if they make me uncomfortable? Is it realistic to expect 100% performance from a BTE? Or 90% or 80%?

I would be glad to hear from you all.

Regards,
CSP400

Can you hear me now?

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 03:21:08 GMT

My 5 month old Phonak Exelia keeps crapping out!
It goes from working to dead while wearing it. I've wasted a ton of batteries but still nothing.
So I go a few days and then give it a try and suddenly it starts working again. I don't think I'm suddenly going completely deaf for a few days.

So I'm wondering, has anyone had a similar issue with this model of suddenly dying and then working again a few days later?

I keep wondering if its a moisture issue. I live in a very foggy area and I know it can be very damp here. Thoughts from anyone?

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 01:16:03 GMT

I'm not too sure where to post this so if this is the wrong place can some one let me know where I should post too thanks? :)

I have Phonax Eleva Purple behind the ear hearing aids. I'm getting pretty sick of purple since I am starting to feel like I am a walking grape. Does anyone know if you can change the BTE part? Since I know you can change the molds but I don't want to change my molds quite yet.

I also have another question. Under where it says Elva it says 211 dAZ on my left aid (my right aid says something different.) What does this mean

p.s.
Picture of myself and my aids so you guys can get an idea of what i'm talking about.

Hacking your hearing, without technology

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 18:16:29 GMT

This is not directly related to Hearing Aid "technology", but I thought it was interesting enough to finally point out.

I was diagnosed with unequivocal narcolepsy about a year ago, and since starting medications (largely: Provigil), my life has returned to what many would consider a mostly normal sleep/wake pattern. Though that's not the truly interesting effect; what floored my neurologist, ENT, and primary-care doctor, was that after starting the medication, my hearing "improved". More specifically, my personal perception of speech comprehension capacity sharply improved.

I discussed this "improvement" with a number of specialists in the area, and even touched on the topic during a discussion with the Director of Clinical Audiology at OHSU...just a few miles from here. The response was nearly universal; nearly all of them didn't believe that the narcolepsy symptoms were a result of hearing and speech-processing related fatigue, they did all agree that when my hypersomnolence peaks, it clearly creates a cascading effect that materializes as a disproportionate degree of difficulty understanding speech.

Further, during the initial diagnosis tests, we were able to rule out fatigue-faulted hypersomnolence; it appears to be purely neurological in origin. While drug therapy has helped, there is still no hard-line consistency in the varying degrees of hypersomnolence experienced from day-to-day. How many of us can say "...I heard better yesterday..."

For the average person, that means something we're all too familiar with; when we're tired, we understand less. I'm still accepting the idea of taking medication on a daily basis, for the rest of my life (I hate the idea!), but for those of you struggling to understand speech, the idea of effectively "overclocking" your brain, with a relatively safe medicine, could be an alternative to implants, or more powerful hearing aids (especially, if recruitment becomes an issue).

As for measuring fatigue related speech processing difficulties, would something like a Paced Auditory Serial Addition Task (PASAT) help accomplish this? Does anyone have any experience with PASATs?

A brief review of Phonak's SmartLink SX and an FM transmitter question

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 21:05:28 GMT

UPDATE @ 17:00 (pacific) on 22AUG2008:
Apparently, a higher-up at Phonak got wind of this posting. Their regional rep contacted my local specialists, whom in turn called me just barely an hour ago. I've been told a shipment of all-new equipment is on the way. From the sounds of it, Phonak may turn out to be far more responsive than Starkey ever was...I'll post updates as they develop.

About one month ago, I began trying to use a Phonak SmartLink SX coupled with an integrated ML10i FM receiver on each of my nearly-new Phonak Naida V UP (UltraPower) BTE hearing aids.

The intent, was twofold:
1) To replace functionality originally found in my now-dead Starkey DaVinci PxP HAs, where I used an ELI+DAI boot for bluetooth needs, and a couple of DAI boots/cables for iPhone/iPod needs.

2) To strive for more moisture-resistant HAs, in an apparently vain attempt at finding HAs that would last more than 2-3 months between repairs.

To review major utilized features of the SmartLink SX:
a) Bluetooth:
The SmartLink has the ability to pair with other bluetooth audio sources, though in actual usage, I've found that even when the SmartLink and paired device are sitting on-top of one-another, audio often cuts-out, or is otherwise illegible - various other distances and positions where also attempted, but with little positive change. Tested devices were a MacBook, iMac, iPhone (1st and 2nd generation), Nokia 6230, Motorola SLVR, and a PC w/ a USB-based bluetooth dongle. With all devices, the results where consistently-poor audio quality, often to the point of uselessness.

b) Mic-in, line-in, and charging functions:
For any user of the SmartLink, my rationale for bundling all three of these functions together is clear; Phonak did not engineer these plugs into the primary device, they instead require the use of a flimsy and poorly-connecting adapter (pictured below). Aside from the generally-unnecessary bulkiness of the device, the adapter effectively eliminates the possibility of comfortably pocketing the device.

