_______ __ _______
| | |.---.-..----.| |--..-----..----. | | |.-----..--.--.--..-----.
| || _ || __|| < | -__|| _| | || -__|| | | ||__ --|
|___|___||___._||____||__|__||_____||__| |__|____||_____||________||_____|
on Gopher (inofficial)
URI Visit Hacker News on the Web
COMMENT PAGE FOR:
DIR Ask HN: Hearing aid wearers, what's hot?
jitl wrote 8 min ago:
Has anyone tried AirPods Pro as hearing aides? I remember Apple talking
big game about getting them certified or something
jstummbillig wrote 5 min ago:
Someone I know does in fact use the m for that. I am not sure how
serious they are about to though, it's their first hearing aid.
hxorr wrote 42 min ago:
One of my friends has the latest Apple Airpods. He has had various
(expensive) hearing aids over the years but these are much better for
him (and cheaper). For the first time he can actually hear everything
going on
deafpolygon wrote 40 min ago:
these wonât work for me, as i have 80-100db loss.
pndy wrote 46 min ago:
Bit a side question since OP mentioned company's name: anyone from
Europe with Phonak devices with recently replaced earmold? I wonder if
you got a soft silicone or something that appears to be some firm 3D
printed material.
Mother uses hearing aids since end of 90s and most of the time it was
in-the-ear but recently due to increased hearing loss she had to pick a
new behind-the-ear device - still with button battery tho.
az226 wrote 1 hour 44 min ago:
Widex Moment 440. Theyâre expensive but really good.
lambdafu wrote 1 hour 57 min ago:
I have the Widex SmartRIC 220, and would buy them again. They are
comfortable, have musical audio quality (Widex works with musicians),
very low latency (reducing comb filter effect), and in general look and
feel very professional.
As for technology, they use bluetooth low energy to connect to the
smart phone, which works really well, with the caveat that the range is
quite low and if it is in the pocket and you are moving around, media
sound will often disrupt or desync intermittently. On the plus side,
they last well over a day even with media use (WIdex says they last 37
hours without bluetooth use and that checks out). The case provides
charge for about a week, and has wireless and usb-c charging.
They are quite pricey, but there are several options (110, 220, 330,
440), and the 220 were more than enough for me. The app has several
modes, including directional focus mode, and you can define your own. I
sometimes use a different mode for listening to concert music, that
disables most filters such as volume protection.
I am wearing them for 9 months now, and there was no situation
(concerts, traveling, work, sports, etc) were they gave me any issues
whatsoever.
fakwandi_priv wrote 2 hours 20 min ago:
This is very unrelated but I worry about posts like these.
HN is a great place to get genuine thoughtful discussions compared to a
big portion of the rest of the internet. Reddit used to be the place
for finding genuine experiences for products with subreddits like
buyitforlife (or more specific) but now these and other subreddits are
filled with bots and marketeers promoting what they sell and hammering
their competition in the same thread.
Some bots are already here but I fear when the marketeers come.
jacquesm wrote 1 hour 20 min ago:
If you spot one flag it and mail hn@ycombinator.com , Dan & Tom
usually act pretty quickly on confirmed shills. But don't comment in
the threads to accuse someone of being a shill, that's explicitly
against the guidelines, and that's because it isn't rare for people
to simply get it wrong, besides it would pollute the threads.
kayson wrote 2 hours 28 min ago:
A long time ago, I interviewed at a company called Earlens. They had a
really interesting solution that used mineral oil to stick some kind of
tiny speaker directly to your eardrum. The processor then beams the
sound to the speaker. I think the first generation used a laser, but
they've since switched to inductive coupling: [1] One of the engineers
I had lunch with actually used their own product and he seemed to like
it. I get the impression it's a more premium tier kind of thing that
may not be covered by insurance, though.
URI [1]: https://earlens.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/LBL00153vJ.art_...
JSR_FDED wrote 2 hours 45 min ago:
What about bone conduction headphones (like Shokz) typically used for
swimming and running?
samplatt wrote 39 min ago:
My anecdata for that is that they're all universally a bit rubbish.
