Hearing aids and K3
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I have Phonak BTE hearing aids and I also have a Phonak ComPilot Pendant, which is a Blue Tooth Streamer and Remote Control.
It is a "Miracle" Pendant that hangs around my neck. It operates Blue tooth with my iPhone and with my TV's (I also have the Phonak TVLink), but it also has a cable input that I bring audio from the K3 in to. I can hear the K3 audio in both ears just like I was "inside" the radio! I can walk around with the pendant around my neck, under my shirt, and when my phone rings, it only does so in my ears, and I just touch the button on the pendant, and answer the phone. Never have to remove the phone from the belt case - the pendant also has a mike - actually 2 mikes, and I appear like a crazy person, talking to myself, for those who are around me ! The ComPilot will work with any audio input via the cable, and any Blue Tooth such as a cell phone, or TV. The beauty of the Phonak TVLink is that I can mute the TV speakers, and hear TV audio in my hearing aids so I do not bother my wife. If she wants to listen to the TV she can unmute the TV speakers, and set the volume wherever she wants and it does not affect me. While I use the Phonak aids and system referred to above, most other companies hearing aids have Blue Tooth pendants that are available, and Blue Tooth transmitters are available to be ordered on the Internet. I have Heil headsets that work fine over my hearing aids, and also have a CM500 that did feedback, but I fixed it by just lowering the gain of the aids (Phonak and others have a gain control on the aids - and/or can be controlled by the Compilot acting as a remote. Also most hearing aids have multiple programs - My Phonaks have 4 - you can take your favorite headphones in to your audiologist and have her/him set up one of those programs to allow you to wear them with no feedback, but adequate gain. It is no fun to be hearing impaired, but with the modern hearing aids there are ways to still enjoy CW, SSB, etc. I operate 95% CW, so I continue to enjoy it, thanks to Bluetooth and direct plug in to my ComPilot streamer. 73. Donald K6RV ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:[hidden email] This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
Donald, K6RV
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OK, just gotta tell my hearing aids story again. I told it over on the Yahoo KX3 group, so if you read it over there, you can just delete this message.
My wife said I wasn't listening to her anymore. I told her that my hearing wasn't as good as it used to be, and that I couldn't hear her very well anymore. In an effort to prove that I was wrong, she made an appointment with an audiologist to have my hearing checked. When the day arrived, the audiologist, who was a woman, tested my hearing and then put us in a room to wait. When she finally walked into the room with the results of the test, she turned to my wife and simply said, "He doesn't hear you anymore." My wife, very upset that the audiologist had it all wrong, said, "He doesn't listen to me anymore." The audiologist responded with, "No, he doesn't hear you anymore." These volleys went back and forth a few times, and finally the audiologist said, "Listen to me, he is deaf to the frequencies that carry intelligence in your voice." At that point, I simply couldn't hold it back and said, "There isn't any intelligence in her voice!" Now BOTH women in the room were mad at me! True story, honest. Oh, yes, I now wear hearing aids (Costco right now). Too many noisy airplane cockpits in my younger years. Today, pilots use high tech ear protection such as noise cancelling headsets. Must be nice! For a while, Beach actually sold a noise cancelling speaker systems for the cabins of King Air's. Don't know if they still offer that anymore. Mark KE6BB ________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:[hidden email] This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html |
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In reply to this post by Donald, K6RV
On 8/7/2013 9:29 PM, Donald, K6RV wrote:
> I have Phonak BTE hearing aids and I also have a Phonak ComPilot > Pendant, which is a Blue Tooth Streamer and Remote Control. > It is a "Miracle" Pendant that hangs around my neck. It operates Blue > tooth with my iPhone and with my TV's (I also have the Phonak TVLink), > but it also has a cable input that I bring audio from the K3 in to. I > can hear the K3 audio in both ears just like I was "inside" > the radio! I too have a Phonak Audio (BTE) set and an older Phonak i-mic pendant. The only hitch using the pendant is the it has a VOX built-in so that it switches back to the cellphone (with attendant tones) when the external audio is squelched. I haven't run any tests but I wonder how long the battery will last if passing audio continuously. I have to charge it every night and I wonder how long the mini-USB connector will last. Other than that it works well. 73 de K2ASP - Phil Kane Elecraft K2/100 s/n 5402 From a Clearing in the Silicon Forest Beaverton (Washington County) Oregon ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:[hidden email] This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html |
