Headphone and microphone for the hard of hearing folks

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rtt22
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Headphone and microphone for the hard of hearing folks

Post by rtt22 »

Hello BHs, my 90yo father is hard of hearing and multiple hearing aids have not helped him in the past. I'm wondering if there is a product out there that would consist of a headphone that communicates with a handheld microphone and amplifies 100x the voice signal from the microphone? These don't have to be miniaturized since he does not go outside the home much. Thank you in advance.
Flyer24
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Re: Headphone and microphone for the hard of hearing folks

Post by Flyer24 »

Topic moved to Personal Consumer Issues.
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quantAndHold
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Re: Headphone and microphone for the hard of hearing folks

Post by quantAndHold »

Apple AirPods and an iPhone, but keep in mind that problems he had with hearing aids are unlikely to go away because he’s using a consumer device instead of hearing aids.
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22twain
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Re: Headphone and microphone for the hard of hearing folks

Post by 22twain »

quantAndHold wrote: Wed Jun 29, 2022 2:00 pm problems he had with hearing aids are unlikely to go away because he’s using a consumer device instead of hearing aids.
Specifically: I think for most people with hearing loss, the loss is worse at higher frequencies (pitches) which are important for understanding speech. An audiologist prescribes and adjusts ("fits") hearing aids according to the patient's measured hearing loss versus frequency (audiogram). Consumer-grade devices don't do this. Their frequency response is designed to be "flat" across the spectrum so as to reproduce music faithfully, perhaps with some account taken of acoustics in the ear canal, for headphones. Their "tone controls" (treble/bass) are probably not capable of the required amount of compensation for a person with high-frequency hearing loss.
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deikel
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Re: Headphone and microphone for the hard of hearing folks

Post by deikel »

quantAndHold wrote: Wed Jun 29, 2022 2:00 pm Apple AirPods and an iPhone, but keep in mind that problems he had with hearing aids are unlikely to go away because he’s using a consumer device instead of hearing aids.
+1

Air Pods have a very good background noise suppression - which may help him identify speech better. They also work with almost anything that can do bluetooth connection, does not have to be a iphone

phones have apps that would allow them to be used as the microphone in the room, some offer some form of equalizer to adjust the frequencies some

But all this is a crutch compared to properly fitted hearing aids. OP does not say why hearing aids failed before and OP states a 100x amplification (I hope that was a joke) - indicating profound hearing loss.

In that situation almost all hearing aids will sound unnatural to the wearer, but the goal is to allow speech recognition. I would recommend to have another try at a different brand of hearing aids since they do sound different from each other. Finding a good audiologist that can adjust them well is also rather important for difficult cases (not only do they need to understand their technology, but also understand what the patient is describing as a problem to adjust the tech)

If I may suggest a brand that is at least somewhat affordable - look at Signia, those are in truth the German Siemens hearing aids - the tech is impeccable
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Supergrover
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Re: Headphone and microphone for the hard of hearing folks

Post by Supergrover »

Not completely on point, but Almost 10 years ago I got my mom these inexpensive Sony headphones (I think infrared) for the TV Less than $100. Worked better than her hearing aids ever did.
deikel
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Re: Headphone and microphone for the hard of hearing folks

Post by deikel »

22twain wrote: Wed Jun 29, 2022 4:12 pm
quantAndHold wrote: Wed Jun 29, 2022 2:00 pm problems he had with hearing aids are unlikely to go away because he’s using a consumer device instead of hearing aids.
Specifically: I think for most people with hearing loss, the loss is worse at higher frequencies (pitches) which are important for understanding speech. An audiologist prescribes and adjusts ("fits") hearing aids according to the patient's measured hearing loss versus frequency (audiogram). Consumer-grade devices don't do this. Their frequency response is designed to be "flat" across the spectrum so as to reproduce music faithfully, perhaps with some account taken of acoustics in the ear canal, for headphones. Their "tone controls" (treble/bass) are probably not capable of the required amount of compensation for a person with high-frequency hearing loss.
speech is distributed over the middle range of the spectrum (obviously, you can argue we developed hearing to match speech or speak in the middle of our hearing range to accommodate ....hearing)