They're good for maintaining situational awareness but bad at musical
quality or for communication in high ambient noise (like a loud room
or restaurant).
furyofantares wrote 2 hours 50 min ago:
There's something I think must be possible and wonder if it would be
useful: using noise cancelling earphones to mimic someone else's
hearing loss. The idea is if you live with someone with hearing loss,
you could enter the frequencies they can't hear, and cancel only those.
Then you could spend a day with these in to try to get a more direct
understanding of which noises they can hear and which they can't.
lnsru wrote 1 hour 8 min ago:
It makes no sense at all. You have measurable frequency range. But
you have no idea how particular brain weights the specific
frequencies in the range. Some people can live comfortable life
hearing only 200 Hz to 6000 Hz from birth. The other people freak out
hearing 8000 Hz coil whine sound. Itâs not an universal thing.
pfannkuchen wrote 1 hour 37 min ago:
Cancelling aperiodic noise requires time travel to work, doesnât
it? So you could feel what it feels like to be that person on an
airplane bare-headed, or next to a fan, or perhaps even beside a
river, but beyond that I donât think the technology is there.
mrsvanwinkle wrote 2 hours 26 min ago:
just the fact you instinctively thought of the use case to understand
and empathize with this disability better, is very cool of you
jonathanlb wrote 3 hours 19 min ago:
I'll tell you what's not hot: cochlear implants. I wore hearing aids
since the late '80s. I wear CIs as of about 5 years ago, and while my
hearing is much better and stable than it used to be, I've found that
UX for CIs is pretty bad.
For one, unless you use Med-El's Rondo processeor, you're going to have
a thin cable connecting your processor to the coil. Taking off your CIs
and putting them back on (as one does every day) is going to put stress
on the cable. Sometimes the cable frays and you find that out with
sound cutting in and out. There's nothing you can do until the
manufacturer sends you a replacement cable in exchange for your frayed
one. If you want a backup, be ready to shell out $250 for each cable.
Another UX issue is that processors depend on gravity to stay on your
ears. Since there's no earmold to anchor to, processors can easily be
jostled off and left hanging precariously. Wearing hearing aids, I
never had to worry that my hearing devices would fall off if I rode my
bike on a bumpy road. Also with cochlear implants, high-intensity
interval training requires some kind of hat or bandana to make sure
that the processors don't fly out.
Battery life is another disappointment. Rechargeable batteries don't
last a full day. If I put them in at 6:30a, they'll last until about
4:30p. With disposable zinc air batteries, I can squeeze out about a
day and a half, but then I'm having to dispose batteries. And while I
can track processor battery levels with the rechargeable batteries on
my phone, disposable batteries are opaque to the app.
One new thing that would be useful in terms of UX would be an
configurable indicator, e.g., a blinking LED, signaling that audio
streaming is occurring. It's awkward to find oneself in a conversation
that already started and having to excuse oneself to turn off the
stream.
Don't get me wrong, I'm glad I have my cochlear implants, but they're
way behind hearing aids in terms of UX.
pugworthy wrote 3 hours 13 min ago:
I know one person at work with CIs and yea, I imagine it's a
challenge.
UX for a lot of assistive technology is iffy at best. Repeating some
of the comments others have made, I'd love it if Apple would make a
full on hearing aid that "just worked". Or someone would do a good AI
integration that could notify you of things you probably should focus
on - like someone trying to get your attention, or emergency vehicle
sirens, etc.
Marketing too. But it's nice to see some vendors starting to actually
make their devices visible and fun. HAs are a bit like glasses ages
ago, when it was kind of this shame thing to get teased about when
you were 8 years old. Selling them as "discrete" and with colors
designed to match your skin or your hair is just continuing that
perception of them being something you should hide.
stevenjgarner wrote 3 hours 25 min ago:
Here's a crazy idea. I personally prefer the fidelity of an active
ambient in-ear monitor (IEM), as used by musicians on stage over the
best hearing aids. Once a year, I do a monthly trial with the latest
hearing aid models and IMO the fidelity (especially low-end) and the
comfort just is not there compared with the best active ambient IEMs.
The difference between hearing aids and IEMs is blurring, but they are
not yet fully interchangeable.
