Listening Device for the Hard of Hearing
W. eWatson
fairly common at his age. I think he and others would profit greatly if he
had a listening device he could hang around others, so that he could hear
them speak. RShk sold one a few years ago, and I've even seen one person
wearing one. Are there others? It was somewhat bigger than a matchbox, maybe
like an Ipod.
--
W. eWatson
(121.015 Deg. W, 39.262 Deg. N) GMT-8 hr std. time)
Obz Site: 39° 15' 7" N, 121° 2' 32" W, 2700 feet
Web Page: <www.speckledwithstars.net/>
we...@aol.com
W. eWatson
device I saw was a box that hung around the person's ear, and had an ear
piece that went to his ear. The benefit is that it's not so easy to lose and
the volume could be adjusted easily.
Michael Black
> we...@aol.com wrote:
>> On Feb 21, 11:54 am, "W. eWatson" <notval...@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
>>> I have an elderly neighbor who has difficulty with his hearing aids. It's
>>> fairly common at his age. I think he and others would profit greatly if he
>>> had a listening device he could hang around others, so that he could hear
>>> them speak. RShk sold one a few years ago, and I've even seen one person
>>> wearing one. Are there others? It was somewhat bigger than a matchbox,
>>> maybe
>>> like an Ipod.
>>> --
>>> W. eWatson
>>>
>>> (121.015 Deg. W, 39.262 Deg. N) GMT-8 hr std. time)
>>> Obz Site: 39° 15' 7" N, 121° 2' 32" W, 2700 feet
>>>
>>> Web Page: <www.speckledwithstars.net/>
>>
>> See these:
>>
>> http://www.heartlandamerica.com/browse/search.asp?GUID=F7E47847-57E3-4B8E-9860-C41F5DA44B22&storefront=1
> It shows zero found. I see turbo ear, but that's like a hearing aid. The
> device I saw was a box that hung around the person's ear, and had an ear
> piece that went to his ear. The benefit is that it's not so easy to lose and
> the volume could be adjusted easily.
>
Huh?
The problem may be that the hearing aid(s) aren't configured for the
person. Nobody loses their hearing at the same rate or the same
frequency loss as anyone else. A proper hearing aid allows for
configuration for the specific person's hearing.
Cheap off the shelf "hearing aids" are mere amplifiers, and all
a mere amplifier will do is amplify the sounds, which won't deal
with lousy high frequency response (by the time it's loud enough
up there, a straight amplifier will supply way too loud low frequency
sounds), or the loss of dynamic range in the ear.
An external box, which is what hearing aids looked like back before
transistors made for small units, is still a hearing aid. The only
advantage is if it does pack more circuitry in there, but chances
are very good that it's just a cheap amplifier.
The one thing that may help is to get the signal pickup closer to
the sound source, so one doesn't have to turn up the volume control
to hear someone across the room; the problem then is that it also
amplifies every sound, and the ratio is the same. A directional
microphone, or one placed closer to the person speaking, will
get a better signal without picking up the junk. Some/many hearing
aids have external inputs, though I'm not sure there is a standard,
to allow for external microphones. That's always a better choice
since it incorporates the hearing aid's frequency shaping and any
AGC that was configured for the specific user.
The same when watching tv. Bringing the signal direct from the
tv set via a headphone extension or even a microphone placed close
to the tv set's speaker, will get the user closer to that sound
source without having to turn up the volume and hear the
frogs outside as loud as the desired sound. If the current
hearing aids have external microphone jacks, then that's the
way to go.
Many/most hearing aids, at least real prescription ones, have
an induction loop inside, to allow the aids to be used with
telephones. So that's another way of coupling a signal into
the hearing aid, a microphone feeding a small amplifier that
feeds an inductive coupler placed next to the hearing aid(s).
Again, that includes the frequency shaping of the hearing
aid in the signal chain, unlike an amplifier feeding headphones.
So the person should be checking to make sure the hearing
aid(s) are still useful to them and properly adjusted. The
hearing aid store is bound to have useful accessories, including
pre-made inductive loops to get sound into the hearing aids (assuming
they have the "telephone pickups").
There may be a local store that sells products for those with
hearing loss, be it a standalone store or one that generally
supplies items to the handicapped. There may also be organizations
that help those with hearing loss, that may offer such items
on a cost basis or point to local resources.
Michael
JeffM
>The problem may be that the hearing aid(s) aren't configured for the
>person. Nobody loses their hearing at the same rate or the same
>frequency loss as anyone else. A proper hearing aid allows for
>configuration for the specific person's hearing.
>
>Cheap off the shelf "hearing aids" are mere amplifiers, and all
>a mere amplifier will do is amplify the sounds, which won't deal
>with lousy high frequency response (by the time it's loud enough
>up there, a straight amplifier will supply way too loud low frequency
>
Stuff we don't tend to think about.
We certainly didn't think about it when we were young and stupid
and went to rock concerts without earplugs.
I went looking for spectral plots
http://google.com/images?q=hearing-loss+graph
and found dramatic data about guys who use percussive tools all day:
http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/noise/pubs/images/hearingloss.jpg
W. eWatson
him. I don't need my end to listen to him, but do need it to talk to him.
