need help with new hearing aids - smartlink?

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Canuckian_Chick

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Hey all... after mind whacking on the net and at the audiologist office today to find new digital hearing aids for me... Right now I've been wearing Phonak Supero AZ413 as I'm profounded deaf... it's awesome but with loud noise it will shut down on me.. grr.. They are finding there's aren't that many new ones out there with my hearing loss on the market unless any of you know more ...

I just want to know if any of you that's into music can help me out abit in regards to be able to hear my ipod or phone ... the audiologist suggest me getting the smartlink wireless transmitter... I really can't figure out how that'll work... Also hearing aids that would work will with music ....

Please let me know... I've been searching the net high and low.... it's tiring... wink..
 
I would suggest getting the smartlink! It's really good, but id try it out first to see if you like it. I had the easylink and now have smartlink but the fm systems are both good..just that the smartlink has a bluetooth connection and different programs as the easylink only has one program and no bluetooth. The really good think about the smartlink too is that you can turn on the bluetooth on your cell and turn on the bluetooth on the smartlink and then ur hearing aid will act as the "headset" and the smartlink as ur mic (while around ur neck) and when ur recieving a call u press the button on mic and it will pick up the call and u will hear the person thru ur ha and the mic will pick up ur voice relaying it to ur cell. Thats a big plus especially while driving instead of reaching around for a phone.

The smartlink also has the diff programs, so if your still in school, it's alot better at picking up teacher, students, and other audio, better than the easylink.

Not sure what new ha ur getting but the una which I will get in 2 weeks will go with any/or almost any phonak bte will match with a certain integrated hook up for the fm sytem that looks apart of the ha when u attach it, instead of having a seperate audio boot and then the attachment... I only have a moderate loss so I would of only gotten the Una or the eXtra, but im sure the aero or claro or maxx would work well for your loss...but you would have to confirm that with your audi

Oh and about the music thing ( almost forgot! lol) but there is a wire that the smartlink will come with so that u can hook it to the smartlink and your ipod or speakers on comp or any audio output and you will be able to either turn up ur ha or speaker/ipod and listen thru ur fm which will filter the audio to make it sound better, i use to do that with my easylink in class and my teachers wouldn't know i was listening to music lol...it worked well..Im not sure how my ha will work with music, hopefully well since im only using ha on the right side...wireless is the way to go!:P..
hopfully my info helps...pm me if u want to know anything else..:)
 
oh cool... it's great info you've giving me.. okay a few questions to ask ya

what's mylink?? a transmitter for what?? is it something you need to have while using easylink or smartlink??

Does the easylink system will make it louder without turn your HA volume up??

Wow... the UNA sounds good to me, why?? the bassboost and the audiozoom is my thing.. but don't know if it's strong enough for my profounded hearing loss... smile..

Thanks again, I'm checking on the net for more info.. smile... can't believe the colours for UNA lol..
 
No, mylink is a reciever like a neck loop that u can use with ur ha when u have the t-coil setting instead of using a regular bte hearing aid reciever...I am getting the ML9S reciever with my ha and the smartlink fm, so no u dont need to have the mylink and im pretty sure the regular ml9s reciever is cheaper than the mylink neck loop reciever, but it also can work with any transmitter (edulink, smartling, telcom or campus sx).
Both fm systems will make it a bit louder, but u will have to turn up the volume via your ha or wat i do just turn the volume up on ur ipod or speaker instead.
Now i don't know your dB levels and such and at what pitches u can hear etc but there are 4 diff una bte ha's or cic, itc,that fit the diff losses..K so on the bottom are 2 diff links for the una for ya...

P.S. ya eh sick colors...i almost got pink...but i knew id get bored of it so i got black instead to match my hair color:cool:
http://www.phonak.com/com_027_0001-xx_una_product_information.pdf
Phonak Hearing Systems - Una Products
 
I have the EXACT same Supero hearing aid, which I've had for 3 years now, and I think it works great. Granted, it needs some adjustments made. And I LOVE listening to music with the FM system from Phonak. I don't have Smartlink, I have the older Handy Mic, but I plug the Handy Mic directly into the CD player (or computer, or DVD player), put the FM receiver boot onto my hearing aid, use the FM setting and oh it's just perfect.

Alicia mentioned the Claro in one of her posts.. The Claro was my first digital hearing aid.. yeah it worked great, but the Supero is so much better. My Claro was completely MAXED out, with no more room for adjustments. Whenever I have to send the Supero in for repairs, and I put the Claro on again, I'm shocked at how quiet the world sounds and it's a lot more difficult for me to keep up with the Claro. So I wouldn't recommend the Claro for your kind of hearing loss. I'm at severe/profound in right ear, and yeah.. Claro's just too quiet and meh.

Just keep looking around the Phonak website, make some comparisons and see if there's another hearing aid that attracts your attention and could possibly fit your hearing loss. You have to realize though, with digital hearing aids, it will take a few appointments to make adjustments on it so that it is just right for your hearing. The first adjustment is not going to be perfect. Maybe before immediately switching to another hearing aid, explain to your audiologist what you want your hearing aid to do for you, and get some adjustments made to it. Next Thursday I'm going to have more adjustments made to mine, since I'm not really happy with the current programming I have right now. Sometimes the hearing aid will be adjusted just perfectly, and you'll be completely happy with it for months! But sometimes after a while, you may notice some changes or things you might be missing out or want to reduce/eliminate so more adjustments would be necessary. That's the nice thing about digitals, they're adjustable.
 
Cool Meggers I really likes the Phonak Supero I have had for the last four years and Yeah i know all about trying to go back and forth making the right adjustments... smile

I don't even know if there's one that's better or more powerful than the Supero... (sigh) should I get a new one the same kind since it's brand new or just get something different that's my problem right now.. grr..