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Here's a simple product that can be used to couple a typical headphone
output to a hearing aid that has a T-coil. The plug is almost certainly a 2-circuit (Tip-Sleeve) plug, so you would need to change it to a 3-circuit (Tip-Ring-Sleeve) to use it with a K3. 73, Jim K9YC http://www.comtek.com/ntc102.html When I was designing systems, I told my clients to buy a few of these. Comtek is a fine US company based near Salt Like City. I've known them and used their products for nearly 30 years. 73, Jim K9YC ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:[hidden email] This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html |
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That may work for a single receiver K3 ... now how to deal with the KRX3? 73, ... Joe, W4TV On 8/8/2013 8:48 PM, Jim Brown wrote: > Here's a simple product that can be used to couple a typical headphone > output to a hearing aid that has a T-coil. The plug is almost certainly > a 2-circuit (Tip-Sleeve) plug, so you would need to change it to a > 3-circuit (Tip-Ring-Sleeve) to use it with a K3. > > 73, Jim K9YC > > http://www.comtek.com/ntc102.html > > When I was designing systems, I told my clients to buy a few of these. > Comtek is a fine US company based near Salt Like City. I've known them > and used their products for nearly 30 years. > > 73, Jim K9YC > > > ______________________________________________________________ > Elecraft mailing list > Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft > Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm > Post: mailto:[hidden email] > > This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net > Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html > Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:[hidden email] This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html |
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In reply to this post by KE6BB
On Wed, 7 Aug 2013 22:45:41 -0700 (PDT), Mark Petiford wrote:
> OK, just gotta tell my hearing aids story again. I know this thread is a bit off-topic for the group, but I think it contains some very important information for all of us aging adults, and I've been following it with interest. I can identify VERY closely with your story involving the XYL. My problem is similar, but she just doesn't speak up and enunciate well. Something I want to get across to all of you, is that if you have a hearing loss and it stems from a period when you were in the military, whether it is service related or not, you ARE eligible for help from the VA. However, there must be documentation verifying the loss and when it happened. The VA covers losses and injuries that occur while you are on active duty, even if it happened at home and had nothing to do with your military job or duty. In my case, the loss was off-duty, at home, and my ex-wife was able to provide a letter stating when it happened and how, even though it was more than 40 years ago. Talk to your local VA representative. As far as the hearing aids go, I also have a Phonak pair, with iCom TVLink blue-tooth unit for the cell phone and linkable to an outside source like TV, stereo, and yes, ham radio. It works very well, but I would hesitate to recommend it for CW. If you work "high speed" CW, the amount of digital delay of the audio getting through the link and the aids will cause your sending to be poor if you are listening to the sidetone. For instance, you start sending a letter B. Your hand releases during the third dit, but that actually occurred before you heard it, so you send a 6 instead. Or, if you're going faster yet, there are larger errors. As for EQ, I have excellent low end hearing, but roll off very fast. With the hearing aids, which I rarely wear when using the radio*, I prefer a fairly flat response. Unlike many of the comments here, I find the lows to be very usable and easier to copy when they're present. All of the research says it's a waste, but I really prefer and copy better when the area of 100Hz is present If I roll the lows off, it is very tiring to listen to. My voice is very heavy in the 100Hz area, and I roll it down dozens of db to overcome my GM4's abundant response there. *I use the bluetooth to monitor the radio when I'm doing things outside the shack and want to keep up on what is going on. Just a few personal observations re the audio response and hearing aids on ham radio. Sorry if this has just irritated some because it is off-topic for the list. Gary ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:[hidden email] This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html |
Re: Hearing aids and K3
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I suspect that many of us are in the same boat.
