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Blue Tooth Hearing Aids

deineder

New member
It is inevitable that I must purchase hearing aides in the next year or two. Just a little searching on available products revealed an industry that is advancing. I haved toyed with the idea of BlueToothing my Zumo. But I have many questions about hearing aides usable on motorcycles. I would appreciate hearing from those of you with experience in this area.
 
There was a recent thread on this, but I am unable to find it. IIRC most of us that wear hearing aids do not use them while riding. There are many types, but consider this, a hearing aid is designed to bring sound at the frequency of your loss into the ear. There is little to no isolation from wind noise.
Some folks with severe loss turn them down or off while riding.

Myself, with midrange loss (speaking voice) I wear a BTE model with an open umbrella ear insert. Midrange is amplified while other frequencies enter the ear normally. I wear earplugs when riding for protection from further damage and loss. Speaker earplugs for communication GPS & music through an Autocom.

Bluetooth is how the newer digital aids are tuned and adjusted. Mine are capable, I considered that for cell phone use, but it requires a receiver/transmitter worn around the neck or carried in a pocket to work. The aids do not pair directly with another device.
 
I have Epoq Blluetooth hearing aids. They are the type that go behind the ear and have the tiny speaker in the ear. I love them but wearing them in the helmet would be uncomfortable to say the least. A fellow I know has a set that are entirely inside the ear and are also bluetooth. he has a doggle that hangs on his neck to control them so he can wear them all the time. Mine also has the dongle/streamer so I can pair my phone and make/answer calls without taking it out of my pocket. the reciever for my voice is on the top of the dongle but would not PU my voice if I had a helmet on. I hope this helps. Try asking these questions of a audiologist. My aud. also rides Bmw bikes and she says bikers should always wear ear plugs to save thier hearing. My wife and I just went two days ago and had moulds made to order custom plugs for our riding. I also have a set I had made at the rally last year that connect to my Ipod when riding by myself. With these, I ONLY hear music!!
 
I have a pair of Siemens that are just one year old, the amp is behind my ears and the tiny speaker is in my ear, they are connected with an almost invisible wire. There is no way I can wear them with my helmet on, the wind noise is multiplied beyond control. Plus in taking off the helmet will separate me and the hearing aids and deposit them on the parking lot surface.

The blue tooth part which I purchased recently hung around my neck was uncooperative, it only worked when it wanted to, the small transmitter for the TV quit completely. I returned them and requested replacement as opposed to repair as they were only three weeks old, that was two weeks ago and all I get is we will call you back.

One other thing that comes to mind is the little black box that hangs around your neck, this contains two tiny holes that are microphones which pick up your voice for the phone. Should this become reversed while I am talking, the party I am talking to complains of a whisking noise, imagine this on a moving motorcycle.

I will say this when they worked they worked well, however for the price they charge if they are not back in another week I will request a refund. But I would never expect them to work while riding a motorcycle. No way in hell.
 
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Oticon Agil P

I've been wearing Otocon Agil P that are bluetooth compatible. My aids are behind the ear, I'm really deaf, so they can be a little uncomfortable after awhile but they do work great. I paired them with my iTouch and listen to music while I ride.
 
Update on Blue Tooth & Hearing Aids

I have a pair of Siemens that are just one year old, the amp is behind my ears and the tiny speaker is in my ear, they are connected with an almost invisible wire. There is no way I can wear them with my helmet on, the wind noise is multiplied beyond control. Plus in taking off the helmet will separate me and the hearing aids and deposit them on the parking lot surface.

The blue tooth part which I purchased recently hung around my neck was uncooperative, it only worked when it wanted to, the small transmitter for the TV quit completely. I returned them and requested replacement as opposed to repair as they were only three weeks old, that was two weeks ago and all I get is we will call you back.

One other thing that comes to mind is the little black box that hangs around your neck, this contains two tiny holes that are microphones which pick up your voice for the phone. Should this become reversed while I am talking, the party I am talking to complains of a whisking noise, imagine this on a moving motorcycle.

I will say this when they worked they worked well, however for the price they charge if they are not back in another week I will request a refund. But I would never expect them to work while riding a motorcycle. No way in hell.


Since I told the lousy truth about the non working Siemens Blue Tooth gizmo form Siemens hearing aids I should up date this post.

It took 26 days since I left the Blue Tooth gear with my audiologist and my getting them back. Several calls provided me only with we will call you back. Trying to be nice I finally said someone better tell me something positive or I will call the main office and speak with whoever will listen, or I can just call my credit card folks and tell them about your performance and request credit.

I will call you back. I said yeah I know I have been told that several times and no one calls. 10 minutes later, my caller ID says HearX, the lady says can you come in tomorrow at 10 AM. Lady I can come right now. No tomorrow.

So now I have a new audiologist and a newer model of the Siemens Blue Tooth thingie. However no one there has any explanation as to why 26 days. Unless this model was not available when I sent my first one back. Again, no one knows anything.

The good news is it works, not exactly like my instruction book says, but it works.
 
The way I handle this

I have been wearing hearing aids for 15 years and am a techno geek as well. The best option I found is the following. I have ITC hearing aids with a Telecoil. ITC stands for "In The Canal". There is a little button that can turn off the microphones and turn on the telecoil. I have about 75% hearing loss. Because the hearing aids are in the ear, when the microphone is turned off they act as foam earplugs. I am still able to hear loud noises such as sirens, horns etc.

I then have a set of TecEar hooks. They loop over my ear and have a 3.5mm stereo plug on the end. I can either attach that directly to my iphone or to a Jabra Clipper. The Jabra clipper is a Bluetooth receiver that allows you to connect your 3.5MM headphones, or in this case ear hooks and receive music via bluetooth.

I use the Jabra Clipper when I have my Iphone attached to the bike is a waterproof case and use it at my GPS.

Enjoy
 
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