Standard IEMs isolate you from the world, which is the opposite of what
a hearing aid does. However, a specific category called "Active
Ambient" IEMs bridges this gap. These are IEMs with embedded
high-fidelity microphones on the outer shell. They pick up the sound of
the room (bandmates, crowd, conductor), amplify it, and blend it with
your monitor mix. The accompanying bodypack or app often includes a
multi-band EQ and Limiter. You can boost specific frequencies where you
have hearing loss (e.g., boosting highs to hear cymbals or speech
clearly) and set a volume ceiling to protect your remaining hearing. I
have no ownership/sponsorship in the product, but I personally LOVE the
ASI Audio 3DME (powered by Sensaphonics), which is the industry
standard for this. [1] It allows you to use an app to shape the ambient
sound to your hearing needs.
The Pros: It provides hearing protection + monitoring + hearing
enhancement in one device.
The Cons (Why they aren't daily hearing aids):
1) Form Factor: You are tethered to a belt pack. You likely won't wear
a wired bodypack to a grocery store or dinner party.
2) Social Barrier: Wearing full-shell custom IEMs creates a "do not
disturb" look that discourages conversation in social settings. This
can be more socially alienating than a comparatively inconspicuous
hearing aid.
3) Battery Life: IEM systems typically last 6â8 hours, whereas
hearing aid batteries can last days or weeks.
URI [1]: https://www.sensaphonics.com/products/3dme-custom-tour-gen2-mu...
thfuran wrote 2 hours 32 min ago:
They only get a couple hours better life even with a belt pack to fit
more battery?
EionRobb wrote 2 hours 38 min ago:
Does that setup work ok outside in windy environments? A lot of the
'active' audio systems I've found really focus on the wind noise
while hearing aids will try to filter that out
mustntmumble wrote 4 hours 19 min ago:
I'll tell you what is NOT hot!
I have Phonak Audeos paired over bluetooth with my iPhone. A few years
prior, I used to have Oticon, also paired with my iPhone.
With the Oticon, if I made a cellphone call, the iPhone would use the
default iPhone microphone while the audio would stream to my hearing
aids. It was good that way because in a noisy environment I could hold
the iphone right up to my mouth and the other party would be able to
hear what I was saying.
With the newer Phonaks, I was very disappointed to find that the new
hearing aids would only use the microphone input that is built into the
hearing aids themselves, and not the iPhone mic input. I discovered
this when I realised that talking directly into iPhone mic did not make
it any easier for the other party to hear me.
I complained to my Audiologist who explained that yes, the new hearing
aids were copying the behaviour of Apple AirPods, which also have the
mic input on the earpod itself, and that there was no way at all to
configure the Phonaks to use the iPhone mic input instead.
Why is this a problem you might ask? Because my hearing aids are
Behind The Ear (BTE) and thus the mic input on the hearing aid is a
good 4 inches away from my face and thus my voice cannot possibly sound
as clear as when I could speak directly into an iPhone mic.
When I next replace my hearing aids, I shall look for aids that do not
mimic this crappy AirPods behaviour...
Barbing wrote 17 min ago:
iOS 26 finally enabled custom mic selection!
Settings > Sound & Haptics > Input > change from "Automatic: ..." to
"iPhone Microphone"
Balinares wrote 36 min ago:
I trialed hearing aids a little while ago and ended up not
committing, because the sound quality was bad, wheezy and tinny, and
gave me headaches. Particularly bad in noisy environments, which is
where I'd most need the help. Also the app sucked, Bluetooth pairing
broke all the time and the controls were just confusing.
They were Phonaks.
I guess I'm glad to hear that it's not intrinsically a hearing aid
thing, and I may find a better experience with other brands.
konradb wrote 14 min ago:
The tinniness is something your brain adjusts to and prices in, and
if your hearing aid is properly set up, it is very likely that to
start with it will sound tinny if your hearing is deficient with
high frequencies. It is boosting those frequencies to make up for
your lack in hearing. You probably need a good 2-6 months to
adjust.
