Any nurses, doctors, paramedics etc who wear hearing aids (or if you know one personally), how do you use your stethoscope? Do you have BTE/RIC or ITC/CIC? Do you use normal or amplified stethoscope? Thanks!!
I am not a nurse or a doctor but just a hearing aid dispenser from the Netherlands, so sorry for my broken english. I regulary get this question and as the only audiologist in the Netherlands I do sell a special stethoscope from a US company cardionics.
This stethoscope comes in different ways. I did fit many of them. Sometimes using an Oticon streamer, Phonak iCom or Widex Dex to get the sound into the hearing aid. Don’t try to use the bluetoothconnection with a jabra or something, just connect it with an audio cable to the input of the streamer. Especialy Agil had good results with the power bass which only is used in the audio program of the streamer. You have to tweak the settings then, reduce ambient sound, no spatial noise and so on. Widex music program is excellent too, starting at 70Hz, but unfortunately this program is only used by the microphone and not by the Mdex.
Another way is to use a silhouette cable. This cable has one or two induction coils which can be placed next to the hearing aid when it has induction possibility.
Whe the fitting is an open fit, these options do not have enough low frequenties, the I suggest just to put a headphone. It has amazing results, the benefit is that you do not really close the fitting then like you do when using a conventional amplified stethoscope which will give you extra amplification of low ambient sounds from the surrounding when the hearing aid is still on but when you close the ear channel with the convetional stethoscope earpieces.
When you are student, I suggest to ask if the automatic switch off can be lengthened. You can also connect two headphones or record the sound to your PC
In the US Cardionics has a webshop.
cardionics.com/e-scopeelectronicstethoscope.htm
Good luck, greetings from Holland
I’m a pediatrician and use the Cardionics stethescope with the head phones. My aids are open-fit RICs, set up without much low frequency gain. The Cardionics let’s me hear heart sounds that I don’t think I heard as a much younger med student. I do recommend having a mute function for your hearing aids. You don’t want to have amplified background noise or screaming baby competing with the stethescope while you try to pick up a murmur.
I work in a busy ED and use a thinklabs electronic stethoscope and have widex 440 clears open fit rics. I mute the hearing aids with my remote control and can hear fine with the thinklabs although I sometimes have to adjust the stethoscope ear pieces a bit to get a decent seal. http://www.thinklabsmedical.com/
Update: I once tried to use the thinklabs stethoscope by connecting it directly by cable to my m-dex remote which then blue toothed the sound to my aids, but the sound was too soft to be much use. It is much louder listening directly to the scope with my ears. (I now use an open dome on one side and a tulip dome on the other and still hear fine.)
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http://www.connevans.co.uk/store/viewProduct.do?id=4443798
You can get one like this. You could prob find somewhere that does it in the USA.
I have a friend that uses it with her icom or you can use direct input lead in to your aids.
That is indeed a good choise, the one i was talking about too, but the price in your link is rather high i guess. In the US you can have it for $370 directly ar the cardionics webshop.
I’m personally not impressed with the company either as there prices are very high. Wouldn’t surprise me if you can get it for $370. I’ve got things for a 1/3 of the price else where, compared to Deaf Equipment/Connevans.
I have very good experiences with the escope, I know over 20 people using it. But I would love to know your cheaper version of course, because if the same quality can be cheaper that will be great. So if you can please let me know what product you mean exactly I would love to order one to try as long as it can be combined with hearing aids.
I know this thread is a bit old, but I’m hoping this is where my post belongs. I’m waiting on a purchase order from TX DARS for a pair of hearing aids now (MOXI KISS 20, open fit RIC BTE) and am trying to figure out if I really need an amplified stethoscope.
Before I go on… here is my audiogram. I think I did this right.
250 500 1000 1500 2000 3000 4000 6000 8000
L 30—40----55-----55----60-----65-----70----70----60
R 25—30----55-----60----70-----65-----70----60----60
Here’s a JPEG of the audiogram in case read it wrong.
So my question is: can I get away with using an un-amplified stethoscope? I know I’m going to have to try things out for myself and decide what method and combination of devices is best for me, but I’m determined to gather as much information as possible for other students who may be having the same trouble finding advise as I am. My nursing school has asked us to only use a traditional stethoscope that has a bell and diaphragm. Anything amplified is not built this way. I don’t know if I need to petition for ADA accommodation, or if I could simply argue that an amplified stethoscope has a bell and diaphragm mode, thus technically fitting their requirements. Also, cant help feeling it will be awkward and cumbersome carrying around a set of headphones. Also, I’m wondering if he foam earpieces might collect some nasty stuff in a hospital setting.
I ideally hoped I for an option to use an e-scope paired with a streamer and a remote to toggle between different profile settings on the hearing aids depending on whether I needed to hear heart, lungs, or regular speech frequencies. As far as I’ve read, no one has really run with the idea of connecting a stethoscope directly to the HAs via bluetooth.
No one at my school seems to be able to offer any advice. I know I’m not the first to ask and I doubt I’ll be the last. It would be nice to build on this subject for future students or anyone in the healthcare profession to use in their search for a solution to living with hearing loss.
Much thanks to all who can help!