An argument towards waterproofing the device, by moving these plugs to an external device, falls flat. Simply because through the antenna area of the device (often referred to as the "top" of the unit), you can not only see the antenna's mounting jack, but easily make out individual components on the internal circuit boards - all easily exposed to raindrops and other forms of moisture:

In addition, the audio-out of both my computer, and iPhone, must be cranked to full volume. Otherwise, the SmartLink fades the audio in/out while feeding it to the hearing aids; making music extremely unpleasant, and speech indecipherable.

Further, the final nail in the coffin for me, was the fact that the connector often fails to make a sufficient electrical contact, often unless held in position (even after being "adjusted" by my hearing aid specialists). Meaning, not only does the SmartLink often not fully-charge, when resting inside a seat-bag in my bike (a recumbent, with a large and often half-empty bag), the subtle bouncing of riding down the road jars the device enough that the dongle connects/disconnects, making listening to an iPod/iPhone totally impossible.

c) Necklace/antenna:
To accommodate the inability to pocket this device, it was suggested that I wear the unit around my neck, using the included neckpiece w/ integrated FM antenna. Since I work in the "real world", the idea of wearing an awkward looking device on the outside of my clothes, which is in-turn connected to a flimsy dongle, and then finally plugged into my iPod...well...it's pretty ridiculous. Though I did try it for one day, and quickly grew tired of the ensuring comments and perplexed and sometimes almost fearful looks by strangers.

Further, being made of a ballistic nylon type material, its clear that the necklace would not break-free easily. So, if wearing the unit on the exterior of my clothes, and if snagged on/in something, I'd better pray I get free before being choking to death...or worse...

So, I tried wearing the unit under the clothes, only to realize that the ballistic nylon making up the neckpiece also irritates the skin of my neck; it's a very coarse material, which makes it blinding clear that no engineer actually considered wearing it in such a manner.

d) In general:
The device has an impressive feature-set, but Phonak's actual implementation of each feature is representative of the hearing aid industry as a whole; they clearly do not design their products for real-world usage patterns. Nor are their products very well tested with common personal electronics.

So, in light of it all, I've given up trying to use the device for iPod listening or for connecting to my mobile phone. Since both tasks could be easily accomplished with nothing more than a line-in --> FM transmitter running at the right frequency (ie: to interface with the integrated ML10i receivers)...does anyone know of a product that'd work for this purposes? Could one just assemble their own FM transmitter, tweak the frequency range, and use it instead? Maybe even doing so, without dropping $1,000 for something that amounts to $50 worth of electronics and slapdash engineering?

Phonak Naida V UltraPower - dead as a rock

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 05:35:09 GMT

UPDATE @ 17:00 (pacific) on 22AUG2008:
Apparently, a higher-up at Phonak got wind of this posting. Their regional rep contacted my local specialists, whom in turn called me just barely an hour ago. I've been told a shipment of all-new equipment is on the way. From the sounds of it, Phonak may turn out to be far more responsive than Starkey ever was...I'll post updates as they develop.

In the past ~5 years, I've burned through roughly 10 HAs:
Phonak Supero 413 AZ
Starkey DaVinci PxP
Phonak Naida V UltraPower

That's the list of personally-owned pairs, the others were short-term (mostly analog) loaners used when my personal backups failed... The personal backups were always the retired sets (ie: when primary were DaVinci, the backups were Superos); once fitted with the new set, the then-backups were always sent-in for a review/tune-up/repair...something I'd expect to be "good enough" for the short-term...but even that's never been enough.

As for my current set; a pair of Phonak Naida V UltraPower units w/ integrated FM recievers (yes, brand new water "resistant" ultra-power HAs). One lies before me, dead as a rock, with rust/corrosion stains after just a day of vigours activity (I'm using high-quality stainless-cased Energizer brand cochlear quality 675's, that have NEVER shown rust with other HAs). The other HA whimpers along, while I wait for that final gasping beep (dying symptoms are the FM reciever making low-frequency humm/static type noises akin to a T-coil near a strong EMI source, and then the low-batt beeps, followed by the entire HA simply shutting-off, and then not responding to new/fresh batteries; the humm started yesterday...)... I'm left wondering what I've done wrong, should I retreat to the life of a hermit, or is there an alternative?

