Resound Linx

Yoda7934 wrote:

I recently bought a pair of Resound Linx 2 9 hearing aides. Is there any way I can get these to work with my macbook pro? I have tried the bluetooth in the system settings, and it does not pick them up. Is there a special adapter I can get to make it work? Is there support coming for this in the future? This would be an extremely beneficial feature for those of us in offices that listen to webinar sessions etc.

Thank You,

Chris

Get the GN Resound Mini-mic, pair it with your hearing aids, and plug it in to the headphone socket of your MBP and it will transmit direct to your hearing aids.

You need the ReSound Smart app to be able to select the mini-mic on your hearing hearing aids,

The mini-mic is a fantastic device...I use it for a lot more than my MBP.

I upgraded from the Lynx9 to the new Lynx2 (not sure I understand the naming convention). Anyway, the new Lynx2 provide much better sound quality and I like the customizable settings that can be saved in Favorites. However, I'm disappointed with the connectivity to my iPhone 6. It drops in one or both ears frequently (music and phone), even with new batteries. I live in an urban area and I'm left wondering if it's interference related. The only other objection I have is the quality of the streaming music -it's extremely tinny. It is nothing even close to the sound quality from earbuds.

Perhaps it's the audiologists expertise, or perhaps it's the hearing aid limitations. I'll never know for sure since the workings of the hearing aid industry is a big black box hidden behind a curtain somewhere.

Regardless, I will keep these because when used as hearing aids the sound quality is amazing to me.

If there is a solution to the bluetooth connectivity issues, I hope they find themselves my way.

I would more info on how you can adjust the sensitivity. I hear so much near me like clothing rubbing against clothing, my dog nails on wooden floor (it's killing me) and even when I walk. Plus I tried wearing them playing golf and the sound of making contact with the golf ball was way to annoying. Anyone have any suggestions? I just got them from the VA two days ago. I believe I might have to go back for some sort of setup adjustment.

LUKEGSP wrote:

I would more info on how you can adjust the sensitivity. I hear so much near me like clothing rubbing against clothing, my dog nails on wooden floor (it's killing me) and even when I walk. Plus I tried wearing them playing golf and the sound of making contact with the golf ball was way to annoying. Anyone have any suggestions? I just got them from the VA two days ago. I believe I might have to go back for some sort of setup adjustment.

I would suggest you give yourself at least six weeks for your brain to adapt before making any adjustments. When I got my Enzo 9s I felt similar to you. I did get my audiologist to make adjustments. But the adjustments reduced the effectiveness of the aids for speech intelligibilty although they were more comfortable because sounds I did not want to hear were filtered.

After two rounds of adjusting down (reducing sensitivity) I realised I was not hearing as well as I had initially, and started adjusting back towards the initial settings, which my audiologist had deemed optimum for speech intelligibility.

After four months of ownership the settings were all the way back to where they had been on day one, and I was not noticing the unwanted sounds.

It is well known that our brains adapt this way. Many audiologists will chose different settings for a new hearing aid user compared to an experienced one for this reason. I am an experienced HA user but the Enzos were such a step change from my previous that the same applied.

It is your choice whether to do as I did, adjust down then backup as you adapt....or leave alone until you have adapted. If I could turn the clock back I would just wait.

After a couple of weeks using the Linx2's, time for a review and some of thing I have learned to avoid the faults that the Linx's still have. Firstly the heating aid experience; these are much much better than my old aids (Phonak Mini Valeo's) - much clearer, sharper and louder. For the first the I can now hear birdsong, watch the television without subtitles at a volume my wife can cope with and run a workshop at work and comfortably hear everything. Just brilliant. The ability to adjust the volume means that I can have aids rather louder than my last pair and just turn them down in noisy environments, or up when I need to to bionic hearing levels. They work pretty well in restaurants, and turning the noise reduction up full and focussing the directional mic to the max enabled me to have easy discussions in a bar.

Things aren't quite as food when we come to the streaming features though. I have been waiting for this for years, and when it works is great, but streaming music and phone calls is rather unreliable and buggy. First up, streaming phone calls. This works very well; the call flicks through to the aids almost immediately on answering and I can hear things much better than holding the phone to my ear. Speaking into the phone or having it on the table works well. It is a shame that you can't use the aid microphone instead of the phone and that calls don't ring in the aids, even when streaming music. But generally the call streaming is brilliant. I did have problems with losing connections during calls; on an hour long conference call my right ear list sound every 30 seconds for an hour. I tried replacing batteries and that didn't fix it, but eventually I worked out that the problem is the Resound App - when the App is shut down I don't have problems streaming calls at all. So my top tip is don't use the App, instead triple click the home button on the iPhone to bring up the inbuilt hearing aid control and use that instead. If you have to use the App, for the features that are only controlled through it (sound enhancements like comfort in noise, wind noise reduction and directionality) then close the App properly afterwards.

