Questions about hearing aids that are compatible with the iPhone

By Fahad Alrashed, 8 March, 2016

Forum
Apple Hardware and Compatible Accessories

Hello guys,
I need your help for buying a new hearing aid.
I want to ask about the best hearing aids for iPhone:
as you know; the hearing aids cust is so ex pensive, for that reason I want to ask about them before purchasing:
1- what is best hearing aids which give you a great the quality?
2- what is the hearing aids which completely compatible with VoiceOver?
I tried the app from starky and resound in demo mode, but I found them not very accessible with VoiceOver, there are many unlabeled buttons.
is there another manufacture better than starky or resound?
please recommend it to me.
thank you...

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Comments

By Vaughan Dodd on Sunday, March 6, 2016 - 02:24

Hello Fahad. This is a timely quesiton for me, as I am working through the process of hearing replacement. I have some misgivings about iPhone only operation of hearing aids. Bluetooth, VoiceOver and the actual environmental signals received by hearing aids slow the listening process down, and you may find hearing aids with iPhone operated remotes to be unsatisfactory. Battery drain is significant. And - if the disaster of losing the phone occurs - you've lost control of your hearing aids. Manufacturers are moving down this path, and if you must follow them, I suggest that you look at the remote apps from Widex and Phonak. If you can, you should also discuss obtaining hearing aids which use hardware remote devices, which can be cabled to your phone through the 3.5mm jack plug. Widex have discontinued this line of products, Phonak still has them, as possibly other manufacturers. The control devices which use IPhone aps connect to the hearing aids wirelessly, and bluetooth to the phone and VoiceOver kicks in. So - as not to ramble too much more - try the remote apps from Widex and Phonak, but I strongly suggest old fashioned remote controls which can be cabled to your phone. Good luck.

By david s on Sunday, March 6, 2016 - 02:24

Hello,

I have a pair of Starky Halos and I really like them. They are made for the iPhone and the upside is you do not need an intermediary device or remote. Your hearing aids connect directly to the iPhone via BT 4.0. Not having that additional device or remote means not worrying about carrying, charging or losing it.

The battery life varies on what you're doing. My Starky Halos are RIC and uses the orange batteries. If I stream audio at 4 hours a day, the batteries will last about 4 days. If I don't stream much, and use the iPhone as usual, VO, email, browsing, etc., the batteries last about 6 days. And if you have a Costco nearby, you can get US made batteries for about 25 cents eachs.

In the begining, the Trulink app was fully accessable. I worked with Starky and it was great. But as time passed, more things were added and accessability went down. BUT, the good part is, you don't need to use it. The IOS have controls built in which I found much easier to use. In my case, I triple click the home button and a menu comes up. Turn VO off or on and hearing aid controls. I click on hearing aid controls and from here, I can adjust the volume, select preferences or mute out annoying people. LOL

My halos are really small that others don't realize I'm wearing hearing aids until they look carefully. The hearing aids themselves do not have any controls such as volume so you will need to have your iPhone, iPad or iPod to control or adjust it. It's like wearing BT headsets and all sounds made by the IOS is streamed to your hearing aids. Not sure if you plan to look at iPhone 7 or beyond, but rumors has it the headset plug will be eliminated.

Anyway, I can go on and on but I think I said enough about the Halos. There are a few other people on this forum that use Starky and Resound so I'm sure they'll chime in.

Oh, an important note. Make sure you get a good audiologist that offers various brands and models. They should also allow you to try the different models to see which one works best for you. In addition, try the remotes, I found they were not accessable.

HTH and good luck.

Hello vaughan dodd,
Thanks a lot for your response .

I don't have any idea about widex, but about phonak:
They don't have a hearing aids made for iPhone, such as Starky or resound.
I search about phonak in Apple support page of hearing aids, but phonak is not included in manufacturers table.

Currently, I have a hearing aid made by Fonnic, it's called vario.

The begist problem in this hearing aid it doesn't support any Bluetooth accessorys.
Because it insight the ear.
I want to hear from many people because I will decide what will I buy depending on what are they saying.

Because one of the problems is the companies who sales the hearing aids not allow you to test it before purchasing.

i'm waiting for more replies.

thank you again :)

Hello David ,
I visited the starky after I red your review of halos in 2015 thanks about it.

I found many Manufacturers who creates made for iPhone hearing aids but I don't know what is the best, so your if you was help me about choosing the best manufacturers.

So I have some questions about the halos hearing aid:
1- can you hear with apple Air pots?
If so, is the Quality great like it?
2- many Bluetooth devices (Especially headsets) makes the controlling the iPhone using voice over very slow, how about halos?
Is VoiceOver take sometimes to response?
3- when you stream the audio from your iPhone, can you hear the sounds around you as well?

Thanks a lot for your reply :)

By david s on Sunday, March 6, 2016 - 02:24

Hello,

Trying to find the best hearing aid varies from person to person. Here are some things to consider.

