Resound or Oticon?

How do t-coils work with TV??? I switched to an Android phone in the hope that Live Transcribe would save my mind during meetings, but I don't have any way to get sound to the phone, so I gave up use of the t-coil w/phone for zip, dammit! Of course, since we live where there's no reception, I can only use my cell when I'm away from home, so I still have big problems with the extended-range phone system that works with out cable provider (only one we can get). I need extended range phone because, due to no cell reception, that's the way my invalid spouse can reach me when I'm outside on our acreage. I'm royally confused and totally confused about present-day tech, because none of the young fellows who sell tech stuff in the cities can even imagine not having cell reception! They've been unhelpful because it's not something they've ever had to think about.

I live in a very small coastal town an hour away from two other small coastal towns. I've yet to discover any venue that has a loop. You'd think that some of the newer hotels with meeting rooms would have one built in, but there's apparently not enough demand. I have lots of meetings at the OSU Marine Library, which was built during the late 70s and at a luxury lodge that was built during the early 60s--both of them long before loops were used. This little town doesn't have lots of things, but it has great people and is in a drop-dead beautiful location. I moved out of the big city to live here full time after spending three days most weeks here for decades. Now, when I drive back to the city, I often ditch the list of things to do just to get back to peace and quiet and beautiful surroundings with lots of animals and birds nearby.

joyces, you ask how t-coils work with the TV. To get the TV to work with the telecoil, you need to connect your TV to a loop system. This means that you would need to run a wire around the area where you want to listen to the TV. The wire could be hidden in the baseboards or under carpet. Some people run a wire in the ceiling of the room below where the TV is at. It's not something that most people want to bother with. A loop amplifier would also be needed to connect the wire to the TV. Keep in mind that the closer we are to the TV speaker, the better we will understand. The telecoil brings the sound directly to the hearing aid. There are better ways to get the TV sound directly into your ears, but it depends on your hearing aids. For older aids that do not have Bluetooth, you would need a TV transmitter specific to your brand of hearing aids. Newer aids have Bluetooth capablility so you connect your TV to a Bluetooth transmitter. The signal would come directly to your ears. If your aids do not have Bluetooth, you can still connect your TV to a Bluetooth transmitter, but you would need a Bluetooth receiver. You still need to get the sound from the Bluetooth receiver to your ears. Bluetooth receivers may come with a headphone or a neckloop (or both). So, if your aids have telecoils, you would use a neckloop. This way, you don't have to remove your hearing aids PLUS you're taking advantage of the programming inside of the hearing aids. Without a telecoil, you would have to connect the Bluetooth receiver to headphones. You would probably have to remove your hearing aids to prevent the feedback that could occur with trying to use headphones with hearing aids.
Tony in Michigan

I live in a very small coastal town an hour away from two other small coastal towns. I've yet to discover any venue that has a loop. You'd think that some of the newer hotels with meeting rooms would have one built in, but there's apparently not enough demand. I have lots of meetings at the OSU Marine Library, which was built during the late 70s and at a luxury lodge that was built during the early 60s--both of them long before loops were used. This little town doesn't have lots of things, but it has great people and is in a drop-dead beautiful location. I moved out of the big city to live here full time after spending three days most weeks here for decades. Now, when I drive back to the city, I often ditch the list of things to do just to get back to peace and quiet and beautiful surroundings with lots of animals and birds nearby.

