4 ms·

Some feature requests for hearing aid: Can we get hearing aids that are bigger? These small hearing aids make it easier to lose, and I do not mind looking "dis

by kiba 5y ago

Some feature requests for hearing aid: Can we get hearing aids that are bigger? These small hearing aids make it easier to lose, and I do not mind looking "disabled" to people. Also would like to use bluetooth to both locate the hearing aids, and to connect to devices as needed. Would be cool if the battery can be recharged as needed, maybe through usb-c if possible, but magnetic charging would be acceptable.

elliekelly 5y ago
Do most elderly people even have the dexterity to use the teeny hearing aids on the market today?
- pugworthy 5y ago
  You may not have meant to, but your question just reinforces the fallacy that hearing aids are for old people. Yes, hearing loss does occur with age for many, but it's not as uncommon as you might think for those not deemed "elderly". I've personally worn them since my mid 20's. I'm glad that I ignored the perceived stigma of wearing hearing aids and got them. They are like glasses for my ears.
- cf100clunk 5y ago
  Not just elderly people. Rechargable devices would be a boon.
  - braum 5y ago
    I wear hearing aides every day. SMALLER would be better and mine have BT5 and rechargeable. they are NOT cheap about $6k pair with 3 year complete warranty included. Again having options is the best thing, making them larger for me would mean they are more easily dislodged when I bend over to pick something up or are wearing them when working in shop. Having some that have better weather or fully waterproof would be great. I normal take them off when working outside or in the shop. The sweat makes them mostly useless because of the "noise" the sweat makes against the mics. Then the sweat also makes them slick and they will not stay in place. Having options is ideal and affordable options would be great. I don't know why these things are $6k pair when they share a lot of tech with modern in ear options from bose/apple/ect.
    - cf100clunk 5y ago
      Agreed, it seems like $6k/pair is an astonishing cost for what is not unreasonable tech in 2021 for an over-the-counter product at much less.
    - becurious 5y ago
      I stopped wearing my Oticon Opn S hearing aid when running because they don’t seem happy with sweat on a long run. That and wind noise can still be an issue. Also only having hearing loss in one ear means that they’re not really good for streaming audio but I do love being able to take phone calls with my hearing aid. I’m ok with the cost since it’s effectively half for me and really $3K six or seven years would be fine considering the quality of life improvement. Being in large group meetings with multiple teams discussing project planning could be painful for me. And it helps with your relationship. When there’s a background noise source like road noise or AC or a running faucet your brain will fill in based on the frequencies it can hear and you will hear completely different words.
    - funnyflamigo 5y ago
      Did insurance pay for them at all? Part of it is going to be the whole "medical equipment" thing, the other is where they play games with the price because they know insurance will step in.
    - criddell 5y ago
      > I don't know why these things are $6k pair when they share a lot of tech with modern in ear options from bose/apple/ect. It's because they can only be sold with a prescription which means a lot of overhead and the expectation of large margins for everybody. Get rid of that requirement and those will be be $600 hearing aids.
barbazoo 5y ago
I've got an Oticon that has Bluetooth to connect to the phone for the purpose of changing settings, streaming as well as locating it. It charges using magnetic charging in a little (proprietary) charging station.
cf100clunk 5y ago
I would add better integration with mobile devices beyond bluetooth. I'm thinking a startup could create hearing aids with self-tuning apps that employ spectral analysis and echolocation capabilities for improving situational awareness of the wearer.
- nonameiguess 5y ago
  High-end hearing aids already do this on-device. I don't think it would be a great development to require hearing aid owners to own a smart phone and load an app onto it to be able to get full functionality out of their hearing aids. If the functionality needs to be externally configurable for some reason, provide an external controller that comes with the hearing aids.
  - cf100clunk 5y ago
    Yep, agreed on that - I was positing a better smartphone suite of capabilities but not that hearing aids require smartphones.
noja 5y ago
Two questions if you don't mind: Do you charge one ear at a time so you are never without some level of hearing? Can you comment on the Live Listen feature of AirPods?
- barbazoo 5y ago
  You usually charge them at night.
- Jemaclus 5y ago
  I'm profoundly deaf, and I can answer these questions for myself: > Do you charge on ear at a time so you are never without some level of hearing? I'm completely deaf in one ear, so I only wear one hearing aid. If I take it out, I have zero hearing, so... nope. Most hearing aids do not have rechargeable batteries, either, so we have to change out the batteries on a regular basis. My battery lasts about 7-10 days before I need to replace them. > Can you comment on the Live Listen feature of AirPods? It's not powerful enough to act as a hearing aid for my level of hearing loss, nor is it calibrated correctly. To that last point, hearing loss is not simply a lowering of volume. It impacts different frequencies at different levels, so the normal amplification that comes from an AirPod or similar headphone is not sufficient to compensate for anything other than very very mild hearing loss.
Jemaclus 5y ago
I have a BlueTooth-enabled hearing aid (ReSound Linq) that connects directly to my iPhone. It's a life-changing feature. It also has some capability to find hearing aids, but since I'm profoundly deaf and not wearing my hearing aid means I'm functionally completely deaf, then it's either in my ear or on my nightstand, so I've never had the problem of "where did my hearing aid go?"
14 5y ago
Then you are in luck if looks don’t matter just glue a couple air tags to them and be done.
fullstop 5y ago
I'm picturing D cell earrings over here. I'm not of the age or occupation where I need hearing aids, but I think that I'd like overnight inductive charging, and I'd take them out and charge them while sleeping.
jrace 5y ago
All of that is currently available. (and has been for a decade)

by kiba 5y ago

elliekelly 5y ago

Do most elderly people even have the dexterity to use the teeny hearing aids on the market today?

