Do the receivers get "blown" like a speaker does?

Hearing Aids
1

My left aid kinda rattles like a blown stereo speaker when I get stuff streamed form my phone. Speech sounds mostly…like talking on the phone. I never hear it otherwise…just streaming.

It did it a while back but when I asked the audiologist at one of my visits she turned the "volume"down a bit and it more or less took care of it. After my most recent visit when she ramped up the volumes to my full prescription it came back.

If I manually turn down the volume, it helps…but I need the volume up I think for proper levels.

So
It just sounds like the speaker is blown.

What do you think?

2

Yes…

receivers go bad just like stereo speakers do. Streaming will highlight the failure because it has a broader frequency range than microphones do.

2 Likes
3

Standard failures occur at the weld from the reed/armature to the back of the diaphragm via the (usually copper) drive rod. This results in the response ‘chattering’ especially at higher output levels.

Replacement is the only option.

4 Likes
4

Yes, absolutely. I have had three blow outs on Widex-Super Powers.

1 Like
5

thanks, I’ll have to discuss with my audiologist then.

I’ve been paying a bit more attention to it lately since starting this post… I still don’t totally recognize a rhyme or reason to it. Odd. Just now I was streaming a Dr Cliff youtube video about hearing aid repair, and felt sure that I should have been hearing the rattle… voice and the volume was up pretty loud… no rattle. Kinda seems like my issue is almost always with phone streaming and not other stuff… Seems like a blown speaker would be across the board.

I’m going to have to figure out how to replicate the issue on command so that I can get the audiologist a way to test solutions.

6

late update but better than none at all…
she replaced the receiver…but she also changed some setting at the same time. sadly I can’t recall now exactly what she called it. Something about over-amping or clipping the sound…
anyway, it fixed it…but I’m not sure which fix did it. Probably the setting.

7

Not an expert on BA receivers but… damaged loudspeakers can be awful sneaky. Sometimes only specific tones, or combinations of tones, or level, will excite the rattle.

The final check in a speaker factory runs sweeps of frequency and level.

Once, very very occasionally, I heard crickets in the room. Only when playing music. Eventually I figured out I had a speaker with a “wrinkled” surround and a certain mid-bass note would crinkle it, a high-pitch “cricket”.