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Mentor

Hearing Assistive Technology - What do you find helpful?

Posted by Julie, Volunteer Mentor @julieo4, Feb 8, 2022

There are many types of assistive technology that can make life with hearing loss easier. Often, people who could benefit are not aware of the technologies existence or availability. Hearing aids are #1, but what comes next? Are you familiar with hearing loops, FM systems, Infrared systems, streamers, hand held microphones, etc.? Please share what works for you.

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Hearing Loss Support Group.

Mentor
Julie, Volunteer Mentor | @julieo4 | Feb 10, 2022
In reply to @scottk "My new Phonak hearing aids have bluetooth technology....love it for watching TV and my Iphone.Phone calls..." + (show)
@scottk

My new Phonak hearing aids have bluetooth technology....love it for watching TV and my Iphone.Phone calls are directed immediately to them!

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You have the best of both worlds! BT and telecoils!! Thank your provider for that. 🙂

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Mentor
Julie, Volunteer Mentor | @julieo4 | Feb 10, 2022
In reply to @healthnut76 "I have a severe hearing loss and found the closed caption app on my phone very..." + (show)
@healthnut76

I have a severe hearing loss and found the closed caption app on my phone very helpful when calling someone.

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Do you use the caption app on your cell phone in other settings? Doctor appointments, social settings, etc.?

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scottk | @scottk | Feb 10, 2022
In reply to @billchitwood "For the TV do you need a streamer or can the bluetooth connect directly to the..." + (show)
@billchitwood

For the TV do you need a streamer or can the bluetooth connect directly to the TV? Thanks

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I have a streamer that hooks into the audio portion of our TV...this way I can adjust the volume seperately for my hearing aids

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scottk | @scottk | Feb 10, 2022
In reply to @julieo4 "@scottk Thank you for sharing this. Loops are like magic in large venues. It's a shame..." + (show)
@julieo4

@scottk Thank you for sharing this. Loops are like magic in large venues. It's a shame that the people who fit hearing aids don't always explain telecoils to their customers. How did you learn about telecoils? And loops?

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I originally heard Julie Sterkens at a HLAA meeting many years ago!

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1 reply
healthnut76 | @healthnut76 | Feb 10, 2022

I use the closed caption app when I make a call to someone, an appointment, etc. Lately when I receive a call I've been letting it go to voicemail. I have visual voicemail on my phone where I can see the message that was left on my phone. This is great feature I didn't have on my previous iphone.

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2 replies
healthnut76 | @healthnut76 | Feb 10, 2022
In reply to @scottk "My new Phonak hearing aids have bluetooth technology....love it for watching TV and my Iphone.Phone calls..." + (show)
@scottk

My new Phonak hearing aids have bluetooth technology....love it for watching TV and my Iphone.Phone calls are directed immediately to them!

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I just got new Phonak Bluetooth enabled hearing aids and saw a tv connector could be purchased so I wouldn't rely so much on closed caption on my TV. Is this what you use when watching TV and if so, where can I purchase one?

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1 reply
Mentor
Julie, Volunteer Mentor | @julieo4 | Feb 10, 2022
In reply to @scottk "I originally heard Julie Sterkens at a HLAA meeting many years ago!" + (show)
@scottk

I originally heard Julie Sterkens at a HLAA meeting many years ago!

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Getting the word out is so important. Juliette Sterkens does a great job of that. I have been using telecoils since I learned about them in 1984 at the first HLAA convention in Chicago. It was like the world opened up to me.

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Mentor
Julie, Volunteer Mentor | @julieo4 | Feb 10, 2022
In reply to @healthnut76 "I use the closed caption app when I make a call to someone, an appointment, etc...." + (show)
@healthnut76

I use the closed caption app when I make a call to someone, an appointment, etc. Lately when I receive a call I've been letting it go to voicemail. I have visual voicemail on my phone where I can see the message that was left on my phone. This is great feature I didn't have on my previous iphone.

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It just keeps getting better. How did you learn about that feature?

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scottk | @scottk | Feb 10, 2022
In reply to @healthnut76 "I just got new Phonak Bluetooth enabled hearing aids and saw a tv connector could be..." + (show)
@healthnut76

I just got new Phonak Bluetooth enabled hearing aids and saw a tv connector could be purchased so I wouldn't rely so much on closed caption on my TV. Is this what you use when watching TV and if so, where can I purchase one?

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Yes. I am using the Phonak TV Connector. I bought mine from the audiologist but if you google it you can buy it online....ebay has it for $189. It really makes it great watching TV.

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1 reply
chud2 | @chud2 | Feb 11, 2022
In reply to @luvsibes "What technology would allow me to have TV audio directly to my ears or hearing aides..." + (show)
@luvsibes

What technology would allow me to have TV audio directly to my ears or hearing aides and still allow others to hear the TV? I tried to pair my ear buds with the TV but no one else could hear the TV. I may not have modern enough equipment as I think the TV Sound Bar must need to be the wireless thing to pair to?
I have enough volume but cannot make out words etc. sometimes. I use closed caption when it's available.

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I have used Apple airpods pro to listen to TV. I pair them with my Sony smart TV Bravia (2019 model 65") and can hear very clearly plus sound is still available for others in room. Obviously I do not have my hearing aids (Widex Beyond) in at the same time. The sound with the airpods ia very clear.

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