t-Coils or Bluetooth?

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khar59

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I wondered what users experiences are of using T-Coil or Bluetooth for mobile phones or televisions.

Do any of you have a working knowledge of the Samsung Galaxy S4 and it's compatibility with HA'S? What about the ratings like M4/T4?
 
Limited experience but my husband has an S4 and the sound clarity is very, very good with HA's and CI's. I have a Droid Razr and have had other Android based phones and some Blackberrys and they are no where near as good for sound quality.

I hated my t-coil in my HA's--not sure if it was the function of my particular HA or what but if you didn't have the phone positioned just so it would cut in and out and was very distracting. I use the bluetooth feature on my cell phone in my car all the time and it's wonderful because I can hear over the car speakers. I don't have a bluetooth enabled television but i have a ComPilot with my CI and I use a cable to connect to my TV--that is a great feature!! You would need something similar with a HA though because the HA's don't have built in bluetooth yet.
 
I thought some HAs do have bluetooth capabilities by now- either built in or via some sort of boot.

I only have T-Coils. I have a love hate relationship with it. The more technology we have the more buzzing static I get when I switch to T-Coils. You can get that from TVs, computer monitors, Fluorescent lighting (yes- too many years on the cubical farms...), even the older phones (rotary phones). Just about anywhere that has specific strength/type of electricity. Annoying. I now use a DAI (Direct Audio Input) cord that plugs directly into the hearing aids (with boots), set them on T-Coil and plug into whatever you need- PC, TV (tried this once), iPod/mp3 player, even some cordless phones as long as it has a 3.5 stereo jack. Unfortunately it won't work with my 25 year old COMTEK system- I had to have a special one made with a different male plug to fit the receiver (time for a new system anyway- I lost the microphone :( ).

Would love to see what this bluetooth bit can do.
 
Thanks for the feedback guys ( A Pun oops :)) I have 9 year old Savia's with T-coil and I use a neck loop and a loop system for my television set and they work well. When it comes to telephones though, yes, I agree, can be interference. I'm about to buy new HA's and they have bluetooth capability, but I was also wondering if I could have both, t-coil and bluetooth. Yep, but then I will have to always use with something around my neck, where as the TV loop is not wired, I just sit over the area that the mat is located under the sofa.
 
DeafDucky said:
I thought some HAs do have bluetooth capabilities by now- either built in or via some sort of boot.

I only have T-Coils. I have a love hate relationship with it. The more technology we have the more buzzing static I get when I switch to T-Coils. You can get that from TVs, computer monitors, Fluorescent lighting (yes- too many years on the cubical farms...), even the older phones (rotary phones). Just about anywhere that has specific strength/type of electricity. Annoying. I now use a DAI (Direct Audio Input) cord that plugs directly into the hearing aids (with boots), set them on T-Coil and plug into whatever you need- PC, TV (tried this once), iPod/mp3 player, even some cordless phones as long as it has a 3.5 stereo jack. Unfortunately it won't work with my 25 year old COMTEK system- I had to have a special one made with a different male plug to fit the receiver (time for a new system anyway- I lost the microphone :( ).

Would love to see what this bluetooth bit can do.
Click to expand...

As far as I know you still have to use another device to use the BT, Compilot or something similar. I'm not aware of any HA's that can directly connect to bluetooth.
 
Yeah I think you are correct there with the Bluetooth. BT was not really available when I got the current pair (as far as I am aware...).

I don't know if you can have both T-Coil and BT- would think you could. Have a friend who does use BT- if I remember I'll ask.
 
I am wearing the Nadia Q90-UP. I have one program to use T-Coil with the sound system as found at my church and a number of others. That also includes the use of an additional neckloop that is plugged into the receiver that is part of the FM of the sound system. I use Bluetooth in connection with the Com-Pilot and my cell phone. Of course, I am not using these at the same time. I do have the Com-Pilot on most of the time as it is easier to use to change any setting than the small controls on the aid itself.
 
Jane B. said:
I am wearing the Nadia Q90-UP. I have one program to use T-Coil with the sound system as found at my church and a number of others. That also includes the use of an additional neckloop that is plugged into the receiver that is part of the FM of the sound system. I use Bluetooth in connection with the Com-Pilot and my cell phone. Of course, I am not using these at the same time. I do have the Com-Pilot on most of the time as it is easier to use to change any setting than the small controls on the aid itself.
Click to expand...

So just to make sure. You do have T-Coil for the Loop system at church and you also have Bluetooth to use with your Com-Pilot. Ok, cause it seems a waste to not use my TV loop system, however, it would also be good to be able to move around the house and still hear it, like when the news is on.

Does anyone know how much the Compilot and the tv connection thingy costs ? Thank you for that information.
 
khar59 said:
So just to make sure. You do have T-Coil for the Loop system at church and you also have Bluetooth to use with your Com-Pilot. Ok, cause it seems a waste to not use my TV loop system, however, it would also be good to be able to move around the house and still hear it, like when the news is on.

Does anyone know how much the Compilot and the tv connection thingy costs ? Thank you for that information.
Click to expand...

The system at my church and a number of others in town is FM not loop. There is a transmitter that is hooked into the sound system. I found this picture of one of these older receivers on eBay Williams Sound R7 PPA Receiver for Parts or Repair | eBay Although it appears more worn than any I have used it will give you an idea of what the receiver part from a number of years ago looks like. The new ones are a slightly different shape and color. It came with an ear bud but my loss is such that I have gotten my own neckloop. I have used this setup with T-Coil on a couple of different aids and have also done this with another brand system when I was visiting out of town.

I use my Com-Pilot to switch between hearing aid programs (one of which is T-Coil), change volume and it provides the bluetooth connection to my cell phone.

Since I do use a neckloop for the FM system I do have two things around my neck at times.

Hope this makes my setup a little clearer. I do not know anything about individual pricing as my Com-Pilot was bought as part of a package with my hearing aid (only wear one as left ear is no response). Anyway there would be a difference in cost depending on your location and the dealer/audi you are using.
 
I have a Siemens Minitek which connects via Bluetooth to my HA. The Siemens manual says T-coil is built into the Minitek as a feature so you can have best of both worlds. I prefer the Bluetooth though, works really well with my IPhone /iPad but is difficult to work with my Windows 7 laptop for Skype calls.
 
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