T-coil issues

The t-coils require a different program to be activated in your hearing aids. Your audiologist should have done this.

Assuming that you’re using Oticon’s Companion app to control your hearing aids you should see tho t-coil setting on there. You must click on that setting to hear a hearing loop audio.

So:
1. You must have t-coils in your hearing aids.
2. They must be activated by your audiologist and show up on your app.
3. You must click on the t-coil icon on your app.
4. You must be in an active and functional loop.

Be sure that the theater actually has a hearing loop installed. There should be a blue placard with a “t” on it displayed at the venue if they have a hearing loop. If you don’t see that placard ask if they have a loop system.

@arrowshooter thank you for your response. All of which you clearly itemise is in place. I had had two Settings placed on my phone by my audiologist: T coil with background and T coil without background. The tea coil with background was too noisy and didn’t help me to hear the speakers on the stage . the T coil without background is less noisy, but I still can’t hear the speakers clearly. I would welcome any other suggestions from members of this Support Group. Many thanks.

When I got my latest hearing aids I insisted on T Coil though the audiologist seemed to think that not necessary . Since then I’ve found no venue where they can be used . Most theaters don’t have the coil even the newest ones . I did experience the difference and was able to appreciate the beautiful sound when I attended mass at an out of town church only one time .
With the purchase of the hearing aids I was given a wi fi device which is connected to my TV . This device allows me to hear amazingly good and on occasion I enjoy a wonderful musical experience.
Talking of hearing aids I must comment at how disappointing I believe that industry is . The hearing aids I wear today are no different than those I had 25 years ago except for an upgraded chip and higher cost while still no improvement in clarity and the inability to hear in a social setting . In the past two days I see Meta along with Ray Ban have developed eye glasses on which it’s possible to have a conversation, take photos and many more features .
It looks like the industry needs to do some further research or we may be hearing thru one eyes and not our ears .

@lou1130 Hearing loss is an invisible disability. This is why people with a visible disability receive so much aid. When I moved into a new neighborhood I explained I had a hearing loss . Some of the neighbors thought I was stupid. I never spoke to them again. Hermine Willey

I would try to find a University that trains audiologist and make an appointment. Some folks are not trained as a authentic audiologist. Hearing loss is a true disability but is not a visible disability to the average person. We are labeled as stupid because we do not hear well. They now have Captioned Telephone. They are free of charge. Please call 1-800-774-9269. They will come to your home and set it up and show you how to use it. It is called CLEAR CAPTION telephone. Now you can read the captions over phone during a telephone interview for a job. You also do not need a landline phone. It is free of charges. Hermine Willey

@jdalylew When you return to your audiologist, request that you connect your telecoil in the audiologist's office. The provider should have purchased office equipment, either a counter hearing loop ($400+) or a personal amplifier with a neckloop ($200+) to educate their patients and verify telecoil settings.

@hedgerow and all. This is absolutely true. People who sell hearing aids, whether they are hearing instrument specialists or audiologists should be required to demonstrate how telecoils work before selling the product. I will never understand why this is not legally required.

We all need to understand the difference between BlueTooth (BT) technology and telecoil technology. BT brings sound from cell phones directly to the hearing instrument. Also from TV with an intermediary device. It can also help in noisy social settings with a small hand held microphone that is unique to the brand of hearing aid you are using.

And now comes a new more advanced form of BT called Auracast. A few new hearing instruments have Auracast included, but not many. It's coming, but it will take several years to be commonly available. Meanwhile, it is logical to insist on the t-coil option.

T-coils can be used with systems other than hearing loops. In places with assistive listening systems other than loop systems, you need to borrow a receiver related to the systems transmitter and plug a neckloop into it. It works just like being in a room installed with a hearing loop. Those systems are known as Infrared systems and FM systems. Many places use them rather than loops.

I still use a neckloop with my laptop and a small portable radio which I prefer to using my cell phone if I want to listen to music. Some of the older stuff is easier to use and works just as well as having to be tied to your cell phone all the time.

I have been using hearing aids since the 1970s. I'm a bimodal user of both a hearing aid and a cochlear implant now. I am so thankful for the education I've received from others like me. Hearing Other People's Experiences give us HOPE.

I strongly suggest you go to https://centerforhearingaccess.org/ for further information on these technologies.

