I bought these hearing aids in 2018, so they are just over 6 years old. Both of them work perfectly for general sound, music and tv streamer mode. No issues.
Suddenly yesterday, my hearing aids beeped 4 chimes, very different from battery low etc. Both hearing aids still work in general listening mode. However, bluetooth no longer works and the button on the Left hearing aid no longer works to adjust volume or to change sound mode.
I suspect that the bluetooth not working to phone/tv streamer is because the hearing aid detects that there is a fault. When the left aid boots up, it connects to the phone via bluetooth, the chimes sound and then it immediately disconnects from the phone.
I did manage a couple of times, to get the hearing aid to connect to bluetooth and thus the tv streamer last night, just rebooting the aids, cleaning them, but it appears to be very intermittent. The left button does not work at all anymore.
I assume the bluetooth symptom is a red herring and is simply being disabled becaue the left hearing aid detects a fault - presumably the left button not working?
Can anyone advise whether they have had this issue, whether the hearing aid is worth repairing - it works perfectly for normal listening mode. I am aware that being 6 years old, Oticon might say they won’t repair it due to age. Is the problem most likely a hardware fault or just moisture/dirt somewhere?
I have not tried anything like hair dryer as I didn’t want to risk doing more damage without knowing what the problem is.
I have a Samsung Android phone. The issue is definitely not with the phone or the tv streamer as both devices are affected and there have been no updates to phone, Oticon app or the streamer itself. The bluetooth works perfectly if only the right hearing aid is switched on. It’s only when the left aid comes online, that bluetooth stops working for both aids.
Even when all I do is switch on the hearing aids - and don’t connect to anything, I get the 4 chimes after the left hearing aid has fully powered up. The problem is definitely an issue with the left hearing aid - not the phone, streamer or anything else.
I had the dreaded 8 beeps (on my left HA only) a few days ago and it was down to moisture. The beeps was so quick it was hard to count but it was definitely different to normal beeps and my Bluetooth stopped working as well.
No, I don’t have 8 beeps and it is not consecutive as in 4 X 4. It is 4 beeps in left hearing aid - sort of like a shutdown beep and 4 beeps in the right hear. It doesn’t repeat or anything like that.
I will put the hearing aids in a box with rice and see if that works.
Hearing Aid dryers are very different from hair dryers. They are meant to get as much moisture out of a hearing aid as they can. I don’t have any personal stories with them, but there are many stories of a dryer fixing problems.
There are different kinds. Since you have rechargeable HAs look for ones that don’t use heat. There are dryers that use a substance to suck the water out and there are dryers with mechanisms to do it. Some even tell you precisely how much water they removed.
It is looking like the problem may be moisture. When I put my hearing aids on this morning, it was working perfectly. No beeps, and it connected to bluetooth without any issues.
In addition, my car this morning had quite a lot of condensation on the front window. Worse than I ever had in the past. It has been particularly cold the last few days and I believe quite humid as well. So, that does lend credence that the problem with the aids is most likely moisture.
I will keep it in bowl or rice for a couple more days to remove any further moisture.
I will see if I can buy a hearing aid dryer box. Just for reference, I don’t have rechargeable. I use disposable batteries.
I am pleased to report, that touch wood, my hearing aids are working perfectly again. It would appear that moisture was the problem after all! I will look into getting a hearing aid dryer box - although I have never needed on in all the years that I have worn a hearing aid! But, it’s worth getting anywhere as moisture is never good for electronics.
I will have to think about whether I should get new hearing aids this year as they will be seven in July or whether I should wait another year? I generally find 8 years a good sweet spot for electronics if you look after things carefully - but then having said that, my dvd player is 15 years old and still works perfectly!
But, everyone keeps saying that the technology of hearing aids really improves in the space of 5 years such that you can hear a noticeable difference between say the Oticon Opn1 (which I have) and the Oticon Intent - which I believe is the latest model. But, I don’t really know!