Do you want or need controls on the hearing aid itself? While this is great, the HAs may be a little bigger and it's something else that can go wrong. Do you need media streamers? For example, currently, the Halos will only communicate with an IOS device. With the Resound Linx, you can purchase streamers so your HAs communicate with the streamer and the streamer connects to a PC or TV. How many channels do you need on the HAs? The more channels, the better your chances of hearing different sounds depending on your hearing loss. Ease of servicing. The Halo is a modular design. So if you have problems with the Halo, either you or your audi can take it apart and replace the parts without sending it in.
With the Halos, the sounds are great and natural. In addition, there are also filters built in where machine noise such as vacuum cleaners or fans are filtered to minimize the noise. If you're in a car, the road and wind noise are also filtered. But if you want to hear everything, you can select a different profile that turns off the filters.

Yes, while you're listening to music, book or on the phone, you will still hear things around you. You can also decrease the microphone volume so the sounds around you won't be so loud then increase the volume of your IOS device so you can better hear what you're listening to. You can also route alerts or ring from your IpHONE TO YOUr HAs.

In terms of Bluetooth, the Halos use BT 4.0 and is paired by going to settings< accessability< hearing aids. You will not see them in settings< bluetooth. I have multiple BT devices connected and have not run into any issues. No lag or VO issues. It's strange how when I use a standard BT headset, at times, my iphone lags but using my Halos, no lag. The only problem I have is using hand off from my iPhone to my iPad. They both try to grab the Halos and weird things happen. The solution is to turn off BT on one device before turning BT on the device you want to use.

I've been using my Halos since IOS 8 and iPhone 5. With each new IOS and Iphone, the Halos seems to get even better.

HTH and good luck.

By Fahad Alrashed on Sunday, March 6, 2016 - 02:24

In reply to by david s

Hello:
thank you for your help, but how about you: how can you Liston to your pc or tv?

By david s on Sunday, March 6, 2016 - 02:24

Hello,

I watch TV and Use my PC without any streamers. With my Halos, I hear them just fine. If I want to listen in private, I use an over the ear headset. With the noise cancellation of my Halos, I get no annoying beeps or feedback.

While I like the idea of meadia streamers, it's another thing I have to purchase and carry around.

Where are you located? Will your audiologist let you try them out for at least a week to see if they work for you? Oh, also if you get an RIC model, you should also get an open faced ear mold. This will prevent outside noise from getting into your ear. When I first tried it without the molds, I had to strain a bit since the outside noise was interfering with the audio from the HAs.

Hi David, I am in the process of acquiring my first hearing aids. My Audiologist is recommending the resound linx2 7ite. The Starkey Halo's sound great. Please can you tell me if voiceOver can also be heard through the Starkey Halo's?

By david s on Monday, June 6, 2016 - 02:24

Hello,

Yes, VO works with the Halos. It reads everything as if you were wearing normal headset.

I love them and would never give them up. If you're not sure which to get, you should ask your audi if you can try each for a month or so. I tried them both and stuck with the Halos.

HTH and good luck.

By Fahad Alrashed on Monday, June 6, 2016 - 02:24

Hello guys,
Thanks for the great replies, I purchased the resound links seven because it gives a more channels than halos with cheaper cost.
VoiceOver works Great with it.
The problems which I face are:
the base and trouble:
There is a difference between the base in the hearing aids and the bass and the normal headset.
For that reason I always decrease the base and increase the trouble to get better quality.
Actually, the sound is not bad, but unfortunately it isn't like the normal headset.
The normal headset quality is better than hearing aids.
Maybe that depending on how many channels in the hearing aids, my hearing aids has 12 channels.
also, I purchase the mini Mike, which allows you to hear the sound from one person specially, for example: lecture or teacher in the class.
I don't care about this feature, but the wonderful feature to me is the mini Mike has AUX jack cable, which allows you to stream the audio from any device supports the normal jack cable.
The problem with The song is Mono, not stereo.
Thank you all again :)

By david s on Monday, June 6, 2016 - 02:24

Hello,

Did you mention this to your audi? He or she should be able to fine tune your HAs to your preferences.

For example, I have a few settings for music. One for classical, rock and R and B all with their own presets according to the music style. In addition, I am not sure with the Resounds but with the Halo app, you can increased or decrease the treble and bass to your liking any time.

Just curious, how long does your battery last? For me, 5 hours of streaming/talking on the phone daily gives me about 5 days.

Glad to hear things are working well for you.

By Stuart Deadman on Monday, June 6, 2016 - 02:24

In reply to by david s

Thanks for your advice. Is it true that the Halo is only in the over the ear style?