If there is an HLAA chapter in your area, get involved. http://www.hearingloss.org

Julieo4

I have Unitron hearing aids with the telecoil feature. Unfortunately I had to insist on getting them with telecoils and received the same response that I'm going to guess others on this string have recevied when asking about telecoils and that is, 'there's new technology coming, it's old technology, there aren't many places here with hearing loops..." All BS, other than perhaps it is old technology, but it is still the gold standard when a hearing loop is installed correctly and the facility properly maintains it and ensures it is working properly by frequently testing it. For some reason audiologists across the country give the same BS answer to their customers as I've heard it from people on numerous zoom HLAA meetings. I would like to get a straight answer as to why audiologists don't support telecoils. Aren't they supposed to want us to hear as well as possible? That's why I feel we are just customers and really patients. Ok, off my soapbox.... Perhaps the theater actually has an FM system and in that case, as Julie mentioned, you need to check out a receiver and neck loop, which they should have. And, of course the music or actors all need to be mic'd in order for these systems to work. If they aren't using microphones they won't work. With my Unitron HA's, I go to my HA App on my phone, which the AuD installed in order for me to access phone calls with the bluetooth, and in this app is where I turn on my telecoil function. Within this window there are three slide bars, two volume ones, one for each ear, and also a "balance" slide so I can choose how much of the surroundings I want to hear vs being in full telecoil mode. As Julie mentioned, the best site, IMO, for all kinds of non-biased informaiton about hearing aids, and more, is the http://www.CenterForHearing Access.org website. Full of educational informaiton. And, Julie mentioned Auracast coming out, if getting new hearing aids insist on both a telecoil and Auracast features to be fully ADA Access Ready HA.

@h2h Well said. Thank you. I hate to say this, but I am convinced the major problem out there is that stigmas that have accompanied poor hearing for generations is still alive and well. We are 'lesser'. We are not smart. We don't communicate well. We aren't fun to be around, etc.

The truth is that many people with hearing loss, especially those who are 'hard of hearing', not culturally Deaf, are lonely, depressed, isolated, frustrated, fearful, and uninformed. Many are afraid of losing their jobs. Many are led to believe something will help them only to find out after spending a huge amount of money that help isn't all it was advertised to be.

It is much easier to feel sorry for ourselves and complain to those who are willing to listen (which we find dissipating in numbers among friendships due to their frustration with us), than it is to seek support, ask for better hearing products and advocate for communication access that works in places where we need it to participate. To advocate and be proactive, one has to come out of their hearing loss closet and be respected and visible. The huge majority prefer to sit in hiding and live a different life than they once enjoyed. Sad.

My focus is on the 50+ millions of Americans who experience adult-onset hearing loss. They do not get the support that kids get in childhood. No aural rehabilitation. speech reading training, etc. Few of their primary care providers understand hearing loss, thus are not able to give them helpful information. This should be a unit in university curriculums for doctors and nurses. It's rarely there.

If they chose to try something it usually starts with a person who sells hearing aids. That could be a hearing instrument specialist (HIS) with a high school diploma or a doctorate degree audiologist (AUD). They are all licensed to prescribe and sell hearing aids. That is how most make their income. Reality: Hearing aids, which are medical devices are sold like consumer products. Buyer Beware. If the buyer doesn't know what options are available, it's unlikely they are going to get options that require time to demonstrate and sell. If advertisements for hearing aids included information about telecoils, and other options that can connect us to sound systems that are out there, people might be encouraged to ask more questions. Those ads all focus on small size and perfect hearing, which we know isn't there.

Do you think any of this has to do with that stigma issue? If I don't talk about it no one will know I have it, or perhaps it will go away? Is it easier to just stop doing things you once enjoyed? Would relationships be better if you were able to talk openly about what you need from them?

Learning to help yourself is a huge key to living WELL with hearing loss when the person who has it is open to learning. That's where discussion groups like HLAA come in. HLAA has a lot of information. On the other hand, if one could gather 3 or 4 people with hearing loss to come together and talk about 'it', they might learn a lot from one another. That is how HLAA chapters start.

We have seen so many good things happen in the last 40 + years thanks to the small number of people with hearing loss who have become educated advocates, but there is a long way to go. Definitely insist on telecoils and Auracast if you buy hearing aids now. Also insist the seller take time to teach you how to use them

The Center for Hearing Access and HLAA are your best resources.

Well said Julie. And the continuing stigma issue of wearing hearing aids comes from where? The manufacturers and their advertisements that promote the smaller, nearly invisible, no one will know you are wearing them, etc messaging! While the eyeglass manufacturers make theirs a fashion statement! It is too bad the HA maufacturers don't realize how much more they could a for their potenital customers if they provided a link to have more information about how a HA works, the value of having telecoils, instead of all this AI techno, mumbo, jumbo that makes it sound like AI will solve all of the problems about hearing better in noisy environments. Maybe it would even reduce the number of years it takes a person to get hearing aids (one statistic I've read is six years I believe?). And Aud's should provide more information on their website as well. I feel we are just customers to the majority of them and not truely patients in the medical sense. Anyone with hearing loss needs to get educated, and the two websites mentioned are really the best ones available for very informative, non-biased material, and to speak up and let the person they are interacting with know they have hearing loss and educate them at the same time. Dr. Cliff is also another good source for information on various hearing aid tech and especially on the Best Practices that all hearing specilists or AuD's should follow in providing hearing tests. He has a lot of videos out there.