Throughout my childhood, I was accused by HA techs, audiologists, ENTs, counselors, and teachers, of destroying my hearing aids. Many (apparently) practically begged my mother to keep me from destroying yet another set. Once I entered the teen years I discovered computers, became less physically active, and generally very unhappy... Since turning 25, and now just cresting my 30th, I've returned to a life of vigorous activity; Argentine Tango dancing and distance-cycling are two passions I've latched onto. Given the root-cause of my loss (Mondini Dysplsia), I cannot play many sports I'd otherwise enjoy...must I also give up cycling and ballroom dancing too?

With a bilateral PTA around 95dBi, and an onset of recruitment, my loss is profound, and justifies the use of these more powerful HAs. Though at their price-tag, these otherwise common interests are turning into a very expensive endeavor...

Does anyone else burn through HAs this fast? I use a dehumidifier nightly, is there anything else I could be doing differently or better. I've tried those rubber boots, but cannot effectively distinguish road-noises, or understand music. I've tried those cloth "socks" for HAs, to no positive effect... Or is it simply a fact of life, that despite over fifty years of development, nobody is capable of engineering an ultra-power HA that can withstand the rigors of an active person? Or, is there something better out there?

how to adjust your own digital hearing aid

Sat, 16 Aug 2008 12:21:59 GMT

I'm a disabled veteran because of hearing loss, my right hear is basically deaf, and my left hear is about 80% good. I get pretty good digital aids from VA, but the audiologists are lousy. I've went back time and again, and the result is usually worse than when I went in. I would love to be able to adjust my own aids, I know I can get more out of them than the audiologists. I'm an IT pro, so if I could get the equipment and software that would be awesome. Does anyone have any ideas on how to go about this.

Dragon Naturally Speaking

Sun, 10 Aug 2008 16:33:21 GMT

Hi

I wonder if anyone in this group has had experience with this software. As a long time wearer of hearing aids, I have come to treat audio conference calls (on the speaker phone, and normal) with a lot of trepidation.

Does any one have experience with using voice recognition software to translate to text realtime?

Thanks
Arvind

New Guy

Sun, 03 Aug 2008 11:14:01 GMT

Greetings,

Thanks for the great group - it has been frustrating sorting out what is what in the very commercialized and profit driving hearing aid world.

Quick question: I wear micro bte's and have just got my second (fungal probably) middle ear infection. Any suggestions on cleaning/disinfecting ear tubes on a daily basis?

I'm also looking for a better hearing aid - one with the (reciever?) speaker at the end of the tube (in ear) on a micro bte that will help me with both bluetooth enable cell phones and regular land line telephone use.

Many thanks in advance for your input.

Sonic Ion BTE questions

Sun, 03 Aug 2008 00:11:32 GMT

Hey everyone, :-)

In the past I've had Starkey analogs and Oticon digital - each of which were ITE - so I'm in new territory now. My ears are so damaged from repeated surgeries that I have a real problem with drainage. It was a constant issue with my old aids getting plugged up. So the audi has suggested the Sonic Ion open-ear BTE's and thinks these will work really well for me.

These questions may sound a little silly for those who are well acquainted with BTE's but please bear with me .... ;-)

1) Are there any restrictions or modifications needed when I'm especially active - like running or jumping or otherwise sweating? Do they move around? Will they fall forward if I bend over? What about if I am upside down?

2) Do you ever experience any soreness behind the ear from constant rubbing?

3) Do these particular BTE's have a manual volume control switch or button? I like having that control. ;-)

4) I already know this will sound vain, but do they push your ears out & make you resemble Opie?

5) Any advice on colors???