By Fahad Alrashed on Monday, June 6, 2016 - 02:24

In reply to by david s

Hello:
I always change the preset for my hearing aids using the application, I am planning to tell him about this in the next time when I visit him.
About the battery life, I think the same thing with me.
But about me, I didn't use the hearing aids if no people around me, because as I told you, I prefer the headset quality.
For this reason maybe the battery stay longer.
But you know, I have a problem here:
The battery percentage only shows 100% even when the battery is low!
if I try to check the battery level in the notification Center.
How about you?
Thank you

By david s on Monday, June 6, 2016 - 02:24

Hello,

When I got my Halos, only the RIC, reciever in canal, was available. They are smaller than the BTE, behind the ear, models. And unlike the BTE models, there are no tubes to replace. The RIC models are small so unless someone is really looking, they can't tell you have them on.

If you've never worn hearing aids before, I suggest you visit a few audiologist until you find one that you are comfortable with. Someone that sells different brands and will take the time to explain the difference and allow you to try them out. Be aware of the audi that says "I don't sell that brand because they are no good."

As far as battery life status, mine aren't accurate either. I don't think they will ever get this right. The battery used on the HAs aren't the typical battery. With typical batteries like a 9V or AA, once dead, they remain dead. With the HA batteries, if it goes dead, leave them out for a while and you'll be able to use them again for a bit. On my Halos for example, the HA goes dead. I open the battery door for about 3 mins, close it and I get another 8 hours of use.

Happy hearing.

By Jesus R on Wednesday, July 6, 2016 - 02:24

Hi all.
Just reading this and all the comments was very helpfull. I don't think I will get made for iPhone hearing aids just yet. Too much can change with softwhere, which could be good or bad, so I got a set of phonak hearing aids. But perhaps some day I will get made for iPhone hearing aids. For now though, I am just happy to hear again!

By fcsr37 on Wednesday, July 6, 2016 - 02:24

In reply to by david s

Hi David S,
I'm finding your comments very useful. I am in the middle of the trial period with Sarkey Halo 2 RIC aids; I have mild to moderate hearing loss and I'm not an experienced HA user. My audi and I are still fiddling with the settings. But I am having various problems and perhaps you have some advice. (The HA forums indicate that people in my situation are the most difficult to please. People with more serious hearing loss are so happy to be able to hear again, using the HA, that they do not mind the minor loss of fidelity that comes with them.)

1. I am a "serious" music listener with lots of classical CDs and high resolution digital music for streaming. In the streaming mode on the Halo 2, when listening to piano music for example, I hear a bit of a "pssshht" with each note. Put them together and it sounds a bit like the fuzz amplifiers from the 1960s. Probably most people don't notice this, and when streaming rock music the "pssshhht" is drowned out by the music. But with classical music, especially something like piano where there are quiet instants between the notes, it drives me crazy to the point where I cannot use the streaming function. Have you noticed this at all?
2. While using the HA to listen to music from a stereo system (meaning: _not_ streaming), some long notes have a "warble". I've experimented with this using a tone generator: tones from 2Khz on up have a distinct warble. So my audi found a "music" program that she downloaded to the HA and this has solved the problem: warble gone, but occasional feedback squeal if I accidentally put my hands over my ears, but of course I can live with this. However, this program does not allow for the user to add any modifications -- not even volume or bass/treble. I noticed that you list several "memories" for music (rock, classical, etc.). How did you set these up? Perhaps you have created these memories as modifications of the "normal" setting? So far as I can tell, it is not possible to modify the "music" setting that my audi installed.
3. I'm still having a heck of a time trying to understand what my colleagues are saying when we meet for lunch in a noisy cafeteria. From what I have read, the Resound Lynx2 9 seems to be designed to tackle this situation. But perhaps there is a Halo 2 solution as well, would you happen to know?

Thanks for your help,
fcsr37.

By david s on Saturday, August 6, 2016 - 02:24

Hello,

Good to hear you're trying out different models.

Which Starky Halos are you trying? in your case, the 110s might be better since you are more critical of what you hear. This model offers the most channels so adjusting it to your needs will be more accurate. If you cannot hear your friends in a noisy enviroment, let your audi know so he/she can adjust your Halos accordingly. In my case, I could not hear my 9 year old or my wife in the karate studio or restaurants. After some adjustments, I now hear them and at times, tell them what was being said.

In terms of music, my audi and I spent a lot of time adjusting my Halos. With the settings set to the types of music, the filters are turned off so whistling and feedback will occur if I move my hand close to my ears or if I wear a headset. You can also try setting up profiles yourself using the Trulink app. While it doesn't give you much flexability as the console used by the audi, it does allow you to change the sound.

Speaking of sound quality, you will need to brush the microphone covers once in a while. Eventually, the covers will build up with gunk and the sound quality will diminish to the point where you can't hear any external sounds. The solution is to either replace the cover or remove the cover and brush both the topside and underside. If you're careful, you should be able to do this at home even if you're blind.

HTH and good luck.