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Ask HN: Best hearing aid and Bluetooth phone

4 points by wombatmobile 6y ago

My mum is elderly with deteriorating hearing. She can no longer use her landline phone reliably with her 6 year old Siemens hearing aids, which cost US$8,000. I understand modern HA can use bluetooth for direct connect. What's a model of HA and DECT phone that can do that well? Or would she need an iphone? I've avoided that because she hasn't learnt the touch interface. But not being able to use the phone is a real problem so I'd like to solve it. I'm having trouble finding info any other way. Audiology is unfortunately rife with false promises and exploitation. Thanks for any experiences you can share.

helph67 6y ago
This was reported on HN just recently... https://scitechdaily.com/ultra-low-cost-hearing-aid-1-worth-of-open-source-parts-could-address-age-related-hearing-loss-worldwide/ https://scitechdaily.com/ultra-low-cost-hearing-aid-1-worth-... You may find that CostCo offer a complete hearing package MUCH cheaper than other providers!
Jemaclus 6y ago
I wear a Resound Linq (https://www.resound.com/en-us/hearing-aids/resound-hearing-aids/quattro https://www.resound.com/en-us/hearing-aids/resound-hearing-a...). I'm profoundly deaf and have been so for my entire life. I got the Resound Linq about 18 months ago, and it changed my life. I actually enjoy talking on the phone now. The iOS/Bluetooth integration is quite simply mind-blowing to me. It connects seamlessly directly to the hearing aid. I cannot recommend it enough. You need to go through an audiologist, though, and it is going to wind up being around $8000 USD, unfortunately. (I'm "lucky" in that I'm completely deaf in one ear and so I only need one hearing aid for my other ear, so it's "just" $4000 for me.) There are other hearing aids that do the same thing. Resound is the only one that was available at the time that could sync directly with an iOS device, but others have these external devices that connects to the hearing aid and also bridges to the bluetooth device. It works just fine and is great, the only problem is that you have to carry around another device around your neck and it has to be charged and blah blah blah. I think they're slightly cheaper, but a little more hassle. Personally, I love my Resound. It's changed my life. Not even a little bit of hyperbole here. Still... can you put a price on hearing? :)
- wombatmobile 6y ago
  Thanks for your comments Jemaclus. > The iOS/Bluetooth integration is quite simply mind-blowing to me. It connects seamlessly directly to the hearing aid. So, you configure your iphone once to pair with the HA, and then after that it is seamless? Does it pair and unpair based on proximity, or do you have to do something each time? Could you also or alternatively pair with a landline phone and use it the same way?
  - Jemaclus 6y ago
    It's a pair-once-and-forget-it. You can set it up to automatically switch between devices, like your computer or your phone or something else, but I find that it sometimes connects to the wrong thing. I've gone into my iPhone and basically said "Always sync to HA". I haven't tried with a landline. I don't have a landline.

4 points by wombatmobile 6y ago

helph67 6y ago

This was reported on HN just recently... https://scitechdaily.com/ultra-low-cost-hearing-aid-1-worth-of-open-source-parts-could-address-age-related-hearing-loss-worldwide/ https://scitechdaily.com/ultra-low-cost-hearing-aid-1-worth-... You may find that CostCo offer a complete hearing package MUCH cheaper than other providers!

Jemaclus 6y ago

I wear a Resound Linq (https://www.resound.com/en-us/hearing-aids/resound-hearing-aids/quattro https://www.resound.com/en-us/hearing-aids/resound-hearing-a...). I'm profoundly deaf and have been so for my entire life. I got the Resound Linq about 18 months ago, and it changed my life. I actually enjoy talking on the phone now. The iOS/Bluetooth integration is quite simply mind-blowing to me. It connects seamlessly directly to the hearing aid. I cannot recommend it enough. You need to go through an audiologist, though, and it is going to wind up being around $8000 USD, unfortunately. (I'm "lucky" in that I'm completely deaf in one ear and so I only need one hearing aid for my other ear, so it's "just" $4000 for me.) There are other hearing aids that do the same thing. Resound is the only one that was available at the time that could sync directly with an iOS device, but others have these external devices that connects to the hearing aid and also bridges to the bluetooth device. It works just fine and is great, the only problem is that you have to carry around another device around your neck and it has to be charged and blah blah blah. I think they're slightly cheaper, but a little more hassle. Personally, I love my Resound. It's changed my life. Not even a little bit of hyperbole here. Still... can you put a price on hearing? :)

wombatmobile 6y ago
Thanks for your comments Jemaclus. > The iOS/Bluetooth integration is quite simply mind-blowing to me. It connects seamlessly directly to the hearing aid. So, you configure your iphone once to pair with the HA, and then after that it is seamless? Does it pair and unpair based on proximity, or do you have to do something each time? Could you also or alternatively pair with a landline phone and use it the same way?
- Jemaclus 6y ago
  It's a pair-once-and-forget-it. You can set it up to automatically switch between devices, like your computer or your phone or something else, but I find that it sometimes connects to the wrong thing. I've gone into my iPhone and basically said "Always sync to HA". I haven't tried with a landline. I don't have a landline.