Aging causes losses in high and low frequencies, slowly encroaching on the area of speech from both sides

Damage to the ears is more prominent in high frequencies, but there are diseases that cause low frequency losses - it really comes in all shapes

http://www.meshguides.org/guides/node/1938

Is a link to show the speech banana, your speech recognition can suffer from missing different vowels or consonants from high or low frequencies
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gatorking
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Re: Headphone and microphone for the hard of hearing folks

Post by gatorking »

rtt22 wrote: Wed Jun 29, 2022 11:15 am Hello BHs, my 90yo father is hard of hearing and multiple hearing aids have not helped him in the past. I'm wondering if there is a product out there that would consist of a headphone that communicates with a handheld microphone and amplifies 100x the voice signal from the microphone? These don't have to be miniaturized since he does not go outside the home much. Thank you in advance.
100x is a 20 dB amplification. This will not be sufficient. Hearing aids for severe loss provide much higher amplification.
Here is a product on Amazon with 70 dB peak sound gain. 70 dB = 3162X gain.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B091DF27M6?ta ... th=1&psc=1

p.s. this is not a product recommendation
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gatorking
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Re: Headphone and microphone for the hard of hearing folks

Post by gatorking »

deikel wrote: Wed Jun 29, 2022 4:20 pm
But all this is a crutch compared to properly fitted hearing aids. OP does not say why hearing aids failed before and OP states a 100x amplification (I hope that was a joke) - indicating profound hearing loss.
100x = 20 dB. This would be considered mild hearing loss.
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rtt22
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Re: Headphone and microphone for the hard of hearing folks

Post by rtt22 »

Thank you for all the replies. I'm not sure what level of amplification is needed but what we have to do now is to yell loudly when we talk to him. This product look promising https://www.amazon.com/dp/B091DF27M6?ta ... e=osi&th=1

One reviewer said "I bought this for my deaf MIL. She says she can hear on the lowest setting. The lowest setting will crack a normal persons ear drum. Proceed with caution. " That seems to suit our purpose :-)
Missjosie444
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Re: Headphone and microphone for the hard of hearing folks

Post by Missjosie444 »

Hello!

I am absolutely not an expert in this, so you’ll have to research whether this might be the right option for you. I just recently bought Bose Hearphones (which have been discontinued, so I had to buy them off of eBay). They consist of something similar in which there’s a larger headset that you wear around your neck with microphones that pick up the noise you want to amplify, and separate ear pieces. They’re connected to a Bose Hear app, where you control the World Volume, Treble, Bass, and where you want the focus to be to amplify sounds (example, from all directions, from the front, etc and there are different modes for I believe watching TV, conversations, music, etc). They are marketed for mild hearing loss, though the reviews from some people with more severe hearing loss say that this item works for them; some say it works for them better than the Bose hearing aids (maybe more so because of the larger headset thing that you wear around your neck which houses the microphones). I bought my Bose Hear Phones from what appeared to be a reputable eBay dealer with lots of positive reviews, and specifically from customers who bought the Hear Phones; I chose a dealer who gave a 30-day money back return window in case the item didn’t work, though you take the risk that since the item is discontinued (so that Bose could go on to develop hearing aids to replace the Hear Phones), you likely won’t have any luck or warranty to get them fixed. I took a chance on them because I like Bose, I like the idea of changing the settings manually on the spot from the app on my phone, and I liked that they’re rechargeable. They were about $130-150. You can Google reviews on them and see YouTube reviews by Dr Cliff, AuD. Good luck.
bradinsky
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Re: Headphone and microphone for the hard of hearing folks

Post by bradinsky »

Amplification tends to create distortion when you are hard of hearing. How old are your fathers hear aids? Today’s technology allows for a more specific fit, with regards to hearing loss in different ranges. I’m certainly not an expert but I’m on my 3rd pair & my loss is moderately severe
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rtt22
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Re: Headphone and microphone for the hard of hearing folks

Post by rtt22 »

I found out that Google has a simple Android app called Sound Amplifier https://play.google.com/store/search?q= ... ier&c=apps, which when combined with a Bluetooth headset, is a good solution to our problem. Thank you all for the suggestions.
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