Mine were exactly like this to start with and over time the effect
goes away such that you don't notice. I'd recommend if you do
actually have hearing problems, sticking with it for quality of
life improvements.
seltzered_ wrote 2 hours 46 min ago:
An elaboration on how complicated call handling can be with hearing
aids (and how I wanted AirPods-like behavior): I assisted someone
with purchasing hearing aids a year ago, and we first had a pair of
Philips and returned them within a few months because they only
worked with iPhone for supporting phone calls with the microphone on
the hearing aids themselves, for Android it didnt work. Even the next
generation Philips 9050 that supported Auracast didnt support this.
We ended up with Phonaks rebranded as Sennheisers. The audio quality
during calls may not be as clear as a separate mic (what i believe
you refer to as oticon), but from a user experience its nice to not
have to fish out your phone to answer a call or wonder why you can
hear the other person but they cant hear you.
Note that my complaint here is specific to Android support.
fouc wrote 2 hours 24 min ago:
Seems a bit sad/ironic that it sounds like the solution in OP's
case would be to switch to Android for that exact behavior that
your side didn't want. (And that switching to iPhone would bring
that "feature" in)
I personally use iPhone and I do prefer to leave phone in pocket
for my phone call. But it does seems like a massive oversight to
not make this configurable.
pugworthy wrote 3 hours 23 min ago:
Yea, my Phonak + iPhone experience was not great. I stopped using
any integration with them after a while and now just use AirPods for
all my calls, music, etc. I have open domes and can pull off wearing
both, but do take the HAs out now and then when I just want to focus
and let the noise cancellation do its thing.
KingMob wrote 3 hours 27 min ago:
I have the same problem, but I always assumed it was Apple's fault. I
don't know why the HAs/Airpods have the final say.
I don't think there's a way around it on the iphone, but I was able
to cobble a fix for my macbook at least. It uses Shortery to run a
Shortcut whenever my HA connects. The Shortcut runs a shell script
that uses [1] to determine the built-in mic and switch back to it
immediately:
BUILTIN_MIC_ID=$(switch-audio --list-input | jq 'map(select(.name ==
"MacBook Pro Microphone")) | .[0].id')
switch-audio --set-input="$BUILTIN_MIC_ID"
URI [1]: https://github.com/deweller/switchaudio-osx/
fouc wrote 2 hours 26 min ago:
Interesting, wouldn't the MBP microphone be even further away than
the HA's microphone?
Doohickey-d wrote 2 hours 5 min ago:
It's also my experience that people who use the Airpods audio in
meetings = poor sound, whereas when they switch to the Macbook,
it's much better.
I think the Macbook does some more advanced beamforming stuff to
filter out sound coming from other directions.
Semaphor wrote 4 hours 35 min ago:
Iâll chime in with a sidebar: Anyone got any experience using hearing
aids for the "hearing in noise" issue (aka. King-Kopetzky syndrome or
lack of cocktail party effect [0], part of a whole bunch of things also
called adhd for ears). Essentially I have filtering issues, as soon as
multiple people talk, I canât really understand anyone anymore,
unless they very directly speak into my ears so they are significantly
louder than other noises.
Itâs a brain thing, my hearing itself is above average for my age
(40), so Iâm not sure what exactly can be done, but there was an
article many years ago about someone (Bose?) working on aids for that
issue, no idea what came of it. I guess all modern hearing aids have
some focus mode.
[0]: [1] edit: In case thereâs an airpod suggestion, Iâll also need
to know if that feature works on Android, itâs not crippling enough
to make me use an iPhone.
URI [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auditory_processing_disorder
adinisom wrote 15 min ago:
Hearing in noise is both what most people want from hearing aids and
what they are least equipped to provide.
The traditional solution is an FM system where you give the person
speaking a microphone linked to your hearing aids. There are
dedicated ones like Phonak Roger. You could probably also use your
phone as a microphone if it's bluetooth connected to your headphones
or hearing aids.
exceptione wrote 1 hour 16 min ago:
Have a look at librepods [1], which was lately on HN.
___
1.
URI [1]: https://github.com/kavishdevar/librepods
retrac wrote 2 hours 41 min ago:
I'm completely lost in noise. The benefits for this kind of thing is
part of why my audiologist pushed for hearing aids with directional
microphones. And they do help. But it's not a fix. I'm still
mostly lost in noise.