pugworthy 5y ago
You may not have meant to, but your question just reinforces the fallacy that hearing aids are for old people. Yes, hearing loss does occur with age for many, but it's not as uncommon as you might think for those not deemed "elderly". I've personally worn them since my mid 20's. I'm glad that I ignored the perceived stigma of wearing hearing aids and got them. They are like glasses for my ears.
cf100clunk 5y ago
Not just elderly people. Rechargable devices would be a boon.
- braum 5y ago
  I wear hearing aides every day. SMALLER would be better and mine have BT5 and rechargeable. they are NOT cheap about $6k pair with 3 year complete warranty included. Again having options is the best thing, making them larger for me would mean they are more easily dislodged when I bend over to pick something up or are wearing them when working in shop. Having some that have better weather or fully waterproof would be great. I normal take them off when working outside or in the shop. The sweat makes them mostly useless because of the "noise" the sweat makes against the mics. Then the sweat also makes them slick and they will not stay in place. Having options is ideal and affordable options would be great. I don't know why these things are $6k pair when they share a lot of tech with modern in ear options from bose/apple/ect.
  - cf100clunk 5y ago
    Agreed, it seems like $6k/pair is an astonishing cost for what is not unreasonable tech in 2021 for an over-the-counter product at much less.
  - becurious 5y ago
    I stopped wearing my Oticon Opn S hearing aid when running because they don’t seem happy with sweat on a long run. That and wind noise can still be an issue. Also only having hearing loss in one ear means that they’re not really good for streaming audio but I do love being able to take phone calls with my hearing aid. I’m ok with the cost since it’s effectively half for me and really $3K six or seven years would be fine considering the quality of life improvement. Being in large group meetings with multiple teams discussing project planning could be painful for me. And it helps with your relationship. When there’s a background noise source like road noise or AC or a running faucet your brain will fill in based on the frequencies it can hear and you will hear completely different words.
  - funnyflamigo 5y ago
    Did insurance pay for them at all? Part of it is going to be the whole "medical equipment" thing, the other is where they play games with the price because they know insurance will step in.
  - criddell 5y ago
    > I don't know why these things are $6k pair when they share a lot of tech with modern in ear options from bose/apple/ect. It's because they can only be sold with a prescription which means a lot of overhead and the expectation of large margins for everybody. Get rid of that requirement and those will be be $600 hearing aids.

barbazoo 5y ago

I've got an Oticon that has Bluetooth to connect to the phone for the purpose of changing settings, streaming as well as locating it. It charges using magnetic charging in a little (proprietary) charging station.

cf100clunk 5y ago

I would add better integration with mobile devices beyond bluetooth. I'm thinking a startup could create hearing aids with self-tuning apps that employ spectral analysis and echolocation capabilities for improving situational awareness of the wearer.

nonameiguess 5y ago
High-end hearing aids already do this on-device. I don't think it would be a great development to require hearing aid owners to own a smart phone and load an app onto it to be able to get full functionality out of their hearing aids. If the functionality needs to be externally configurable for some reason, provide an external controller that comes with the hearing aids.
- cf100clunk 5y ago
  Yep, agreed on that - I was positing a better smartphone suite of capabilities but not that hearing aids require smartphones.

noja 5y ago

Two questions if you don't mind: Do you charge one ear at a time so you are never without some level of hearing? Can you comment on the Live Listen feature of AirPods?

barbazoo 5y ago
You usually charge them at night.
Jemaclus 5y ago
I'm profoundly deaf, and I can answer these questions for myself: > Do you charge on ear at a time so you are never without some level of hearing? I'm completely deaf in one ear, so I only wear one hearing aid. If I take it out, I have zero hearing, so... nope. Most hearing aids do not have rechargeable batteries, either, so we have to change out the batteries on a regular basis. My battery lasts about 7-10 days before I need to replace them. > Can you comment on the Live Listen feature of AirPods? It's not powerful enough to act as a hearing aid for my level of hearing loss, nor is it calibrated correctly. To that last point, hearing loss is not simply a lowering of volume. It impacts different frequencies at different levels, so the normal amplification that comes from an AirPod or similar headphone is not sufficient to compensate for anything other than very very mild hearing loss.

Jemaclus 5y ago

I have a BlueTooth-enabled hearing aid (ReSound Linq) that connects directly to my iPhone. It's a life-changing feature. It also has some capability to find hearing aids, but since I'm profoundly deaf and not wearing my hearing aid means I'm functionally completely deaf, then it's either in my ear or on my nightstand, so I've never had the problem of "where did my hearing aid go?"

14 5y ago

Then you are in luck if looks don’t matter just glue a couple air tags to them and be done.

fullstop 5y ago

I'm picturing D cell earrings over here. I'm not of the age or occupation where I need hearing aids, but I think that I'd like overnight inductive charging, and I'd take them out and charge them while sleeping.

jrace 5y ago

All of that is currently available. (and has been for a decade)