Music streaming is something I have been using a lot, in place of headphones for a couple of hours a day. I have reasonable low frequency hearing (20db) and use closed power domes and I get reasonable sound as long as the hearing aids are muted- a bit lacking in bass, and heavy guitars are a bit distorted but a good enough sound for me to have never wanted to get the headphones out. So music and podcast streaming is good when it works. The bass and treble control doesn't help much, but I am seeing my Audi for some adjustments to get the sound as good it can be. The problem is that streaming can be annoyingly flaky - with one or more ears dropping in and out and each time losing the muting of outside sound which you need to reset.Some of which may be down to Apple and some to Resound and haven't been sorted in the 2nd generation product. I have experimented to work out why and have found a few things:

Batteries - if the batteries are more than two days old then the range shortens so much that I can't have the phone in my trouser pockets. Batteries last four or five days for hearing aids but streaming starts to worsen after two so I change them every two days. That's OK, batteries are cheap.

Volume - if I have the music volume too high ( about 60%) then one or both ears start to drop out. This could be battery related too. I have the version with the smaller 312 batteries, perhaps the bigger ones are better?

The Resound App - as mentioned before this is poor and buggy so don't use it or close it down

Once I did have to unpair, reboot the iPhone and then re-pair the aids as they didn't connect at all.

So all in all, amazing hearing aids, that make life a lot easier, but are not yet foolproof and have problems with streaming, but which you can live with if you change batteries a lot.

TonyGosling, I am a new users of the Linx2 aids as well. The audio does drop out in one or both ears frequently, especially when the phone is in my pocket and I'm moving around or walking. The same with phone calls. Sound cuts out in one aid or the other about every 30 seconds for about 2 seconds.

I called GN ReSound on Tuesday and they are aware of the issue. There is a new firmware update being released in the next few weeks that should remedy the issue so check with your audiologist as to when it is released so you can get the update. I, for one, am looking forward to an improvement in the connection quality.

As for the general sound, I love the devices. To be honest, birdsong in the morning can drive me crazy but I'll get used to it over time. 🙂

I do wish battery life was better but at least my audi provided 2 years of batteries as part of the cost. WOOHOOO!!!™

Blessings and abundance to you!

Please do keep us updated on this.

I am currently looking into the Linx2 model, but my audiologist does not yet offer them.

I am wondering about the new features that come with the second generation. Does anyone know which are the new features? Based on what I've been reading, it seems insensible to buy the first-generation Linx aids... Even the second-generation seem a little flakey buy I guess I could cope whit some of those issues. I wonder how much improvement one can get on the first-generation Linx aids if the firmware is updated. Any idea?

Thanks in advance for your reply. 😉

Here is a description of the enhancements in the Linx2:

What’s new with the ReSound LiNX2™

• New styles: Up to this point, Made for iPhone hearing aids have only been available in the behind-the-ear styles. We’ve known custom styles were in the pipeline, and now they’re here! Along with the ever-popular BTE and RIE styles, the LiNX2 is available in the following additional custom styles: IIC, CIC, ITC, ITE and MIH. However, (among the custom styles) only the ITC, ITE, and MIH styles are compatible with the ReSound Smart™ App and can support direct audio streaming. In addition, the RIE and BTE styles have also had a redesign, with new casing and user controls.
• Updates to the Smart app: One of the biggest problems for individuals with hearing loss is hearing speech in noise and wind. New personalization options only for ReSound LiNX2 users includes sound enhancement features to better personalize these difficult listening situations.
• Improved Surround Sound: You may be familiar with Surround Sound by ReSound. Surround Sound is ReSound’s system for processing sound which helps users determine the direction sound is coming from, and automatically alters the output of the hearing aids to match your acoustic environment. In the LiNX2, Surround Sound has been greatly improved, with the introduction of Binaural Directionality™ II, and an all new feature, Spatial Sense™. Binaural Directionality™ was utilized in previous ReSound products, like the Verso, and the original LiNX, but its second generation is now available in the LiNX2. Spatial Sense is a brand new feature focused entirely on helping you as a wearer localize sound and have a better spatial awareness. In order to take full advantage of the new Surround Sound, you’ll want to invest in the LiNX2 9 in the BTE or RIE style.
• Tinnitus relief: The LiNX2 is ReSound’s 5th generation tinnitus solution. All technology levels and styles of the LiNX2 have built-in sound generators and six different Nature Sounds to find the settings that bring them the most relief. Using the Smart app, you can control control the pitch and modulation of the sound and create the sound therapy that works best for you. If you’d like to gain even more control, you can of course download the ReSound Relief app and introduce sounds beyond those made available through the hearing aids.

The improved Surround Sound is at the core of the Linx2 as I understand it. Better sound processing means better clarity and overall sound quality.

