Connecting Phonak Audeo Lumity L90s to Multi-line Landline

Hearing Aids
1

My husband is a first-time hearing aid user. He has Phonak Lumity L90-Rs. They have made a huge improvement to his ability to hear things like one-on-one conversations, his cell phone, and the TV.

The big problem is not being able to use the landline at work.

Background:
• Noisy environment - multiple colleagues and customers having loud conversations all around him, high ceilings and a hard-surface floor
• Multi-line corded office phone - the IT department has purchased a new Bluetooth phone for him, along with a Bluetooth dongle
• The new phone is a Yealink T43U IP phone - supports Bluetooth, WIFI, USB headset and more
• The phone is listed as HAC (Hearing Aid Compatible)
• The phone supports wired or wireless headset, USB headset and Bluetooth headset to place and answer calls.
• He has the MyPhonak app
• The programs currently showing in the app are:
○ Automatic
○ Restaurant - Base program, Speech in Noise
○ Music - Base program, Music
○ TV - Base program, Calm Situation
• On the landline, in the settings, under Bluetooth / Paired Devices, it shows the phone as being successfully paired to his Phonak Audeo Lumity hearing aids

The Problem:
• With the landline phone’s headset to his ear, no matter where he places it, the caller’s voice is so muffled that he can’t make out what they’re saying. In other words, he doesn’t think he’s receiving any sound from the landline into his hearing aids
• With the speakerphone on, the background conversations and noise are so loud that callers can’t hear him properly
• The audiologist admits she doesn’t know much about Bluetooth, so hasn’t been able to guide us here

Questions:
• Should other Phonak programs be enabled or prioritized? If yes, which ones would work best for him?
• Should he be using Bluetooth headphones with this landline instead of the headset?
• If yes, would he also need another adapter or connector?
• Is one of the Roger accessories what he really needs?
• If yes, which Rogers device(s)?

Yealink T4 U Series Landline User Guide:

https://support.yealink.com/forward2filesystem/attachment/upload/attachment/2021-5-25/3/1a476b40-ac0a-406a-aa52-26dc63531ff5/Yealink+T4U+Series+IP+Phones+User+Guide+V85.1.pdf

Phonak Audeo Lumity Features Page:

Many, many thanks for any suggestions you can give us.

Sheila

3

If the hearing-aids are connected through bluetooth, you would not use the handset or speakerphone. The incoming call should come straight to the hearing aids, answer it on the hearing aids, and his outgoing voice would be picked up by his hearing aid microphones (built into the hearing aids, not any additional microphones).

But, Phonak needs the Hands Free Protocol, and not just the Headset Protocol. So it is important to verify the type of Bluetooth phone protocol you have. You may have the correct option, just not enabled.

If none of that works you do have another option. You mentioned the phone has a headset port, where you would plug in a wired headset? You can use that to connect a wireless connection using a Plantronics MDA200. You would also need a Sennheiser BTD300 Bluetooth dongle, which you may already have.

I used that setup for several years with Resound and Phonak hearing aids. FYI, with the MDA200 setup, it is vital to get the exact, specific Plantronics cable for the exact make and model of your office phone. “Looks like it” or “same connectors” is not good enough. You must see your exact model in the cable description. There is actually more IT and phone knowledge about plug in headsets, and converting those to bluetooth or DECT, so your IT may already know how to use the MDA200.

Let us know how it goes.