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  #11  
Old 12-23-2019, 04:46 PM
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In-the-ear helps a LOT when your needs are based around simple total sound pressure to the inner ear. We've seen this time and time again. We've also done some other interesting things like cochlear implant integration.

Also, don't under estimate the value of a quality audio panel / intercom. If you're flying around with a couple hundred dollar intercom (flightcom 403 comes to mind), you might be amazed at the signal processing quality afforded by something like a PS Engineering 8000 or a modern Garmin audio panel. I've spent a ton of time flying a bunch of different gear, both in flight, and in a sound chamber with instrumentation. If you have any hearing difficulties, please don't think that any old cheap intercom will do. I have many of these in an active rack and often feel it is a shame that so many people have never experienced what a good quality audio panel / intercom can do for the cockpit noise environment. And, if you're looking for total sound pressure before distortion, you really should be flying a stereo source.
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Last edited by scard : 12-24-2019 at 06:53 AM.
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  #12  
Old 12-23-2019, 05:52 PM
Acrophil Acrophil is offline
 
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Default Unintended Consequence

The in the ear headset can be understood at low volumes that has made the passenger experience better as I don?t have to remember to turn their headsets down or make them uncomfortably loud. I tend to speak at lower volumes and the transmission quality is better. All in all, a win.

A little thread drift.

I had been going to give myself a Christmas present of a new GQC headset but forgot to order it. I plan to do that at the end of January (having a little surgery that will prevent flying for a month)
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  #13  
Old 12-23-2019, 06:35 PM
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Piper J3 Piper J3 is offline
 
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Bob Collins - thanks for starting this thread...

I have severe hearing difficulty in both ears. I wear hearing aids that function marginally at best. My conclusion is that high quality digital hearing aids don?t improve speech recognition for everyone. I?m one of the unlucky ones. I wear an in-the-ear aid in my right ear and a behind-the-ear aid in my left ear.

My experience with aviation headsets as follows: High end Dave Clark ? not good. Bose A20 work fairly well. Lightspeed Zulu 2 & 3 work the best for me. The in-the-ear hearing aid responds best and the behind-the-ear aid has some feedback because the aid is trapped between the ear and the ear cup of the headset. The mic pick-up on the behind-the-ear is located on the external amplifier assembly and that is what causes the problem. The Lightspeed headset works the best for me and so far, allows me to understand spoken word from both intercom and comm radio. I suspect that my next step will be and an in-the-ear headset. This is a reasonable approach because I use a cheap Vivitar Stereo Earphones Earbuds ($5.32 eBay) with my laptop computer and the sound quality is extraordinary.
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  #14  
Old 12-23-2019, 10:21 PM
starkw1 starkw1 is offline
 
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Default deaf pilots

Bob

I think we need to figure out how to set up a bluetooth link between the aircraft radio and bluethooth enable hearing aids. My hearing aids have a bluetooth input and I have a bluetooth adapter for my TV which delivers much clearer sound directly to hearing aids compared to without bluetooth.

I would be willing to try and sort this out with you.


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  #15  
Old 12-24-2019, 06:57 AM
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I wear bluetooth Oticons under my DRE headset. The DREs have volume controls on each earpiece. I?m able to hear both intercom and ATC with the radio set to 50% volume.

Normally Without the Oticons Dolly has to shout.
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  #16  
Old 12-24-2019, 08:13 AM
akabud akabud is offline
 
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I use the CQ in ear type and wear a non aviation noise canceling head set over them.
Works pretty good for me.
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  #17  
Old 12-24-2019, 09:10 AM
Burnsm2 Burnsm2 is offline
 