I work in a busy ER as a PA and used the escope for several years, complete with the annoying headphones that often made my patients (and once an attending!) ask why I was listening to music instead of their heart and lungs. Awkward, yeah? Well, I wear starkey sound lens and have a moderate loss, about 35% bilaterally. I had the fortunate of marrying a mechanical engineer/designer who modified a 3M Littman electronic stethoscope for me so that the ear pieces are not the typical inserts, but rather are larger pieces that fit over my ears and overall allow for a normal stethoscope function and appearance (except for the earbuds being bigger). I love this pair the best and can hear very well with it. I can pass along the info for how to make the earpieces for you, if you’re interested. If I can figure out how to post a picture on here, I’ll do that. The escope works well enough in terms of being able to hear sounds, but I found the customer service to be so rude and awful that I vowed to never buy another scope from them; they’re very expensive and when mine broke out of the blue, rather than let me use a loaner while they fixed mine, I was rather rudely told, “we advise our clients to have a backup for these types of situations.” I can understand that logic if they were 50 bucks or so, but at almost $400 a pair, that’s unreasonable and I was really upset with them.
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Also, I don’t recommend trying to find a solution that involves switching between programs and settings on your aids…it’s too time consuming and not practical. With the escope, you don’t need to switch around and also with my modified electrnoic littman, I don’t need to switch around.
[quote=El Oso;101098]I know this thread is a bit old, but I’m hoping this is where my post belongs. I’m waiting on a purchase order from TX DARS for a pair of hearing aids now (MOXI KISS 20, open fit RIC BTE) and am trying to figure out if I really need an amplified stethoscope.
Before I go on… here is my audiogram. I think I did this right.
250 500 1000 1500 2000 3000 4000 6000 8000
L 30—40----55-----55----60-----65-----70----70----60
R 25—30----55-----60----70-----65-----70----60----60
Here’s a JPEG of the audiogram in case read it wrong.
So my question is: can I get away with using an un-amplified stethoscope? I know I’m going to have to try things out for myself and decide what method and combination of devices is best for me, but I’m determined to gather as much information as possible for other students who may be having the same trouble finding advise as I am. My nursing school has asked us to only use a traditional stethoscope that has a bell and diaphragm. Anything amplified is not built this way. I don’t know if I need to petition for ADA accommodation, or if I could simply argue that an amplified stethoscope has a bell and diaphragm mode, thus technically fitting their requirements. Also, cant help feeling it will be awkward and cumbersome carrying around a set of headphones. Also, I’m wondering if he foam earpieces might collect some nasty stuff in a hospital setting.
I ideally hoped I for an option to use an e-scope paired with a streamer and a remote to toggle between different profile settings on the hearing aids depending on whether I needed to hear heart, lungs, or regular speech frequencies. As far as I’ve read, no one has really run with the idea of connecting a stethoscope directly to the HAs via bluetooth.
No one at my school seems to be able to offer any advice. I know I’m not the first to ask and I doubt I’ll be the last. It would be nice to build on this subject for future students or anyone in the healthcare profession to use in their search for a solution to living with hearing loss.
Much thanks to all who can help![/quote]
The kiss has no induction coil so none of the induction systems will work. I’d be looking at the U-direct 2 with a stereo input jack from an electronic scope, which will allow you to set the level of the signal too.
[quote="jiffy,post:10,topic:18693"]
I can pass along the info for how to make the earpieces for you, if you're interested.
[/quote]
Yes, please post or PM the info. I really like the sound of my escope, but agree that it is kind of clunky with the headphones. You may have gotten the wrong person in customer service. Every time I've called, they have been helpful and efficient.
I had completely forgotten about the induction coil. Looking back over the recommendations made by HA provider, I’m seeing a Udirect II Bluetooth receiver. I’m not sure how the e-scope will communicate with that, but I am very interested in the idea of modifying the ear tips of a stethoscope to allow me to leave my HAs while I auscultate.
So yes, Jiffy, please share how you modified your stethoscope. I’m certainly not one to shy away from a good DIY project, especially if it is something that can build on something that has the potential to help others.
Thanks to all who have offered feedback and suggestions! Hopefully this thread stays visible under new posts long enough to get some fresh intel on what’s new to this particular challenge. It seems the technology addressing this is a little behind, but as Jiffy has displayed, a little ingenuity here and there goes a long way.
Jiffy: Now that the forum is up and working again, please post (or PM) the Littman earpiece fix. I would love to try it. Thanks
Sorry everyone; I didn’t realize there had been responses to the thread. Here are two pictures of the stethoscope. It’s a regular electronic Littmann stethoscope, but the ear pieces were made in a 3D printer my husband has access to and then the soft parts that rest on the ear were taken from a regular headset. It has worked really well for me; the amplification from the electronic scope is loud enough that I can hear heart and lungs sounds pretty easily even in a noisy ER. I still get people commenting on how I have a different stethoscope, but usually my patients are really psyched b/c they think they’re getting the latest in technology (as opposed to thinking I am jamming out to music instead of listening to them, which happened quite frequently with the cardionics e-scope). 
If you like what you see and want more specifics for how to make them, I can get the 3D printer directions for you. I just found out how to properly subscribe to the thread, too, so I’ll respond much quicker next time.
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I am currently using widex 440 dream Fashion power and DM - FM . Found that using europlug FM give more power thand regular audio output with Starkey ST3 stethoscope.
I know that this is mostly an old thread but I thought I would post quickly as I am in the same boat as the OP. I need a stethescope as well and I was looking into buying the escope with headphones. However I recently switched from a CIC to the RIC with open fit domes (hoping they’ll work for my loss) and am now hopeful that maybe I could just use an amplified stethescope with these aids. However if I have to go to a closed fit RIC then I’m guessing my only option is to use the escope?
Anyone have any new suggestions?
Thanks!
I know this post is old but I’d love to have the 3D printer directions for these!
Hi Amy! Just saw this (I wasn’t on the forum for a long time)… do you still need 3D printer directions for this?