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12-24-2019, 02:53 PM
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VAF Moderator
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Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Pine Junction, CO
Posts: 655
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I have used oticon in-the-ear for 20 years. All have had a tele-coil installed and when used in this mode the aids shut off their microphones and pick up the electromagnetic energy from my Zulu's.
A hearing aid telecoil (t-coil) is a small copper antenna inside some hearing aids. Hearing aid telecoils operate by receiving and selectively converting electromagnetic energy into sound which can be heard by the hearing aid user.
The hearing aid processes the sound just like it was picked up by the microphones. Tuned for your ear.
I got my first hearing aids after flying into Luke AFB in 2000. Transitioning the Phoenix airspace I had several female controllers and I could not understand a word they said. My young Co-Pilot translated and handled communication for me.
Without my aids I'm pretty deaf. I enjoy the solitude and quietness of the world when not wearing them. No dogs barking, birds singing, sirens blaring etc. The world has become way to noisy.
__________________
Gary "Seismo" Zilik
Pine Junction, Colorado
RV-6A N99PZ S/N 22993 SOLD
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12-24-2019, 03:21 PM
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Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: St. Paul, MN.
Posts: 4,792
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Quote:
Originally Posted by greghughespdx
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.
and quality.
greg
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I'm lucky that I bought topnof the line in-ear pixels (Phoneak) so that as the hearing changes, they can be reprogrammed. Also I can have several different programs and switch etween them. I have an appointment next month and will bring up the airplane environment for suggestions.
Also good to hear -- no pun intended :- that the RV;12 avionics are top of the line.
And I'm also interested in hearing about any difference in audio profile -- if any -- between a Rotax and Lycoming.
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12-24-2019, 07:28 PM
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Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: Fayetteville, AR
Posts: 18
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Deaf Pilots
I have a friend that is totally deaf and flys a 172. I believe he is 1 of maybe 25 or so deaf pilots. He doesn't wear a headset and has a FAA letter that allows him to text or plan ahead with towers. I can get you his contact info should you have questions and want to chat via text or email.
Bob
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12-25-2019, 06:07 AM
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Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: Hinckley, Ohio
Posts: 2,066
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bjdecker
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If I?m understanding you correctly?
The concept is to wear normal hearing aids (in-ear or behind-ear) that have Bluetooth capability and then plug a Bluetooth transmitter into the Rx headphone jack in the airplane ? maybe something like this... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07ZB6S69P...NsaWNrPXRydWU= . Then continue to wear a headset (perhaps Zulu with ANR) over the ears to reduce background noise. The Zulu would provide ANR even with the Rx plug not connected. The microphone on the standard headset would still be used for transmit.
Am I understanding this right?
__________________
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Jim Stricker
EAA #499867
PPL/ASEL 1970 - Sport Pilot since 2007
80 hrs Flying Aeronca Chief 11AC N86203
1130 hrs Flying 46 Piper J-3 Cub N6841H
Bought Flying RV-12 #120058 Oct 2015 with 48TT - Hobbs now 622 
LSRM-A Certificate 2016 for RV-12 N633CM
Special Thanks... EJ Trucks - USN Crew Chief A-4 Skyhawk
MJ Stricker (Father & CFI) - USAAF 1st Lt. Captain B-17H
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12-25-2019, 09:21 AM
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Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posts: 2,291
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Piper J3
If I?m understanding you correctly?
The concept is to wear normal hearing aids (in-ear or behind-ear) that have Bluetooth capability and then plug a Bluetooth transmitter into the Rx headphone jack in the airplane ? maybe something like this... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07ZB6S69P...NsaWNrPXRydWU= . Then continue to wear a headset (perhaps Zulu with ANR) over the ears to reduce background noise. The Zulu would provide ANR even with the Rx plug not connected. The microphone on the standard headset would still be used for transmit.
Am I understanding this right?
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If this is indeed the case, how does one deal with improving signal:noise ratio to aid in speech intelligibility? Most of us discount the effect of attenuating the ambient aircraft noise however this is a critical factor. Perhaps I'm not understanding correctly how much of that ambient noise is actually heard by hearing aid wearers?
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12-25-2019, 09:43 AM
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Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Charlotte NC
Posts: 1,166
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As someone who has been through all the levels of hearing loss one of the key things you need to do is realize at some point hearing aids will no longer be effective. You can place glasses on a blind man but they won?t help him see. The same applies to hearing aides. It?s important to get a through evaluations of why you have a profound hearing loss and options that might be available beyond hearing aids. In some cases for instance calcification in the ear there are surgical options that might restore near normal hearing. (Stapedectomy) In other cases some type of cochlear implant may be the best option. The point is that when you reach the point you are no longer fully conversational with hearing aides get a complete evaluation.
