Telecoil mode has on-again, off-again ticking or hum noise

@h2h Does the humming and ticking noise happen all the time regardless of where you are at? It's not clear to me if you experience the hum and ticking when you are in a properly designed induction loop system. Hum is common when you are not in a looped environment since the telecoils are picking up "60 cycle hum", which is the frequency of the AC electric power in the US. The ticking is a little puzzling so I wonder if it is the hearing aid programming. I would hope your audiologist would consult with the Unitron rep to try to help

Also it isn’t clear whether the noise is present in just one loop or in more than just one. There could be electro-magnetic interference in one loop that is the cause and not the hearing aids.

Thank you both for your reply. It occurs whenever I'm in telecoil mode and in a hearing loop setting. If I turn on the telecoil mode where there isnt a hearing loop I don't get the same clicking sound. And it more often seems to be the clicking sound. And that includes when use my portable PLA90 hearing loop device. I'm not in a hearing loop setting except on Sunday's at church for the most part. Or the few times I might take my PLA90 to some event. I had a PLA 90 at work so it was something that happened more often but I retired several months ago. I'm familiar with the electro-magnetic interference than can occur in a building or loop, but this is different. I have my annual appt in a couple of weeks and will have to bring it up again and ask if they could even let me talk to the Unitron rep myself to explain it so they hear it from the horses mouth and not filtered in whatever way might happen otherwise. I also need to ask if they have the device to adjust telecoils to one's hearing loss. Or even just ask what kind of adjustments do telecoils need to see what response I might receive. Appreciate your comments.

@h2h

Have hearing loss 45 + years and have been wearing bilateral Phonak aids for so many of those years. Like you, I insist on a Tcoil and originally had a T +Mic setting but switched to a T only setting. My Audi programmed my Tcoil setting and we experimented using the office phone, One thing I initially found was that the volume of that setting greatly influenced the effectiveness of using the Tcoil. She lowered the volume of that program so I wouldn’t have to manually adjust it when initially using.

What I am getting at is the volume may be too loud for you when you switch to Tcoil and that is why you hear the clicking. I would manually lower the volume when you use that setting to see if it makes a difference. Also, have the Audi clean your aids thoroughly. Dust and debris make a difference.

I found that Bluetooth didn’t work as well for my profound hearing as the old Tcoil. Audis try to tell you it’s outdated. This is a pet peeve of mine. I had the Phonak people add the Tcoil on my last pair and told the Audi I wouldn’t buy them unless they did. And, yes there are venues with loop systems…you just have to go through the rigmarole of finding out.

I don’t know anything about the Unitron aid but maybe, on the next go-around, you might try other brands. Some Audis are “married” to a particular brand and only know about Bluetooth. We have to educate them.

FL Mary

Hi
Thank you for your post. I have had teleloop installed in my home for over ten years. But I don’t know of many public places that have them installed. Can I ask you what a PLA90 is? Is it useful for large public spaces or even small public spaces? Can you please tell me how to find out about them on the internet? Thanks in advance