People rely on the (usually very large) dynamic range of hearing to
be able to understand in those situations. In people with typical
hearing the brain filters out the sounds too loud or too quiet to be
what they are trying to listen to. But hearing aids act as
compressors reducing the dynamic range.
zsoltkacsandi wrote 3 hours 22 min ago:
I have the same problem (took 35 years to find out), and hearing aids
with directional microphones might work. I donât say they will, but
it is worth to try it.
dhosek wrote 4 hours 36 min ago:
I just replaced my Jabras (from Costco) whose microphones stopped
working. I tried Phonaks and found that the use of Bluetooth to connect
to my iPhone was painfully flakey (there were certain locations in my
neighborhood that every time I walked in front of a particular house, I
would lose audio). I ended up returning them and the only MfI hearing
aids the audiologist I went to (I was limited by what was in-network by
my insurance and while the old insurance covered equally in-network and
out, my new insurance covered 0% out of network so I was going to be
looking at double the price to go to Costco). I ended up with Resound
which are essentially the same as the Jabras.
The one thing that I find absolutely essential is using ear molds
instead of domes. My cousin hated ear molds and gave up on them, but I
definitely prefer them.
Incidentally, I would recommend the HA/hearing loss subreddits
(r/HearingAids and r/hardofhearing) over HN for this discussion. The HA
group can get a little rigid, but I really like the community at HoH.
pugworthy wrote 4 hours 25 min ago:
Yea I gave up on the phone integration with mine. Whenever Iâd get
a call or some audio thing was going to happen, my HA mics would go
silent and second or so later the audio would come in. So answering a
call i would often miss the callers initial words. Or driving
instructions would be ââ¦in 1000 feetâ with the âturn leftâ
or âturn rightâ part missing.
I do participate in the Reddit subs but am interested in the
technologists view of HAs I might get here. They are fascinating,
necessary devices for myself.
aji23 wrote 4 hours 58 min ago:
I wear the new(ish) Starkey AI Genesis. Jump ahead in terms of battery
life and water resistance. Great overall. Use a CROS in one ear.
GianFabien wrote 5 hours 17 min ago:
Using Advance72 (made by Sonova) has BlueTooth which makes using a
phone a breeze. The Hearing Remote app allows me to override the
audiologist configured settings for volume, listening modes and
equalizer.
IMHO rechargeable models are not worth the extra cost. With a typical 5
year replacement cycle the batteries will no longer hold the early
levels of charge. 312 batteries are cheap and easy to carry spares.
mixmastamyk wrote 5 hours 17 min ago:
Would like something like the Apple ones, without Apple or an app at
all. Anyone make such a thing that works with Linux?
zx85wes wrote 1 hour 31 min ago:
URI [1]: https://github.com/kavishdevar/librepods
math wrote 5 hours 18 min ago:
I'm not a hearing aid wearer, but I came across [1] during investment
research activities. They seem to have the leading candidate for a
fully implantable device. FDA Breakthrough Device designation. I'm
interested in the reaction of any hearing aid wearers to what they are
developing.
URI [1]: https://www.envoymedical.com/
KingMob wrote 3 hours 14 min ago:
By and large, implantable devices are for more extreme hearing losses
or unusual conditions, and I would expect very few people who get by
with a HA to switch to an implantable before it's necessary.
Especially since the hardware is not upgradeable without another
surgery, assuming it's upgradeable at all.
If you have HAs and wait, 1) the implant tech may get better, or 2)
medical science may be able to regenerate inner ear hair cells. For
#2 in particular, cochlear implants may prevent that from even being
an option, since iiuc, they damage the cochlea.
aaronbrethorst wrote 4 hours 30 min ago:
As a 40-something without any noticeable hearing loss, Iâd actually
be very interested in having Bluetooth âearbudâ implants.
shmoe wrote 5 hours 18 min ago:
Not sure why this is directed at deaf people only,
adjective
1. having a high degree of heat or a high temperature.