I'm probably a couple of weeks from hearing aids. It doesn't affect my Amateur Radio operation (I run digital modes), but I'm reading with great interest. Any general comments (offlist if you prefer) are welcome. 73 -- Lynn On 8/8/2013 6:28 PM, [hidden email] wrote: > On Wed, 7 Aug 2013 22:45:41 -0700 (PDT), Mark Petiford wrote: > >> >OK, just gotta tell my hearing aids story again. > I know this thread is a bit off-topic for the group, but I think it contains > some very important information for all of us aging adults, and I've been > following it with interest. ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:[hidden email] This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html |
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In reply to this post by Jim Brown-10
On 8/8/2013 5:48 PM, Jim Brown wrote:
> Here's a simple product that can be used to couple a typical headphone > output to a hearing aid that has a T-coil. > http://www.comtek.com/ntc102.html > Comtek is a fine US company based near Salt Like City. I've known them > and used their products for nearly 30 years. Do you have any information on the battery life per charge and the approximate cost (wasn't on the referenced page)? 73 de K2ASP - Phil Kane Elecraft K2/100 s/n 5402 From a Clearing in the Silicon Forest Beaverton (Washington County) Oregon ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:[hidden email] This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html |
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On 8/8/2013 7:05 PM, Phil Kane wrote:
> Do you have any information on the battery life per charge and the > approximate cost (wasn't on the referenced page)? It's passive -- a neck loop with a 1/8-in plug on it. Jim ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:[hidden email] This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html |
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In reply to this post by Lynn W. Taylor, WB6UUT
The passive loop transducer that Jim's touting looks FB. My aids have a
Telecoil setting - the only thing I've found fault with is that they also pick up other fields in the vicinity - often including 60-Hz hum. 73, Pete N4ZR Check out the Reverse Beacon Network at http://reversebeacon.net, blog at reversebeacon.blogspot.com. For spots, please go to your favorite ARC V6 or VE7CC DX cluster node. On 8/8/2013 9:58 PM, Lynn W. Taylor, WB6UUT wrote: > I suspect that many of us are in the same boat. > > I'm probably a couple of weeks from hearing aids. It doesn't affect > my Amateur Radio operation (I run digital modes), but I'm reading with > great interest. > > Any general comments (offlist if you prefer) are welcome. > > 73 -- Lynn > > On 8/8/2013 6:28 PM, [hidden email] wrote: >> On Wed, 7 Aug 2013 22:45:41 -0700 (PDT), Mark Petiford wrote: >> >>> >OK, just gotta tell my hearing aids story again. >> I know this thread is a bit off-topic for the group, but I think it >> contains >> some very important information for all of us aging adults, and I've >> been >> following it with interest. > > ______________________________________________________________ > Elecraft mailing list > Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft > Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm > Post: mailto:[hidden email] > > This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net > Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html > ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:[hidden email] This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html |
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On 8/9/2013 4:43 AM, Pete Smith N4ZR wrote:
> The passive loop transducer that Jim's touting looks FB. My aids have > a Telecoil setting - the only thing I've found fault with is that they > also pick up other fields in the vicinity - often including 60-Hz hum. Yes. As I noted earlier, that's the Achilles Heel of magnetic loop systems. 73, Jim K9YC ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:[hidden email] This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html |
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In reply to this post by Donald, K6RV
I just tried my T-coil setting in my ham shack and not hearing the
usual ac hum and "braaack" sound as I moved my head. I guess I had tried it mostly at the (former) workplace where there are more EM fields. So I experimented using it by hitting talk on my cordless phone and could hear the dial-tone clearly without hum! I switched my hearing aids back to normal and could not hear the dial tone even if I move the phone nearer to my hearing aid mics. I will have to try this next time I use the phone. Only drawback is I have to push a button three times to get to that setting while the person on the phone waits wondering what's going on. Solution is to start switching before answering the phone (probably takes three rings). My audiologist told me it was not possible to set it up on program-2 as that is dedicated to noise-cancelling feature and the default (program-1) is set up for automatic switching. I may look into the Ufly mic for my Bose QC2. I don't normally use the Bose for ham radio but this could be handy for when a boom mic is wanted. The Bose QC2 were bought for hearing protection on aircraft where is works well. 73, Ed - KL7UW http://www.kl7uw.com [hidden email] "Kits made by KL7UW" ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:[hidden email] This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html |
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In reply to this post by Jim Brown-10
I have been following this thread with interest, I also wear hearing aids.
