Questions about hearing aids that are compatible with the iPhone

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.

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,

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.