Hope that helps!
shmoe wrote 3 hours 37 min ago:
Ouch. Sorry, does it help if I say I'm a big Leslie Nielsen fan? :P
pugworthy wrote 3 hours 19 min ago:
Surely you know jokes on here don't always lead to upvotes!
taikahessu wrote 1 hour 1 min ago:
Yes, but don't call me Shirley.
jlev1 wrote 5 hours 20 min ago:
I have moderate-to-profound hearing loss and have worn hearing aids
since I was 4. I currently have Oticon Opn1âs and have had Oticons
since 2017 (and got new ones in 2022) and they are fabulous. I find the
sound quality in noisy environments much better than any other aid
Iâve had - much better perception of voices in restaurants, for
example. I rarely have to fiddle with the volume control and in fact do
not even use any other settings than the main program - I find that
whatever the core program is doing tends to be basically what I want.
I also very much appreciate that they can natively connect to iPhones
(this is also essentially the main reason I have an iPhone). This makes
phone calls and music and podcasts very easy. (Whereas up until 2017, I
used to dread phone calls.)
I actually tried Phonaks briefly in 2022 and hated them. Lots of
controls to fiddle with (some with oddly unintuitive names), but that
meant I was constantly trying to adjust it and was rarely able to just
exist in the moment. I found them markedly worse in noisy environments
- I basically couldnât have a conversation in a restaurant.
retrac wrote 5 hours 37 min ago:
I have worn hearing aids since childhood in the '90s. Moderate sloping
to profound loss. Been through all the tech since the equalized analog
era.
For a while now, like the last 15 to 20 years, since hearing aids went
DSP, I had not been much impressed by each new generation. At the risk
of sounding like a bit of an advertisement, that changed this year.
I have the new Oticon Intent. RIC style aid. They have some of the
best spatial awareness I've experienced. They're capable of quite a
lot of directionality - accelerometer and three microphones in each.
I had to have the intensity of the directionality turned down a bit.
It was startling me when I turned my head and I wasn't hearing things
behind me enough. But that's at the expense of less signal due to more
environmental noise.
The machine-learning based noise reduction is an improvement over the
previous generations, too.
They have a music mode. It drops all the speech remapping and noise
reduction and just makes it feel loud. It's some sort of perceptual
algorithm: in my case as I turn up the volume it gets more and more
treble, because only at the loudest volumes would I hear those high
frequencies. All while being power limited at 95 dB SPL so I know I'm
not blowing my ears. I used to wear over-the-ear headphones for that
but I now prefer the hearing aids. It's nice to not worry about if
it's too loud.
julianlam wrote 3 hours 59 min ago:
Thank you so much for commenting.
As a parent with a child with mild-to-moderate hearing loss it is
heartening to know that the hearing aid technology is progressing,
and progressing well!
He's been using a pair of Phonak Skys since infancy, and while they
can be tuned by the audiologist I sometimes wonder what it'll be like
if and when he gets his next pair.
bensmoif wrote 5 hours 39 min ago:
Following... My audiologist had the big talk with me last week and I
guess I'm due to take care of my hearing...
remh wrote 5 hours 45 min ago:
Iâm sorry I canât answer your question but on a related note I
wonder if anyone has used AirPods Pro 3 as hearing aids either as their
first pair or replaced their traditional ones with AirPods?
Iâm considering getting a pair for a family member who has been
reluctant to wear traditional ones but I think would be willing to do
AirPods.
mgerdts wrote 3 hours 3 min ago:
I have severe hearing loss in my right ear and no to mild hearing
loss in the left. AirPods Pro 2 make it so that I feel like I can
hear in stereo while streaming without resorting to setting the
balance 90% right and jacking the volume. In that respect I love
them. However, they are designed only for moderate loss so they will
not amplify the right ear sufficiently to hear well in that ear
unless the left ear is uncomfortably loud.
For me, I need a real hearing aid to hear a person that is at my
right shoulder.
If both ears are about the same, I think the hearing aid volume
(separate slider from general volume) could be adjusted to get past
the âdesigned for moderate lossâ limitation.
pugworthy wrote 4 hours 33 min ago:
I have the latest AirPods, and I do use them quite a bit for calls
and noise cancellation when using power tools and such.
But irrespective of any capability to act as hearing aids from the
acoustic perspective, I donât think they are the same.