Joel

I have been going back and forth with my Audiologist for several weeks now and just had her replace my custom molds with ones that do not have vents. Sound quality is much better (although I now hear myself chewing very loudly). The seal is the key for me.

As for connectivity, I just updated the firmware on the hearing aids on my last visit. While I did notice an improvement in connectivity while in the office, there isn't much difference in the real world. If I'm walking and streaming music, it drops frequently unless I hold the phone in my hand as opposed to being in my pocket.

I've also noticed flaky connectivity when in an office setting where lots of wifi/bluetooth is being used. I know it's not "supposed" to make a difference but it does. In addition, if I'm streaming iTunes Radio, it disconnects frequently and just stops playing when connected to WIFI but that's a network issue, I think, related to my office WIFI network.

Hi RevJoel! We are glad to hear that the custom molds have improved the sound quality. The connectivity while streaming from iTunes radio may, in fact, be partially network related. As for the overall connectivity, we suggest resetting the network settings and re-pairing the hearing aids to ensure that you have the best pairing possible. Below are the steps for this. Should you continue to have any issues or would prefer some assistance in resetting the network settings, please call our Consumer Technical Support Specialists at: 888-735-4327 and choose option 1

Resetting the Network Settings and re-pairing your hearing aids.

Make sure that you have/know your Wi-Fi passwords (as this will be forgotten during the process of resetting). You will also need to re-pair your phone to your car if you have a car Bluetooth system. We also highly recommend turning off any other Bluetooth devices (iPad, iPod etc…) during the pairing process. This can sometimes cause confusion with the hearing aids. We encourage you to use fresh batteries as this will ensure the best connectivity and experience. When you remove the tabs from the batteries, allow them to sit for 2 minutes to fully charge up

1. 1. To start, go to settings>general>accessibility>hearing aids and tap on the “i” to the right of your hearing aids. On the next screen, tap and forget the device. If you are unable to forget the device, go to step 2.
2. 2. Next, turn off Bluetooth on your phone and open the battery doors on your hearing aids.
3. 3. Go to settings>general>reset (at the bottom)>reset network settings. You will be prompted for your pass code if your phone is pass code protected. Confirm that you would like to reset network settings by clicking on the red writing in the pop up box. Your phone will now reset the settings and restart.
4. 4. Once your phone has restarted go to: settings>general>accessibility>hearing aids.
5. 5. Turn Bluetooth on (under devices) and close your hearing aid doors. Your hearing aids will show up in black writing.
6. 6. Tap on the writing and it should turn blue and place a black check mark to the left. You will get a pairing request for each aid.
7. 7. Accept the request and give them about 30-45 seconds to finish their connection.

Has anyone actually got these to work?

I had a pair of Starkey Halos which worked for about a month then just stopped pairing to my iPhone. The audiologist sent them back but Starkey said there is nothing wrong with them. She then gave me a pair of Linx to try but after trying for 24 hours I have not yet got them to pair. I even went to an Apple store and after seeing they would not pair Apple replaced my iPhoene 5S. So I now have brand new HAs and a brand new iPhone but I cant pair at all

Sorry to hear this is happening. Did you try the steps in the post above from GNResound? Those are the pairing steps and they should work great.

Yes, I've been through that whole sequence multiple times. Step 5 never happens, they don't show up in black or blue writing. Apple even gave me a new phone when they couldn't get pairing either but that still doesn't work. I've given for now unless the Starkey rep can have some ideas.

I had connectivity problems a month or so ago with my LYNX and discovered that the batteries in the entire box of batteries I purchased were close to the expiration date. After buying fresher batteries at Costco, the pairing resolved. Another problem I have run into was accidentally turning on Airplane Mode by opening and closing the battery door too frequently while trying to pair. And finally, I wonder about the software settings in your hearing aids. Are you sure the audiologist has the blue tooth function turned on? I know that sounds silly, but sometimes the simplest oversights cause us to chase after complex solutions.

As for Starky vs Lynx connection. The LYNX connects through the Accessibility>Hearing Aid settings where as some other brands link through the Blue Tooth settings. Just wondering, not sure how Starky does it.

I love these LYNX hearing aids. While not ear bud quality while listening to streaming music and the bluetooth does get flakey at times, the quality of the hearing and improvement to my actual hearing is absolutely amazing to me. I love these things. The new LYNX is much much better than the LYNX9 was for me. They are also better than the Oticon I had tried prior. I don't work for LYNX and have no affiliation with them at all.

I will try custom made domes to improve streaming music quality in a month or so. And I hope the software update will improve Blue Tooth connectivity (i.e., allow to stream from my pocket) But really, I'm already more than satisfied with the 'hearing aid' quality.

sSocrates,

i updated mine about two weeks ago. So far I haven't seen a noticeable difference in connectivity. I still can't use it in my pocket.