George
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12-25-2019, 11:29 AM
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Join Date: Aug 2016
Location: Asheville, NC
Posts: 2,104
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When selecting hearing aids, be aware that there are two kinds of Bluetooth - One only connects to phones (like the Phonak Audeo-B), and the other (like the Oticon Opn1 - MiniRITE) connects to mp3 streaming audio devices like an iPad. Also, with the Oticons, you can program the hearing aids for various noise situations:
1 = General
2 = Speech in Noise
3 = Comfort
4 = Music
I use #2 when listening to TV.
__________________
(2020 dues paid)
Last edited by snopercod : 12-25-2019 at 11:36 AM.
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12-25-2019, 02:14 PM
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Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: Hinckley, Ohio
Posts: 2,066
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Canadian_JOY
If this is indeed the case, how does one deal with improving signal:noise ratio to aid in speech intelligibility? Most of us discount the effect of attenuating the ambient aircraft noise however this is a critical factor. Perhaps I'm not understanding correctly how much of that ambient noise is actually heard by hearing aid wearers?
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The problem I have is with headset ear cup impinging on the behind-the-ear aid. The in-the-ear aid functions very well with the LightSpeed Zulu. I will soon need to wear behind-the-ear aids for both ears and that is what I'm trying to find solution for. The behind-the-ear aid has feedback because the microphone pickup is trapped between the back of my ear and the headset ear cup.
I'm hoping that by sending the audio directly to the hearing aid via Bluetooth will eliminate the feedback problem.
__________________
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Jim Stricker
EAA #499867
PPL/ASEL 1970 - Sport Pilot since 2007
80 hrs Flying Aeronca Chief 11AC N86203
1130 hrs Flying 46 Piper J-3 Cub N6841H
Bought Flying RV-12 #120058 Oct 2015 with 48TT - Hobbs now 622 
LSRM-A Certificate 2016 for RV-12 N633CM
Special Thanks... EJ Trucks - USN Crew Chief A-4 Skyhawk
MJ Stricker (Father & CFI) - USAAF 1st Lt. Captain B-17H
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12-25-2019, 03:23 PM
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Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posts: 2,291
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Jim - I'm trying to learn here so your patience is appreciated...
Do behind-the-ear aids block out enough external sound to make them effective in a high-noise environment?
I my little pea brain I have the idea that the hearing aid is acting as a source of the good sound you want to hear. Let's call that "signal".
The airplane is making one heckuva racket in the background. Let's call that "noise".
If we say the hearing aid can make X amount of Signal, a finite amount of Signal, then making that Signal more intelligible can only happen if we reduce the amount of Noise.
Signal competes against Noise. To give Signal a better chance to get through, typical headsets block out Noise, allowing the precious little amount of Signal to get through to our ears.
With hearing aids I'm guessing (a totally uneducated guess, hence this quest for knowledge) that very little blocking of Noise takes place through the little earpieces that pop into your ear. They typically look to be quite inadequate for reducing ambient Noise.
If this truly is the case then it would seem the ultimate solution would be an in-the-ear headset that drastically attenuates external Noise, and through which you can pipe the desired Signal. This would produce a much more advantageous ratio of Signal to Noise.
Is my understanding totally out to lunch?
Again, thanks for your patient explanation.
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12-25-2019, 04:15 PM
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Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: Hinckley, Ohio
Posts: 2,066
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Problem with communication is on my end... So, I try again with better explanation of problem that plagues wearing behind-the-ear aid while wearing Zulu headset.
The in-the-ear aid in my right ear works very well with the Zulu headset. Sound (voice) generated by the ANR headset sounds great with virtually no distortion.
The behind-the-ear aid in my left ear is the problem. Even with the Zulu powered off, when I place the headset on my head and it covers my left ear - I hear feedback (squeal). This is caused because the microphone for the hearing aid is located on the amplifier module behind my ear and it gets "acoustically" trapped against the inside of the headset cup.
I'm hoping that behind-the-ear aid with wirelessly fed signal via Bluetooth eliminates the acoustic feedback. I'm thinking with Bluetooth it should be very similar to Halo or Clarity Aloft in-ear aviation headsets. And, I think the added benefit will be the ANR provided by the Zulu with the acoustic portion of the hearing aid turned off.
Sorry I can't speak to signal / noise stuff - just trying to explain symptom and proposed solution as best I can.
Advise if I need to better explain...
__________________
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Jim Stricker
EAA #499867
PPL/ASEL 1970 - Sport Pilot since 2007
80 hrs Flying Aeronca Chief 11AC N86203
1130 hrs Flying 46 Piper J-3 Cub N6841H
Bought Flying RV-12 #120058 Oct 2015 with 48TT - Hobbs now 622 
LSRM-A Certificate 2016 for RV-12 N633CM
Special Thanks... EJ Trucks - USN Crew Chief A-4 Skyhawk
MJ Stricker (Father & CFI) - USAAF 1st Lt. Captain B-17H
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