starkey halo

Hello,

I was wondering if this has happened to anyone else and what was done to fix it.

I have a pair of Halos. Out of the blue, my left Halo went silent. I played music on my iphone and I can hear it both on my left and right Halos. Using my finger, I touched the microphone area on both my left and right Halos and I can hear the scraping sound. On my right, I can hear sounds normally but with my left, I can’t hear any external sounds.

Just to be sure, I replaced the battery, muted and unmated using trulink, raised the volume and selected different presets but still no external sounds on my left Halo. However, the sounds on my phone streams to both left and right.

I have an appointment with my audi but I want to see if anyone else had this and how it was fixed.

Have changed the wax guard in the left aid? That's what I would do first.

Since you can STREAM from your iDevice, the AMPLIFIER in your Halo is working fine, and the tube isn't plugged up with earwax. What you're describing is a problem with the MICROPHONE on that aid. It could be a dead microphone, or a PLUGGED microphone hole. The only thing that YOU can do is to check the two holes on the top of the Halo to make sure that the holes didn't get plugged up with something sticky. Other than that, you need your Audi's help.

Hello,

Thanks for the quick replies and help.

I replaced the wax filter since I haven’t done so in a couple of months. And to be sure, I vacuumed it thoroughly with my Jodi vac. No Joy. The next day, I heard crackling and popping and things were back to normal. Today, I turned them on and my left one is once again dead to external sounds.

I’m going to see my audi and if I get any useful info that might be helpful, I’ll post.

Thanks,

Hello,

I saw my audi today and this is what I found out.

There is a new “performance update” that was released recently. If you haven’t seen your audi lately, you might want to check it out.

For the no external sounds issue, the issue was a blocked microphone door. The door needs to be removed, cleaned and also clean around the microphone. The door is small and flimsy so be extra careful when removing it. So if you notice your Halos are not picking up external sounds well or none at all, this is the most likely cause.

Thanks for the follow up. Every little bit of info helps us all.

Hello,

Not sure if you guys are aware of this so sorry if it’s been posted elsewhere.

The current Halo firmware version is 3.1.0.12. To find out what you have, open the Trulink app, go to settings then help. Then click on email customer support. The body of the message will show your firmware version.

HTH

FYI - All

Day three using Halo BTE i110 with iphone 6 all running most current updates and firmware. Excellent results in a noisy restaurant, riding in the car, tv, telephone calls, no problems with pairing as earlier mentions. 60 years of age first time aid wearer with high frequency loss. So far a life changing experience. After reading the above comments I understand the importance of regular visits to the audiologist going forward.

Many thanks to those early trials, surely your feedback has been vital to the product development process.

CDC

Also thanks for the above tip on pointing out the process and location of firmware for the device and phone. VERY IMPORTANT takeaway for me.

Hello CDC870

I have never been able to obtain great results in a noisy restaurant with my Halos. I fumble around with a variety of settings but I still find the external noise intrusive. I'd love to know what settings you used!! thanks.

Honestly I tried them all And the audiologist set parameters for normal and crowd which differ greatly and overall found myself choosing the normal setting. I did not mind the amplified noise because I had never been able to listen in or carry on a conversation in that situation before. Life changing for me. I have a follow up in a few days and will ask about possibly softening the ambient noise a bit. It will be about a week before I can report back with that experience.

I've been absent from this group for a long time. I purchased the Starkey Halos 110 over a year ago. I had two choices for brands through The Group Health Hear Center: Starkey or Oticon. I had worn Phonak for years without problems. I found that there were so many connection issues with the Starkeys that I sent them back. I trialed the Oticon Chilis next, but the quality of sound was awful for my ears. Due to the limited choice, I decided to go with the Starkey Halos. Sadly, the initial experience that I had with them has held true. I have never had good solid BT connections. It is a pain to move between ipad and iphone. So much so that I just leave them set on the iPad and don't use them on the iPhone. The sound quality is still good, but the earmolds are impossible to "tweak" in the audiologist's office. The entire hearing aid has to be returned to Starkey so that Starkey can do the rebuild and, of course, reap the financial benefits. Since I have one mold that is troublesome (feedback and the need to frequently push it down into the ear canal or it hurts), not being able to have the mold adjusted in the office is a HUGE issue with me. I can't hear at all without the hearing aids so sending them back for a few weeks is problematic. My audi doesn't have replacement hearing aids just lying around as loaners.

I have never given a poor recommendation to a hearing aid before and I've worn them for 40 years. I am grateful for the technology, but I am unhappy that Starkey and Apple can't provide a product that "just works". We pay thousands for these hearing aids. Most of us can't afford them, but there is no choice, we are a captive audience. I am not a technical illiterate. I've tried many fixes and options. In the end, the Blue tooth is almost useless to me. I can't use telecoils any longer. Head phones don't work well for me. The app doesn't even give me the kind of sound block that I need in restaurants... my list of complaints goes on and on. I'll spare you any more.

This is simply my cautionary response to those looking to buy into the magic of streaming with your iphone,ipad, etc. When it works, it is a miracle. Problem is that it sure doesn't work consistently. At least, it doesn't work for me. Maybe it has something to do with my severe/profound level of loss. Others seem to be just fine. I now wish that I'd gone with the old type ear molds that only required an office visit for adjustment or fine tuning. There are many ways to add the other "bells and whistles" beyond buying into the Apple/Starkey eco system. I can ill afford to move away from these hearing aids, but I'm trying to figure out how I can do so. For those of you thinking about Starkey/Apple, just be certain that they will truly serve you well BEFORE you buy. Go with your first impressions during the trial period. Good Luck. May you be one of the many satisfied customers.

Have you updated to the most recent iOS on your iPhone? Solved all my problems including the ones you mention.

I concur. I *LOVE* my Starkey Halos AS HEARING AIDS. The sound quality can't be beat. But STREAMING quality is poor. Mine connect flawlessly every time, and I can switch between iPhone and iPad easily by simply turning the Bluetooth OFF on one device and ON on the other, then reversing the procedure to switch back.

Luckily FOR ME, I only use streaming for VOICE PODCASTS. The voice quality is quite poor, but I'm interested in the CONTENT of the podcasts, so I put up with the poor quality. For PHONE CALLS, I am quite pleased because I can use BOTH EARS.

It is an imperfect world, and you and I have imperfect ears. The next generation may benefit from us guinea pigs.

Jim Flannery

Littleton, Co.

dogsitter,

Hi and thanks for your effort to help. You have always given good advice in this forum. You do know your "stuff".

Yes. Everything is up to date. I've used many of the recommended fixes, talked to a Starkey Rep in the past, seen my audi,and so forth. I just don't think these are the hearing aids for me. Would LOVE everything to work, but, for me it "just doesn't work".

After all of this time of wearing hearing aids, you'd think I'd learn not to jump on the newest wizbang band wagon, but I did and do. Wrote to Starkey today and also to my Audi, but I am seriously looking into older tech again. I've had separate units for adjusting sound in the past. Even a watch that went with my Phonak! Didn't use it much after the fact, but it did work as a controller. Could just be me, but I want to use my hearing aids with more than a couple of devices. I REALLY miss being able to work on the computer and use telecoils. They weren't perfect for me, but they worked better than what I have now. Again, when I sit with my iPad and stream. I am blown away by the stream of sound. Maybe that is why I am so disappointed. It simply doesn't work all the time. Sometimes it is perfect. Sometimes it only streams to my right ear. Sometimes it doesn't work at all. Well, you get the idea.

Hearing, I suppose, is just like everything else. What works for one, doesn't always work for another.

Thanks again for your quick offer of help.