Reply to Tony, Julie, Sue: You obviously know things I don't! I've printed your responses and already checked the Harris catalog a little. Advocating is fine, but I think we really need a book to help us learn about all the options. Although I've been HOH for decades and had worn an aid for over a year before the Meniere's monster roared outta the closet where I've had him locked for over 30 years (went bilateral), I'm new to virtually total deafness on bad days. I've bought lots of things, made bad decisions, am taking a deep breath before going on another spree of buying stuff I hope will help. I'm a book designer, editor, and publisher--in short a book enabler. I'd be willing to pony up the cost of producing a quality book that would help us navigate the various aids and their accessories. Any of you smart people interested in working on a "how to" manual for folks like us? Tony's response to my inquiry has the most info, but I'm not sure I understand everything, so will have to do online research to figure it out. I'll be seeing my Costco gal soon (she's far more aware of what's available than either of the audis at the CI hearing center), and I intend to ask about a Williams pocket talker (which should work with the Williams lanyard neck loop shown in the Harris catalog). I've already learned that the Pockettalker has a mic that may work far better for meetings than the useless Zerena one ($200 wasted!) that pairs with my Bernefon Zerena (Oticon) with a telecoil.
If any one is interested in developing a survival manual for HOH, please private message me. Thanks!

Reply to Tony, Julie, Sue: You obviously know things I don't! I've printed your responses and already checked the Harris catalog a little. Advocating is fine, but I think we really need a book to help us learn about all the options. Although I've been HOH for decades and had worn an aid for over a year before the Meniere's monster roared outta the closet where I've had him locked for over 30 years (went bilateral), I'm new to virtually total deafness on bad days. I've bought lots of things, made bad decisions, am taking a deep breath before going on another spree of buying stuff I hope will help. I'm a book designer, editor, and publisher--in short a book enabler. I'd be willing to pony up the cost of producing a quality book that would help us navigate the various aids and their accessories. Any of you smart people interested in working on a "how to" manual for folks like us? Tony's response to my inquiry has the most info, but I'm not sure I understand everything, so will have to do online research to figure it out. I'll be seeing my Costco gal soon (she's far more aware of what's available than either of the audis at the CI hearing center), and I intend to ask about a Williams pocket talker (which should work with the Williams lanyard neck loop shown in the Harris catalog). I've already learned that the Pockettalker has a mic that may work far better for meetings than the useless Zerena one ($200 wasted!) that pairs with my Bernefon Zerena (Oticon) with a telecoil.
If any one is interested in developing a survival manual for HOH, please private message me. Thanks!

Reply to Tony, Julie, Sue: You obviously know things I don't! I've printed your responses and already checked the Harris catalog a little. Advocating is fine, but I think we really need a book to help us learn about all the options. Although I've been HOH for decades and had worn an aid for over a year before the Meniere's monster roared outta the closet where I've had him locked for over 30 years (went bilateral), I'm new to virtually total deafness on bad days. I've bought lots of things, made bad decisions, am taking a deep breath before going on another spree of buying stuff I hope will help. I'm a book designer, editor, and publisher--in short a book enabler. I'd be willing to pony up the cost of producing a quality book that would help us navigate the various aids and their accessories. Any of you smart people interested in working on a "how to" manual for folks like us? Tony's response to my inquiry has the most info, but I'm not sure I understand everything, so will have to do online research to figure it out. I'll be seeing my Costco gal soon (she's far more aware of what's available than either of the audis at the CI hearing center), and I intend to ask about a Williams pocket talker (which should work with the Williams lanyard neck loop shown in the Harris catalog). I've already learned that the Pockettalker has a mic that may work far better for meetings than the useless Zerena one ($200 wasted!) that pairs with my Bernefon Zerena (Oticon) with a telecoil.
If any one is interested in developing a survival manual for HOH, please private message me. Thanks!

You are highlighting a serious problem - the lack of good sources of information on Hearing Assistive Technology (HAT). The Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA) recognized the problem. Using a federal grant, HLAA and partners created a Network of Consumer Hearing Technology Trainers. I'm one of the NCHATT Trainers, and I provide community programs on Hat.You might want to check with HLAA on whether an NCHATT trainer is located near you, or attend HLAA chapter meeting near you which often provide programs on HAT. Hearingloss.org has a lot of information on HAT too. I am excited at the idea of a book specifically on this issue. There are a few which include HAT, but not one I've seen specifically for it. In the meantime, I'll be glad to provide copies of presentations I've done on HAT.