I’m trying to decide between ITE (which I have now) or BTE for my next pair. I have two concerns about the BTE: a couple of friends have lost one and I wear glasses and am concerned about the fit.
Would love to hear of BTE wearers experience.
Thanks, Bruce
I’ve had BTE aid for over a year now with eyeglasses…no problem. I mountain bike with them, run with them and even ski with them… no problem. I even purchased them black to match my eyeglasses, hardly notice them. Hope this helped
I have 2 BTEs and started wearing reading glasses several years ago… graduated to full-time glasses 2 years ago. I’ve never had a fit or security issue with BTEs and glasses. The first pair of glasses I got I was unhappy with because the temple (the part that hooks behind the ear) was kind of thick and that coupled with the BTE tube made my ear stick out a little. I switched to a pair with thinner temples, and I’ve been fine ever since.
Don’t give it another thought Bruce. Many, if not most, BTE users also wear eyeglasses. It’s really not an issue at all. I prefer eyeglasses with a bit thinner ear-piece that slides under my BTEs easier, but I’ve never had eyeglasses that caused any major problems.
Newbie here. I was just told yesterday that I need hearing aids and have started the seemingly huge task of wading through a quagmire of hearing aid info. I have been wearing glasses since the third grade and was also concerned about the BTE hearing aid because I’m not interested in wearing my contacts full time. I’m also a motorcycle enthusiast and wonder how well the helmet and BTEs work together.
Welcome to our world and yes it is a quagmire at first. Find someone you trust and work well with as this is a long term relationship.
I have a litte experience with your last statement, with a little care your helmet goes on fine and there are no comfort issues from the aids. However the hearing experience on a motorcycle with aids was not pleasant for me, I will not be wearing them while I ride. I ride dirt so hearing conversation is not a huge concern. If you are riding street and communicate more perhaps the audi could set up a program for this situation.
Good luck.
OP…as the others have states BTE and glasses (and helmet), no problem.
A german company is doing glasses where the instruments are
inside them… I think it is call hannover or something like that
Hi
You can have a Receiver in canal aid fitted into a pair of spectacles. The spectacles only need to be 1 mm thick. Have a look at the link for more information.
http://www.spectaclehearingsystems.co.uk
I wear glasses and find that I have to position my glasses just right or they will rub on my hearing aids and produce an annoying scratching sound. I also ride a motorcycle. If I wear my hearing aids with the helmet, the helmet presses on the hearing aids making a very sore spot behind my ears. You could cut out some of the foam where the hearing aids go if you want to remove the pressure spot. I prefer not to hear all the amplified road noise though when I am riding.
Glasses are rarely a problem, helmets can definitely be, depending on your loss. If you are moderately vented or more, you may need to dedicate a program for helmet use or forgo wearing them altogether while riding.
I appreciate all the feedback on the eyeglass question…it helps a lot. I wonder if just happen to know the only two golfers who have lost a BTE aid. I have lost an ITE after taking it out for a phone call and forgetting it…it’s a terrible feeling.
Bruce
If you’re nervous about such a calamity, there are keepers sold that clip on the collar and loop to each BTE to prevent loss or even just falling to a hard surface. Sorry I don’t have a link at hand just now, but searching hearing aid keeper should get you started.
TerryB
Interesting…thanks Terry
Or since we’re talking about BTE with eyeglasses, eyeglass-wearers might want to pursue this option from the same website at low cost and not quite as nerdy a look:
http://www.adcohearing.com/product2639.html
I’m about to try a custom mold with the same retention goal at a higher price. Three times during my trial with Alera 7’s an aid dropped off my ear and only once did I realize it at the time… :eek: Those guys are so small that they just don’t sit tight on top of my ear, and I know it’s just a matter of time before I lose one out in the wild. The other reason for me wanting to try a custom mold is that the microphones, even with a large dome, tend to back out of my ear slightly every 10-20 minutes, to the point where the tube is clearly visible and the amplified sound begins to be affected.
Appreciate the link to the keepers…is there enough room behind one’s ear for the glasses, aids and keeper?
I have been surprised that no one has reported problems with lost BTEs…thanks for that feedback…I know very few people with BTEs and two had experienced losses???
It does seem clear, however, that the industry is going full-tilt to the BTEs?
Bruce
I wonder how they would look and feel as well, but I haven’t tried them.
A couple of other thoughts about them occurred to me after I posted. I think the user might need two of those loops, one for each ear. If you do need two because they’re short, one loop goes through the piece of the BTE HA in back of the ear and the other loop goes through the eyeglass arm. If they’re long, one loop goes through both pieces on the right ear, and the other loop goes through both pieces on the left ear, and the keeper runs behind the head. Looking at the image, my best guess is one keeper is needed for each aid, but I’m not sure.
The other thought is a good news/bad news thing. The good news is that using the keeper might sharply reduce the chances of forgetting to remove BTE HAs before getting them wet. It’s not unusual for people to get so used to BTE HAs that they climb into the shower or jump into the pool with their aids on and fry them. Most people, I think, do remember to take off their eyeglasses before getting their heads wet. The keeper would remind the thoughtful eyeglass remover but relatively new BTE HA wearer to take off the HAs.
The bad news is that until you get used to the loops, if you quickly jerk your eyeglasses off as to clean them or because something is in your eye, you’re going to jerk the HAs out as well and that may not be too cool. You probably only do that once…
Don’t think anybody mentioned
I’m on day two only with my new RITE Phonal Audeo Smart IXs with the only result of removing my glasses being some prickly noises from the hair brushing the mics. No movement of the equipment felt.
TerryB
I wear Oticon Epoq BTE with glasses full time. Other than minimally noticing “something there” at times, no problems. My partner just got his first pair of BTE (Oticon Agil Pro) and wears reading glasses only. He was concerned that he would knock them off taking glasses on and off, or catching the wire as he did so. After the provider did some customization on the wires, bending them to fit closer to his head, he hasn’t had any problems. We are both very active, working outdoors much of the time, often wearing ear protectors for noisy jobs such as mowing, so we both find we remove the aids when out working …no need to hear everything and the chance of losing an expensive device.