Thanks, y'all! :-)

~~~~~

For those who use headphone DAI shoes, there is finally an affordable and available bluetooth device

Sat, 26 Jul 2008 20:08:56 GMT

Behold the Jabra BT325s, found here at buy.com. ( http://www.buy.com/prod/gn-jabra-bt325s-stereo-earset-ear-bud-gn-jabra-bt325s-stereo-earset/q/loc/101/202878793.html ) Best of all, while the device is normally 80 dollars, buy.com has it for under 20.

This device is a very unique and useful passthrough for stereo headphones. It comes with a set of headphones, but just unplug them and trash them. The 3.5mm jack on the top of the device allows any 3.5mm stereo headphone plug to be used. It works like this: The 3.5mm plug on the BT325s can connect to the music device. On top of the BT325s you can plug in your headphones. The cables can be worn easily underneath clothing, and the device itself is ment to clip onto your collar or a lanyard. THe BT325s has a built in microphone, allowing for hands free phone and skype conversation. When a call comes in, if the user is listening to music, it will fade the music to a mute and allow you to accept the call. During the conversation you will only hear the phone. After the call terminates, the device returns to playing music.

I know this isn't really a hack, but it's about time that there is an affordable bluetooth device that those with DAI headphones are able to use. This is good news for most BTE hearing aid users.

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 22:40:46 GMT

Hello, everyone,

I'm new to this group, found out about it on Neil's do-it-yourself page. One of my ears is permanently offline and I have a hearing aid in the other. I've been curious about the possibilities of bluetooth but am not sufficiently convinced that either the Epoq or the ELI is worth the investment at this point. So I think I will try Neil's idea and build my own device to get some first hand experience on the cheap.

I found a great deal on ebay (in the US) for the Clip IIe, which I think should work (http://cgi.ebay.com/I-tech-Bluetooth-Buzzer-Clip-Headset_W0QQitemZ360070741804QQcmdZViewItem?_trksid=p3286.m20.l1116). $22 including shipping. They're going fast, 7 left as of this moment (13 when I ordered mine the other day). It's not stereo, but stereo won't do me any good!

Also, there's a good deal on a D-Link DBT-120 USB Bluetooth adapter at Newegg (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833127117). $16.99 plus shipping, less $10 if you mail in a rebate form. The rebate's only good through July, so hurry if you're interested!

Maybe somebody else out there will want to take advantage of these deals.

phones

Sat, 19 Jul 2008 13:59:53 GMT

I really need a phone. I have about an 80dbl loss bilaterally and have a Siemens digital HA. I have been depending upon IP relay and the computer when I need to communicate. I really do miss being able to just pick up the phone when it rings, though, and not have to have some one else make all of my calls for me. It's getting to be a drag, as much as I appreciate relay, and I really don't like using them for anything but business calls.

My daughter and two sons are over 2000 miles away and they would love to be able to hear my voice on the phone, and I would love hearing them.

I don't go out much and don't really need a cell phone. I'd just as soon have a landline. For desktop models, does anyone have any opinions on which models are best?

This model is supposed to supplement up to 60 dbl.

I would love one that has a jack that I can use with my headphones. That would be so nice.

Hearing Planet has these

Any suggestions and/or opinions would be appreciated.

M stoped to work when DAI shoe is attached (worked before)

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 19:20:31 GMT

Hi,

I've got a strange problem with one of my two Widex Inteo BTE hearing aids. When I have my (DAI-)shoe with Phanak MLxS attached to my failing hearing aid the microphones on the aid stop to work. I first though that it might be the shoe that start to get damaged so I tried with the other shoe (and other MLxS) and still when it is attached I get no sound from the hearing aid microphone.

Next I tried was to remove the FM receiver from the shoe and try only with a shoe. And also no sound.

My program layout is as follows: (In brackets [] is what happens when a DAI-shoe is attached and that program is selected.)
1: M [M + DAI]
2: MT [DAI]
3: T

I notice that program 3 gives the t-coil signal (or rather noise). DAI works as it should meaning that if I turn on my FM microphone I get sound. (I keep my receivers on by default)

If I remove the shoe the hearing gives sound from the microphones in program 1 as it should. But it seams like the MT program isn't working. It only gives T but no M.

Now that last thing with MT makes me think that it's not really limited to DAI but might be something more that is not working correctly. Don't seams very good. And I guess the answer is simply go and see my ENT and have them look on it. Hopefully it don't take too long.

The hearing aids are only 1 1/2 year old. If they where more like 5 years old I would understand..

Basic questions on DAI

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 01:14:01 GMT

Hi,

Some weeks back I posted a question on getting the DAI connector to a standard mobile handsfree kit by sniping the wires and getting the pins appropriately linked.

An elementary question ( i have no background with electrical engineering!)
1) Gertlex said you need a resistor (to protect the HA?)
So, if I understand right:
- Ground (Short Fat Pin) - you connect directly
- Audio Signal - you connect through a 270 ohm resistor to the signal line of the handsfree wire
- leave the VDD signal alone.

Did I get it right?

Thanks
Arvind

automobile ignition noise

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 00:13:24 GMT

My rexton bte aids pickup loud ignition interference in my dodge magnum when used in t coil mode. they go from low pitch to high as the rpm's increase, anybody have similar problems with other aids?

Headphones for hearing impaired

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 17:07:36 GMT

Hi, I work for a company that is purchasing headsets for an online conference system they are starting. Does anyone have recommendations for good headsets that would work for both hearing impaired and non hearing impaired persons? The headset has to have a microphone attached for speaking.

They have tried a Logitech behind the head one. I told them I hated it because it fell off my head and didn't cover the microphone on my hearing aid.

Thanks!