However, casual visitors that see him just don't see it that wait. Instead
they fall into the habit, along with him, of shouting to make themselves
heard. If I could find the box I initially described in my original post, I
think it would be better than the walkie-talky arrangement. No fuss, and no
muss about getting it into his ear. He would just hang it from him neck onto
his chest. Hard to lose and no need for the other person to have a receiver.
When one reaches 80+ years, his case, then hearing aids are a continual
problem. The very elderly get very careless and forgetful. On top of that,
his case, fingers don't work well, so getting the aid in place is difficult.
He has very expensive aids. In my view, for him, they are worthless.
John Ferrell
<notv...@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
>Been traveling for four days. I've found a walkie-talky very effective with
>him. I don't need my end to listen to him, but do need it to talk to him.
>However, casual visitors that see him just don't see it that wait. Instead
>they fall into the habit, along with him, of shouting to make themselves
>heard. If I could find the box I initially described in my original post, I
>think it would be better than the walkie-talky arrangement. No fuss, and no
>muss about getting it into his ear. He would just hang it from him neck onto
>his chest. Hard to lose and no need for the other person to have a receiver.
>
>When one reaches 80+ years, his case, then hearing aids are a continual
>problem. The very elderly get very careless and forgetful. On top of that,
>his case, fingers don't work well, so getting the aid in place is difficult.
> He has very expensive aids. In my view, for him, they are worthless.
Yes to all you have said.
I am soon to be 69 years old and have been using hearing aids for
several years. My hearing loss is ok until 2 kHz then drops off
rapidly. One would think that would not be a problem since
communication equipment usually cuts off at 3 kHz. In reality, the
bass frequencies set up a rumbly noise that masks everything else.
Turning up the whole spectrum does nothing to help (I have an
amplifier by MFJ that works as advertised but does not help me).
This morning my wife spoke one of those sentences out of the blue that
came out "today er birthday". I had no clue as to what she was saying.
It turned out that without my hearing aids I lost the "s" sounds and
what she really said was "Today is Sarah's birthday". If I had been
watching her lips I would have understood.
I think it would be handy to have some kind of headset that has
complete response control for each ear. I don't believe any of the
tools in the Audiologist's bag address the spectrum above 8 kHz. I
would like to see for myself.
The behind the ear set I am currently using does very good with the
2-8 kHz range but is unsuitable for lower frequencies. It seems to me
that amplifying the lower frequencies could further damage my hearing.
I have a pair of in-the-canal aids that are in the $4,000 range that I
just cannot seem to adapt to. They are just uncomfortable. It is
important that the subject use the aids all the time so the brain can
learn to make the best use of them.
My audiologist is very eager to work with me and we have actually
tweaked the high frequencies up a little. I find it helps in all forms
of listening.
Keep us posted, what we have can be improved and reduced cost wise.
John Ferrell W8CCW
W. eWatson
this repeatedly over a six month period, three times I think looking for
them or anything helpful. I walked in again today, and saw the salesman I
usually with he immediately showed me where they were.
I tried them on my neighbor and they worked fine. They have two ear plugs
that come out of the receiver box. If he has problems with them, then a
cheap headset will probably do. I'll curious how this all plays out over the
next few weeks.
DaveM
news:afXsl.19587$c45....@nlpi065.nbdc.sbc.com...
I have a neighbor who has very bad hearing, and has probably gone some of the
same pains as you. He advised me of a web site that might be helpful to you.
Surf over to www.hearmore.com and download their catalog. It has a lot of aids
for the hard of hearing, including the around-the-neck units, ear buds,
headphones, radios, etc. Perhaps you can find something there that would help.
I noticed that a few of the devices have tone control. Maybe one of those would
help control the low frequencies.
--
Dave M
MasonDG44 at comcast dot net (Just substitute the appropriate characters in the
address)
Life is like a roll of toilet paper; the closer it gets to the end, the faster
it goes.
W. eWatson
> I have a neighbor who has very bad hearing, and has probably gone some of the
> same pains as you. He advised me of a web site that might be helpful to you.
> Surf over to www.hearmore.com and download their catalog. It has a lot of aids
> for the hard of hearing, including the around-the-neck units, ear buds,
> headphones, radios, etc. Perhaps you can find something there that would help.
> I noticed that a few of the devices have tone control. Maybe one of those would
> help control the low frequencies.
Thanks, but I don't have a hearing problem. It's my elderly neighbor. He
seems to be enjoying his Radio Shack Listen Up.
David
"W. eWatson" <notv...@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
> I have an elderly neighbor who has difficulty with his hearing aids. It's
> fairly common at his age. I think he and others would profit greatly if he
> had a listening device he could hang around others, so that he could hear
> them speak. RShk sold one a few years ago, and I've even seen one person
> wearing one. Are there others? It was somewhat bigger than a matchbox, maybe
> like an Ipod.
There is an app for the APple iPhone/Ipod Touch that amplifies sound -
handy gadget for hearing what the kids are up to, or just helping those
who have trouble hearing
David