When operating CW and chasing DX I dont wear the aids and turn up the volume and use headphones which works fine for me. When ragchewing on SSB though I wear the aids and had trouble getting clarity on some voices. I now use an MFJ 616 outboard variable equalizer tailored for the audio spectrum. It connects between the audio out of my K3 and the speakers. It works very well, makes a big improvement in intelligibility. I wanted to point it out to those with a hearing loss that have trouble with copying SSB audio sometimes. I have two of these units. One is in the shack and the other one is new in the box. I plan to list the new one on EBAY. If anyone is interested contact me directly off the reflector. Here are reviews from EHAM on the unit. http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/2554 73, Bob K6UJ ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:[hidden email] This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html |
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On 8/9/2013 4:15 PM, Bob K6UJ wrote:
> I now use > an MFJ 616 outboard variable equalizer tailored for the audio spectrum. It connects between the audio out of my K3 and the speakers. The RXEQ built into the K3 is capable of about 36 dB of combined high frequency boost and low frequency cut. This won't be enough to compensate for really severe hearing loss, but it can an effective solution for the majority of folks. As a starting point, set the four lowest bands to maximum cut, leave the fifth band at zero, and the remaining bands gradually increasing in boost until it sounds good to you. Those with more serious loss will usually want boost be greater on those higher bands. The most important octave for speech is 2 kHz, 1 kHz is next, then 4 kHz. So with severe hearing loss, you will generally want the top three bands up full. I would do this before I would consider an external equalizer. 73, Jim K9YC ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:[hidden email] This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html |
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That's exactly what I did, on the advice of the below quoted author, and
it is very effective. Admittedly, my hearing is probably worse than many, and I'd gladly take a few more dB of equalization, but what the K3 provides is free [not counting the cost of the K3 :-)] and it does work. Just go slowly when working with it. I was pretty much giving up on it until Jim counseled me, "One change at a time, try it out under varying conditions." I keep a station journal [separate from my log] with notes and things, I used it to record my subjective results and the settings I made. I don't think an external equalizer is any easier to adjust than the K3 internal one, it just may give you more gain. At some point, more gain becomes a non-starter, my Heil headphones or the speaker start to overload. 73, Fred K6DGW - Northern California Contest Club - CU in the 2013 Cal QSO Party 5-6 Oct 2013 - www.cqp.org On 8/9/2013 4:35 PM, Jim Brown wrote: > The RXEQ built into the K3 is capable of about 36 dB of combined high > frequency boost and low frequency cut. This won't be enough to > compensate for really severe hearing loss, but it can an effective > solution for the majority of folks. As a starting point, set the four > lowest bands to maximum cut, leave the fifth band at zero, and the > remaining bands gradually increasing in boost until it sounds good to > you. Those with more serious loss will usually want boost be greater on > those higher bands. The most important octave for speech is 2 kHz, 1 kHz > is next, then 4 kHz. So with severe hearing loss, you will generally > want the top three bands up full. > > I would do this before I would consider an external equalizer. ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:[hidden email] This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html |
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The difference is with an outboard equalizer you can quickl adjust the audio to your needs with the various
voicees you receive. Very fast, turn the pot control. The menu change takes too long for quick changes for each signal. You will need a different adjustment with different voices and being able to adjust quickly is the key. Bob K6UJ On Aug 9, 2013, at 5:09 PM, Fred Jensen wrote: > That's exactly what I did, on the advice of the below quoted author, and it is very effective. Admittedly, my hearing is probably worse than many, and I'd gladly take a few more dB of equalization, but what the K3 provides is free [not counting the cost of the K3 :-)] and it does work. Just go slowly when working with it. I was pretty much giving up on it until Jim counseled me, "One change at a time, try it out under varying conditions." I keep a station journal [separate from my log] with notes and things, I used it to record my subjective results and the settings I made. > > I don't think an external equalizer is any easier to adjust than the K3 internal one, it just may give you more gain. At some point, more gain becomes a non-starter, my Heil headphones or the speaker start to overload. > > 73, > > Fred K6DGW > - Northern California Contest Club > - CU in the 2013 Cal QSO Party 5-6 Oct 2013 > - www.cqp.org > > On 8/9/2013 4:35 PM, Jim Brown wrote: > >> The RXEQ built into the K3 is capable of about 36 dB of combined high >> frequency boost and low frequency cut. This won't be enough to >> compensate for really severe hearing loss, but it can an effective >> solution for the majority of folks. As a starting point, set the four >> lowest bands to maximum cut, leave the fifth band at zero, and the >> remaining bands gradually increasing in boost until it sounds good to >> you. Those with more serious loss will usually want boost be greater on >> those higher bands. The most important octave for speech is 2 kHz, 1 kHz >> is next, then 4 kHz. So with severe hearing loss, you will generally >> want the top three bands up full. >> >> I would do this before I would consider an external equalizer. > > > ______________________________________________________________ > Elecraft mailing list > Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft > Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm > Post: mailto:[hidden email] > > This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net > Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:[hidden email] This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html |
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