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I struggled years ago when I first began wearing hearing aids. Previous models of hearing aids would just feedback and squeal when wearing a over the ear headset. I went to Oshkosh Airventure years ago ready to spend whatever it took to get a good headset that would help me with my profound hearing loss. I tried just about every brand. Then I walked past a booth of Quiet Technologies. They sell the Halo headset. ( I get no reward for recommending him but their product and service are amazing) https://www.quiettechnologies.com/ He explained that he uses high-end hearing aids parts to put the sound directly in your ear. The foam ear tips go directly in your ear are similar to those you use to block out sound in an industrial environment. The foam tips used with this headset are the same that my audiologist uses when I get a hearing test. Inexpensive and easily replaced. Many ask are they uncomfortable having the tips in your ear for so long? We have no issues at all, short flights or long cross countries. They are soft.
He also explained that these foam tips block out the loud cockpit noise better than noise cancelling devices and over the ear muffs. When you wear glasses with a typical over the ear muff, it creates an opening at the seals allowing noise to enter. Also noise canceling electronics only block out a portion of the frequencies not all sounds. This headset is cooler and lighter than the usual muff headset. My wife even wears them and her hearing is normal. The Zulu II?s and Bose are similar products for much more $$. I have been using the Halo or more than 10 years and recommend them to any hearing impaired person. The only downside is that you must remove your hearing aids while wearing the Halo. Find a good location to place them while flying so that you can put them back in after you exit the plane. A good friend of mine sewed a pocket in my side panel just for my hearing aids. Works great.
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  #18  
Old 12-24-2019, 09:31 AM
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greghughespdx greghughespdx is offline
 
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Seems there are quite a few variables. I sent a message to Lightspeed yesterday to ask them what they recommend. The Zulu 3 has the more advanced capabilities and best compatibility with hearing aids overall, they said.

I've messed with this a bit myself to help someone with hearing aids in the past. I don't wear them so hard for me to truly know. But here is what I have ascertained, FWIW.

Intercom: If the intercom is of lower quality, you're likely doomed from the start. My old flightcom intercom in the airplane was basically **** compared to the modern PS Engineering intercom I replaced it with. Night and day difference for the hearing aid wearer, as well. The intercom in the Garmin setup for the RV-12 (GTR 200) is pretty darned good compared to the legacy stuff.

Type of hearing aid: Apparently some hearing aids amplify all sound, and others are configured to amplify only the sound/frequency bands needed for the individual who wears them.

The form factor of the hearing aid: Generally, hearing aids that are inserted into the ear canal worked better. Hearing aids located outside the ear were harder to make work with a headset.

Headsets: ANR headsets were ... interesting to work with. It took a careful combination/balance of hearing aid volume/gain and headset volume. Some combinations (not always intuitive) worked well, while others didn't. Sorry that I don't recall the specific settings.

For one person, an in-ear headset was a game-changer. Now, all of this was before the Cards came out with their new in-ear headset, which I am flying with now and it's *amazing* - quite likely worth trying!

We tried a portable/inline Bluetooth transmitter, but that was when Bluetooth was much lower quality than is available now. I'd think trying an inexpensive transmitter that maximizes the BT transmitted audio quality would be worth the time. Amazon has some good options, better than what we tried a few years ago for sure. Lower latency and more modern protocols that result in much better audio clarity and quality.

greg
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Last edited by greghughespdx : 12-24-2019 at 09:34 AM.
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  #19  
Old 12-24-2019, 09:54 AM
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Greg, thanks for the plug of the CQ Headset. I think Greg has been flying our headset for just over a year.

I don't know why, but somehow the good word about the value of quality intercoms just hasn't gotten out to the masses. Greg's comments about that are spot on. I've been meaning to record some sample audio of a flight as I switch between 4-5 different intercoms.
If you're building an RV and reading this thread, I would highly recommend avoiding a super simple Flightcom, Sigtronics, avcomm, etc.

A couple of the big difficulties with Bluetooth for real radio communications (not music input) are latency and link reliability. The latency can almost be brain rattling with respect to side-tone.
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  #20  
Old 12-24-2019, 12:32 PM
barryhalsted barryhalsted is offline
 
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Default Deaf Pilots

Jim, you say you are using both a behind-the-ear and in-ear hearing aids. What are the brands of each? I am using high end Phonak BTE's and have used several ANR headsets My hearing loss is severe and at this time Zulu 3's are working the best for me, outdoing A20's. Feedback can be a little problem but can generally be defeated. I'm at the point where fast talking ATC conversation is causing problems.
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