THe audiologist had me tried the Oticon SYNCRO demo ... I wasn't too please cause I couldn't even hear her voice shuts the surrounds sounds... I'm all for Bass... and she's gonna go a windex demo to try.. (yikes))...

So if the FM does give me abit a BOOST, maybe that's the way to go... as we are the critics to educated the Audiologist what's good or not for us since they don't have our hearing losses... smile.. they are pretty understandable..

like the UNA having 4 channels than normal 3 channels is awesome cause one can be for just AUDIO only to have a different sound than a normal for first three channels... Trying to convince my Audiologist to let me try it.. smile... I can't live without music.. sigh!!!

ditto that about they can be adjustable, only wishing we can adjust it ourselves lol.. imagine that!!! we will have them blown up for sure lmao
 
I sure would like to be able to adjust MY own hearing aid, instead of having to go to the audiologist every time. pft. that's a pain in the butt.
 
Direct link from audio player to hearing aids

Hello, I have phonak hearing aids also and have fm system but for music i perfer direct wire instead of using fm system so I can get true stereo. If you dont want to use the fm system to listen to audio, there is a website that would let you buy a direct wire in stereo. I like it better cause fm system dont have stereo. It is on The Hearing Loss Help Co.. Look for wire under accessories, patchcord, etc on left side of screen. The one i have is (ACC-PO-DAI-Y-39-ST) Accessories, Patchcords, Mikes, eargear Direct Audio Input Binaural Stereo Cord.

I bought it couple of weeks ago and i love it. i plug it into my mp3 player and listen to music while at work or driving. Hope this helps with idea of what you are looking for.
 
Secretblend said:
Hello, I have phonak hearing aids also and have fm system but for music i perfer direct wire instead of using fm system so I can get true stereo. If you dont want to use the fm system to listen to audio, there is a website that would let you buy a direct wire in stereo. I like it better cause fm system dont have stereo. It is on The Hearing Loss Help Co.. Look for wire under accessories, patchcord, etc on left side of screen. The one i have is (ACC-PO-DAI-Y-39-ST) Accessories, Patchcords, Mikes, eargear Direct Audio Input Binaural Stereo Cord.

I bought it couple of weeks ago and i love it. i plug it into my mp3 player and listen to music while at work or driving. Hope this helps with idea of what you are looking for.
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Hey!!! thanks so much.. I will look into the website and yeah that's what I thought since I rather hear it directly... so you have the audio boots right?? which hearing aid do you have?? digital or analog ?? superpro audiozoom?

Can you be able to tell me what kind of fm system you got?? what about the smartlink and accessories that comes with it?? what did you get??

Also do anyone know what's CROS link is???
 
Canuckian_Chick said:
Hey!!! thanks so much.. I will look into the website and yeah that's what I thought since I rather hear it directly... so you have the audio boots right?? which hearing aid do you have?? digital or analog ?? superpro audiozoom?

Can you be able to tell me what kind of fm system you got?? what about the smartlink and accessories that comes with it?? what did you get??

Also do anyone know what's CROS link is???
Click to expand...

Glad to be of help. I have Eleva 411 daZ. Just got it about 2 months ago. I like it for most part, still have to get used to the automatic programing. Along with aids I got ML9S boots. The fm system i have is handymic, would like to get a newer one but kinda pricey but it does the job I need it to do. I just plug in the Y cord into the boots and listen to music whenever I want. For easy changing, i have a pilotwatch i use to change heairng aid settings back and forth depending if I need to listen to coworkers or etc and then back to just music. Help make the day go by little faster.
 
My husband wants to buy digital hearing aides for me so is the Smartlink the best to go with? I have a SEVERE profound hearing loss of 120 db but a VERY strong phonetic/audtiory background (dont ask me why..I am a rare case believe me) so I would like HAs that help me understnad hearing people better with lipreading. I understand that I will never understand speech without lipreading but something to help me along with speechreading so my eyes wont have to work so hard and get so sore and tired. Thanks!

In 99, I tried digital HAs and it just freaked me out cuz the moment I put them on, I could hear cars thru the building, my daughter dragging my purse (she was 1 years old at the time) , and whispering...everything frightened me so badly so I just threw the HAs out of my ears and told the audi to forget it! I didnt realize that my brain needed time to get used to all these sounds ...I am willing to give it a try again...
 
shel90 said:
My husband wants to buy digital hearing aides for me so is the Smartlink the best to go with? I have a SEVERE profound hearing loss of 120 db but a VERY strong phonetic/audtiory background (dont ask me why..I am a rare case believe me) so I would like HAs that help me understnad hearing people better with lipreading. I understand that I will never understand speech without lipreading but something to help me along with speechreading so my eyes wont have to work so hard and get so sore and tired. Thanks!

In 99, I tried digital HAs and it just freaked me out cuz the moment I put them on, I could hear cars thru the building, my daughter dragging my purse (she was 1 years old at the time) , and whispering...everything frightened me so badly so I just threw the HAs out of my ears and told the audi to forget it! I didnt realize that my brain needed time to get used to all these sounds ...I am willing to give it a try again...
Click to expand...

Yeah since you haven't use HAs for a long time, simply they recommend you to try it for a an hour at a time so then build up more so that your brain can recognize it... I know it's usually happens to every hearing aid you get first time will be really loud then it quiets down...

Well I have about the same hearing loss too and I have about 70 to 80 percent ability to hear with my digital hearing aids (phonak superpro audiozoom i think 413z) as these have surrounded sound (two microphones) helps alot. Smartlink is something that's out now very expensive which I need for work as we alway have tons of meetings at work.. YOu'll need to get a receiver and boot for this to work as well.. (I'm still learning which is best lol) good luck with it smile..
 
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