HT202186: About Hearing Aid Compatibility (HAC) requirements for iPhone
Learn about About Hearing Aid Compatibility (HAC) requirements for iPhone
Q: Does the pairing of hearing aids specifically designed with IPhones with the phones work well in practice?
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Sep 29, 2015 12:53 PMby gilda92,"It's not perfect" in my case refers mainly to the situation of live theatre where I still don't hear clearly the speech onstage. If I know the play I'm OK. If it's new to me I'm not OK, I struggle. I've been wearing aids, first in one ear and then in two, since 1990, in the ear and then behind the ear. So 25 years and a variety of makers. My last aids before my present Starkey aids were Widex. I thought the combination of iPhone and Starkey was brilliant. And as I needed more powerful aids my audi suggested I try the Starkey's. I did and I could hear much better under almost all conditions by adjusting those conditions with Hearing Aid Memories and TruLink Memories on my iPhone and I could hear iPhone calls perfectly! I am, in general, a happy user of Starkey aids combined with my iPhone 6 but, as I said, it's not perfect. Having perfect hearing without aids would be perfect!
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Sep 30, 2015 6:06 AMby dsto,Thanks for elaborating. I'm a long-time hearing aid person too, and never been able to hear on smart phones, so still have a flip phone.I know well what you mean, that perfect as in before hearing aids, is unattainable with any hearing aid. I currently have Starkeys, but not the Halo model which can pair with Iphones.My audiologist says I would have to switch to another brand, probably ReSound to get one suitable for me which would also pair with Iphone. I would hate to switch and then find that it still doesn't work. Your answer, and Old Gnome's, are somewhat reassuring..
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Oct 5, 2015 3:12 PMby Mark Linsey,I have the Kirkland (ReSound) Signature 6 Hearing Aids which pair easily to my iPhone6+ and generally work well. I love the convenience of calls and audio going directly to my Hearing aids and in the aggregate consider them to work well. You have four algorithms available to optimize your experience such as in a noisy restaurant, Outside in the wind, a loud party and such. They are not without issues which will likely improve thru evolution. For instance I can leave my iPhone 6+on the table across the room and still hear audio perfectly thru my hearing aids, however when my iphone is in my pocket or in my swinging hand walking the audio stream to my devices are broken and intermittent. As soon as I bring the phone up closer it works fine so that's what I do. I love being able to hear audio and also turn off the hearing aid function so they work like headphones and actually block outside noise as any in-ear headphone would. The downside is communication with others. If someone speaks to you, you have to first unlock the phone, get to the app directly or via shortcut to turn the audio down and the hearing aid function back on. Works but I'd love a button directly on the hearing aids that does this quickly so you can function seamlessly.All kinds of unique situations come up that make me think of ways to improve the interface and add features but as an early adopter I'd say these are pretty good.
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Oct 6, 2015 7:23 AMby dsto,Thank you Mark. I think you have in- the -ear hearing aids, and I have to use the more powerful behind- the- ear types. While a long time hearing aid user, I have never been able to hear on smart phones, so still have a flip phone. If convinced that a hearing aid made for pairing with I Phones would enable me to hear well on phone calls, I would switch to: (1) new hearing aids, (2) an I Phone..I'm a veteran with a hearing disability, so maybe the VA would provide the different type hearing aids. But still, it would be a big switch. Your answer confirms what I expected; it's an improvement but still has some problems. My main issue here is using the phone as a phone; i.e., communicating with others.And you say that this is the main downside, that there is a delay in answering others due to unlocking, etc. Can this be done quickly enough so that the caller doesn't stay with you?
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Oct 6, 2015 11:05 AMby Mark Linsey,The hearing aids I'm using are also behind the ear. I'm including a link to the product for you to compare to what you're currently using. http://m.costco.com/kirkland-signature-hearing-aid.html.
I'm pretty satisfied with the use of these hearing aids for phone conversations. There is only a slight delay in making the initial connectoon as the hearing aids pair when you answer. This is automatic as soon as you accept the call. From then on, the voice I hear is as clear as any conversation you might expect. I consider it excellent. The biggest issue is that there's no built in microphone and so you must speak into the mic on the iPhone. It doesn't have to be held up to your mouth, but it does have to be close enough to pick up your voice. I would imagine that ambient sounds will factor in there. There is an accessory one can buy that you wear around you neck which provides that service too but I don't want to always be wearing the accessory. The situation you referred to wasn't with my using the phone but just walking around in the world with my hearing aids turned off so I could just listen to music or such. You might have a similar problem just using a headset but unlike a headset you can just take off, these require you to use the phone to turn your normal hearing back on and that takes 30 secs or so.
THis his may sound like a commercial for Costco but they offer free evaluations and a generous return policy of 90 days to check it out for yourself. They can be returned no questions asked other than to be helpful and even a loss/replacement benefit which I have already taken advantage of. There's really nothing to lose other than the time to order, pick up, and evaluate them. I must have gone in 15-20 times to tweak the settings and choose my 4 different algorithms for the situations I find most useful.
Hope this helps.
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Nov 4, 2015 12:00 PMby mikebhm,I have "profound" hearing loss (up to 130db) and so need the ReSound hi power model...the Enzo 9s
Phone calls have been transformed for me using my iPhone 6+. I no longer avoid using the phone as a means of communication.
The ReSound Mini-mic means I can have a normal conversation with my wife in the car, and the TV Unite 2 works really well.
The mini-mic is extremely useful in many other situations.
The ability to independently adjust the streamed sound (from phone, mini-mic or TV Unite) with the simultaneous microphone input according to situation is very valuable.
