I am a physician. Need device to transmit heart and lung sounds to HA by bluetooth.
Too much trouble to remove HA every time to listen. Have amplified stethoscope
Seems I remember a few members doing something with stethoscopes to hear better with aids. Not sure if it was Bluetooth though.
Have you searched for answers?
@focusandearnit is a doctor and @MDB is a nurse, there are others, just don’t remember who. Maybe someone will give you some help.
Sorry. No help here.
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Here is a search link that seems to show solutions.
https://forum.hearingtracker.com/search?expanded=true&q=stethoscop
One of those has this link, that has more options.
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Thinking about this, I think is more complicated than it sounds. There might be solutions that I’m unaware of, but work arounds that come to mind to me would be to wear one hearing aid and use one ear piece in the amplified stethoscope or try one of new fangled electronic ones that give a graphic readout on a smartphone (poor man’s doppler?) I saw one stethoscope that was meant to be used with headphones, but it was for wired headphones. Perhaps that with over the ear headphones that cover the hearing aids?
Great resource. Didn’t read carefully, but it seems like there are no bluetooth solutions that would work with hearing aids. Hope I’m wrong.
I read through many of those quickly, nothing obvious for bluetooth stethoscope to hearing aids. I also know nothing about stethoscopes with hearing loss, just hoping with all those threads there is a solution there,
My friend uses a stethoscope with direct input leads. She’s a children’s nurse.
Check out AMPHL on Facebook. Medical community with hearing loss. This gets covered frequently. I’m in ENT and dodged the bullet of stethoscope use, but when I needed it I had ReSound hearing aids and used a ThinkLabs One stethoscope that plugged into the 3.5mm audio jack on a multi mic which streamed the sound to my aids. A little clunky but it did the job without having to take aids out. AMPHL may have a better solution.
Edit - although I don’t wear a stethoscope, I do still have to wear something. This archaic thing still gets used!
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Would an ECHO Core digital stethoscope work for you? It is Bluetooth to your phone I think.
https://www.medgadget.com/2019/11/eko-releases-new-core-digital-stethoscope-offerings.html
@psocoptera is a health care worker. I think she might have started a stethoscope thread a while back.
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Thinklabs One is purported to have the best stethoscope for hearing impaired users. Take a look at their website and read reviews. It’s a while since I researched this but they had the best amplification and you could download a recording and visualize what you are hearing also. Would have a learning curve. Their website made suggestions based on your specific requirements. I have good low frequency hearing so have not had to move to an amplified stethoscope as yet - biological sounds are mostly in the lower frequencies.
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Does your stethoscope have an audio output? If so, you can use a BT transmitter. There are quite a few threads discussing BT transmitters. (I have a Bluetooth 5.0 Transmitter/Receiver, TaoTronics 2-in-1 Wireless 3.5mm Audio Adapter (aptX Low Latency, 2 Devices Simultaneously, for TV/Home Sound System) that I use on airplanes. There are others.) As long as your HAs support BT and your stethoscope has an audio output, this should be no problem.
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If it has audio out you could also use a “tv connector”. At least some use a proprietary setup that has low latency and leaves bluetooth available for other features like phone.
Just two options I’m considering myself.
Phonak:
Kirkland Signature is out, no streamer compatibility as far as I know. Oticon is also out, since the latest version of their streamer, ConnectClip, is missing a 3.5mm jack.
The ks9 “tv connector” $100 does have an audio in jack. It would need a rechargeable usb battery.
Oticon now has an EduMic that is similar to a ConnectClip in size but it appears to be aimed at educators working with kids with (Oticon pediatric) hearing aids. It has an audio input but I don’t know if it works with a normal Oticon OPN or OPN S HA:
Another, somewhat unwieldy, solution for Oticon might be the TV Adapter 3 with a USB battery source. The adapter streams directly to the aids and has line input (RCA), 3.5 mm stereo jack, and TOSLINK optical fiber inputs. Some people use the TV Adapter 3 with a computer to relay sounds directly to the Oticon aids without having to use a ConnectClip as an intermediary device with a bluetooth computer.
Thanks for the updates. Good to know. Now wondering if the much lower cost of the KS9 compared to the other options outweighs the hassle of carrying around a power bank. Will also ask Oticon re compatibility of EduMic with Opn and will update here.
“Power bank” can probably be smaller than you think. Depending how often you use it of course.
Oticon Consumer Support
9:42 AM (4 hours ago)
to meHello,
The Edumic is typically used for children in a classroom setting; however, you can test it to see if it will work for your intended purposes. Oticon does not recommend this as an option because the frequencies of heart sounds are too low to be picked up using this method. I hope this helps.
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Have a wonderful day!