The hearing aid industry has wholeheartedly embraced technology, and that’s good news for you! Hearing aids can improve all aspects of your life – both personal and professional. At Comprehensive Ear & Hearing, we pride ourselves on staying up to date with the latest technology so we can pass those advances on to you. Improvements in Bluetooth hearing aids will keep you connected to your loved ones and all of your audio devices. There is so much to hear, and what you hear contributes so much to your life, you can’t afford to miss a minute. Call today for a hearing evaluation and we can discuss the technology that will benefit you.
Bluetooth Improvements
Hearing aids used to have limited access to certain mobile audio devices like mobile phones and personal music players. If you wanted to listen to music, perhaps while you were working out or jogging, you would have to take out your hearing aids and put in earbuds or put on headphones.
Today, wireless hearing aids give wearers the option to connect with most personal devices as well as televisions and laptops, and stream directly to hearing aids. Bluetooth is a wireless communication platform that facilitates the movement of data between one electronic device and another. Radio waves at a very high frequency transmit the data in a secure manner. Bluetooth has been incorporated into a wide range of products which has prompted hearing aid companies to make their devices compatible for the benefit of hearing aid wearers.
Apple has patents on specific Bluetooth connectivity with hearing aids so a variety of hearing aid models can communicate with the platform that runs the “i” products – iPhone, iPad and iPod. This technology lets devices communicate directly with each other without draining the battery at the expense of the data. Google is working on hearing aids that will interface with Android devices.
Are Your Hearing Aids Bluetooth Compatible?
If you don’t have the capacity to direct stream with the hearing aids you have, professionals at Comprehensive Ear & Hearing can talk to you about new models. It might be time for an upgrade. If you like what you have now, but want to stream, there are some options.
Wireless hearing aids can use compatible assistive listening devices which are sometimes referred to as streamers. A streamer can provide a communication link from the wireless capacity you have in your hearing aids to any Bluetooth enabled device.
The streamer is an external device that looks like a light-weight remote control. You can wear it t around your neck and it’s about the size of an ID you might see attached to a lanyard. Or, some will work if you put them in a shirt pocket. When you set it up, it can pick up the Bluetooth signal from your phone or other Bluetooth device and send it back to your hearing aids via an FM signal.
Streaming Benefits
Streaming gives you a personalized listening experience. The sound experience
using streaming is so much clearer and “natural” compared to using your hearing
aids with other electronic devices.
The streamed signal can be adjusted to a volume you find comfortable. Depending
on what model of hearing aid you have, the volume is either adjusted on the
hearing aid or on the streamer. If you are listening to music, the sound comes
directly into your hearing aids – in stereo – so you don’t need earbuds. Your
hearing aids function as wireless earbuds. You can stream from your phone into
one hearing aid and use the other to listen to sounds in your environment. You
won’t have to try and move the phone to where the microphone in your hearing
aid will pick up the sound. If your hearing aids are configured differently for
each ear, the streaming volume can be adjusted.
You can switch back and forth from different Bluetooth enabled devices with
ease. You can use your phone while streaming from the television or a tablet. Because Bluetooth is a standard data platform
you don’t have to worry about it working with one device and not another. It’s
also secure and not subject to transmission interference. It will work in your
car and it means you can talk on the phone “hands free.”
Comprehensive Ear and Hearing
Ready for an upgrade to experience the benefits of Bluetooth? Contact us today to learn more. At Comprehensive Ear & Hearing, we look forward to helping you enhance your hearing aid listening experience.