Thanks for your post. It's great you have a hearing loop in your home. I have what I need to install one in my basement as soon as my son finally moves some last piles out so I can access the ceiling joists, then I'll be able to use my telecoils on first floor with the TV! For terminology clarification, it is a hearing loop or induction loop installed and it's your hearing aids or chochlear implant that has the telecoil. For finding public places two possible sources, one is Google maps. There is a feature that allows you to check if a specific place has a hearing loop, and a great mapping site that lists places in each state that have been reported to have hearing loops, so it might not be up to date. It is http://www.time2loopAmerica.com. You'll see a map of the US, click on your state, and towns are listed alphabetically and show who has a hearing loop. Regarding the PLA90, it is more of a "personal" portable hearing loop however it can be set up at an office counter or used in small meetings or with an extension mic used in larger meetings. I asked for an accommodation at work and they purchased one for me with a 10 ft extension mic that I would set at the end of the long tables in our meeting room in order to clearly hear people at that end of the table. One can even daisy chain the mics together for a longer space but side chatter/talk could interfere. The device also has a built in mic that works well too for people sitting closer. One does have to sit two feet, maybe three feet, in front of the device for your telecoil to pick up the sound. There are four, that I know of, portable hearing loop manufacturers. Check out https://centerforhearingaccess.org/biz-hearing-loop-counter/ which shows all four. Scroll down a bit to the Portable Hearing Loops section. The PLA90 is the third one silver with the blue strip down one side. I have actually tested out three of the four. Each have their pros and cons but I do prefer the PLA90. If you click on each image it will take you to the manufacturers website with all their info. The PLA90 is made by Sarabec in the UK and Williams AV serves as their primary distributor but they don't sell direct and will send your contact info to someone in your area that is likely an AV company of some kind. My experience is the company who called me didn't know didly squat about the device and asked if I needed them to install it! When they asked me that I figured they didn't know much about hearing loops, especially this product, so asked them if they install many hearing loops at facilities, churches, etc. He said no, it's old technology, and cheaper to install a different system like FM. Aaarrgghhh....I had to bite my tongue. Anyway, his price was astonomically high from what I knew they usually sold for (I had already purchased mine, I was check as my office wanted a second price). I lucked out a few years ago and found a fantastic individual and group of hearing loop advocates in Eugene, OR, that at the time was called Loop Lane County/Loop Oregon, but is now the Center for Hearing Access. I would encourage you to email Ginevra Ralph at GRalph@TheShedd.net to inquire about getting one. Ginevra was a wealth of information about the PLA90. She's interested in getting people using the device if it will work for their circumstances and making sure people get telecoils in their hearing aids. And you might even be interested in joining in on their monthly zoom meeting where folks from across the county join in to learn and share information about hearing loops and other experiences in the hard of hearing world. Ask her about that as well. I see I can send you a private message which I will and send you my email. I'd be glad to talk with you more about my experience using the PLA90 if you'd like to get back to me.

Thank you for starting this conversation, and for everyone who has contributed. I've been traveling and just saw the thread. My response to the initial comment would be similar to the others so I won't duplicate it.

It's such a shame that people who sell hearing aids don't realize how valuable telecoils are. Until newer tech is readily available it is important to have telecoils. Even when Auracast comes along, I would advise people to insist on both components because venues that have installed hearing loops are not going to jump in and install something else. They will already be in sync with the ADA (Disabilities Act) by providing loops. Same for FM systems and Infrared systems that do the same thing by bringing desired sound direct to compatible hearing aids/or headsets with receivers while by passing extraneous noise that interferes with our ability to hear clearly. FM and IR receivers will connect with telecoils when the user has a neckloop rather than headphones/ear buds. It's a matter of knowing what works and asking for it in public venues.

Again...those who sell hearing aids should feel obligated to share this information. Sadly, too many don't bother. COMPLAIN and do it loudly.

Good luck everyone. Keep learning, talking, promoting, advocating and caring. It's the only way we are heard.

thanks Julie. Your comments are right on...people need to make sure they have both the newer bluetooth, ie: Auracast, and telecoils in their hearing aids. At this time, there are only a few hearing aids that indicate they are Auracast 'ready' and come with telecoils. As consumers we need to be sure that our AuD, and the manufacturers, know that we need to have both and to not stop including telecoils. Here's some great information on this:
https://centerforhearingaccess.org/declarations/
and this: https://centerforhearingaccess.org/consumer-advocacy-raise-mfr-issues/
and this: https://centerforhearingaccess.org/unequivocally-advocating/
As you likely note, these are all Center for Hearing Access website. There is such a plethora of useful and helpful information on this website it is worth it to spend time checking it all out!

@h2h Does your church have induction loop receivers for the people that do not have telecoils but want to take advantage of the loop? You can ask someone with normal hearing at the church to listen using the loop receiver with headphones. If they hear the same distortion that you are hearing, then there is a problem with the church system. The key is to try to isolate the problem. It could be the actual loop amplifier but more often than not, a microphone will fail usually at a plug. I've been in several venues that did not have a good loop system.

Thank you for the suggestion. Yes, we have several receivers and headsets that one or two people occasionally use. If I weren't also experiencing this when using my portable PLA90 hearing loop, and before we did the hearing loop at church, your suggestion would be useful to help pinpoint it. And it's happened with two different PLA90 devices as well. I was just at a musical play at our community playhouse which has a hearing loop thankfully, I don't recall if the ticking sound was present. It's in the background so much and not really too distracting when there's sound coming through, more noticeable when there isn't any projected sound coming in.