For me hearing aids are glasses for my ears. Like glasses they need
to be âput them on/in and forget about itâ. If AirPods would not
fall out of my ears when I walk or put on a hat or pull on/off a
sweater, I might consider them.
I wake up in the morning, grab them from the nightstand and put them
in. And they stay there all day until I go to bed. Only come out if
Iâm taking a shower or in a loud environment.
CommieBobDole wrote 4 hours 35 min ago:
My 84 year old mom uses AirPods Pro 2 as an aid for moderate hearing
loss and has been satisfied. As others have noted, the difference is
night and day; I went from having to yell just to be occasionally
understood to being able to have a normal conversation.
My understanding is they are pretty good hearing aids, but they don't
have the battery life that purpose-built aids do (4-5 hours vs 18-24)
so they're not optimal for full-time use. This is fine for her use
case, since she only uses them when she wants to talk to someone, but
could be an issue for someone who wants to wear them all day, every
day.
yojo wrote 4 hours 57 min ago:
I got my father-in-law to try AirPods Pro 2 last year. Heâs needed
hearing aids for about a decade, but wouldnât get them, I think for
vanity reasons. Iâm at the in-laws for thanksgiving and heâs
wearing the AirPods now.
From the other side, itâs night and day. We can have conversations.
He can hear my kids. The TV volume is set to reasonable levels.
Sample size of one, but itâs been a tremendous improvement. A lot
of places are closing out the second gens right now for $140. Iâd
give it a go. Itâs a pretty low price of entry for something that
could literally be life changing.
remh wrote 4 hours 7 min ago:
Thank you! My family member is in a similar boat. I guess I found
my christmas present for him.
shellfishgene wrote 1 hour 22 min ago:
We also did this for my mom, but keep in mind this is a bit of a
crutch that may keep them even more from getting a real hearing
aid. My mom later had to go to the hospital, and because of
battery life and other problems we regretted not pushing for a
real hearing aid earlier. This caused real problems in the
hospital.
dhosek wrote 4 hours 33 min ago:
I would absolutely love for Apple to make proper hearing aids or
license their chipset to a HA maker. Before I became completely
dependent on HAs I had a set of Beats headphones with the Apple
wireless chipset in it and the ease of switching between devices
with it was amazing. With my current HAs I essentially only can use
it for sound with my phone.
mountainriver wrote 3 hours 6 min ago:
This seems like such an easy win for them, hopefully they see the
value
aaronbrethorst wrote 4 hours 37 min ago:
I did the same with my mom. Big improvement for her. Sheâs also
subsequently gotten ârealâ hearing aids and finds them much
more fiddly to use than her AirPods Pro. Sheâs 83, FWIW.
pugworthy wrote 4 hours 21 min ago:
Yes Iâd love HAs as easy to use as AirPods. AirPods with the HA
form factor would have some real advantages, even for those not
hard of hearing.
I donât ever hide my hearing aids but the discrete nature of
them is great.
chime wrote 5 hours 37 min ago:
I did and it is amazing for someone with just mild 40s hearing
issues. Took a bit of effort and updates to run the hearing test for
AirPods Pro 3. Turns out I connected over Bluetooth when I
shouldâve paired them the Apple/iOS way.
The live listening mode is very good. I can hear my kid trying to
quietly walk past 10pm :) There are a lot of features however you
cannot selectively choose to lower / raise certain frequencies. I
wish it had an equalizer I could use.
The ANC is fantastic, sometimes
I even forget fans around me are on. Only issue is that when I use
live listen mode and everything is super clear, people still treat me
like Iâm using full noise cancellation.
remh wrote 4 hours 58 min ago:
Thank you!
al_borland wrote 5 hours 39 min ago:
Adam Savage made a video about them. If I remember correctly, they
wonât be replacing his primary hearing aids, but would be a
serviceable backup. Note that I could be misremembering, as I watched
the video 9 months ago. [1] In your situation they could be a low
stakes way to get someone to try a hearing aid and sell them on the
idea, while still being a useful thing to have around even if they do
upgrade to something more purpose built.
URI [1]: https://youtu.be/uykq5aJCwBw
remh wrote 4 hours 58 min ago:
Thanks! I wonder if he was able to try the Airpods pro 3 as well.
DIR <- back to front page