With failing hearing, I can no longer hear the conversations around the dining restaurant table. I have the Resound Forte, and it works great with one Mini-mic…but it’s only good to hear one person. Resound says you can only have one mini-mic, no multiples. Tried the Roger’s pen setup with the pen and 3 mics. The sound is so low, cannot hear the voices – bumped up the volume on MyLink and my own hearing aids. Still not good enough to hear conversations. Anything else out there?
Not sure if you are interested in changing brands but I got the Costco KS8.0 a few weeks ago, which I am liking. The Bluetooth phone device, the Smart Mic, is also a microphone device, and it is loud. I have tried with my wife talking and also with a TV. Another thing about the KS8.0 hearing aids themselves is you can adjust the microphone pattern, and it is represented in the app like a cone of sound. It reduces sound that is outside the cone you have set. It really works. There are other options. There is a listening environment called Group Conversation, or you can set the microphone pattern to 360 so it does not reduce sound based on where it is coming from. Different options for different situations.
So does this mean you can put your phone in the middle of the table, and it will act as a remote microphone?
The KS8.0 from Costco sounds like a great value for the money with lots of adjustments as Don described.
If money is not a big issue with you, another option is the Oticon OPN line of premium hearing aids. Its “open” paradigm allows you to hear everything 360 degrees around you clearly, yet still gives you the speech clarity in noise that you need. It will probably work well for hearing multiple conversations at a restaurant table like what you’re looking for.
It has an optional accessory called the ConnectClip that acts mainly as a Bluetooth streamer for Android and non-iOS devices. But the ConnectClip also has a remote mic functionality so that you can place it near somebody (even far away like a lecturer in a classroom) to pick up their voice better.
The Smart Mic is the Mic, not the phone.
I’d say keep trying different brands and models of hearing aids. You might be surprised to find that one model is far better (for you) than another. It seems to me that hearing is such an important thing in someone’s life that you should keep trying until you find the best option for yourself. Good luck.
With respect, I believe they are Rexton (i.e. Siemens/Signia).
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You are indeed correct. My apologies. I deleted the post so as not to mislead.
I’m still trying to figure this out… Is the Smart Mic a microphone that you plug into the iPhone (like the one at the link below), and then you put the iPhone – with the microphone plugged into it – in the middle of the table (or, say, on a lectern)? This would be a huge selling point for me, if so.
Thank you!
Thank you all for taking the time to respond. It seems I wasn’t clear in my question.
I have a Resound Mini-Mic for my Resound Forte. It is excellent for talking in the car with my wife, or talking across a “quiet” table in a restaurant with one person. Placing the mic horizontal on the table yields little sound. If you add three other people to the restaurant conversation, it is useless! You absolutely cannot hear the people across the table. You cannot add additional mics for each of the other people – the system will not allow it. Resound uses streaming.
I also have a Phonak Pen system: pen, MyLink, and 3 mics. Uses telecoil. You can place the Roger’s pen horizontal on the table, omni-directional, and the sound response is minimal. I have boosted the sound on the MyLink, have my Resound HA on max, but the volume response on the mics, is also minimal – half the sound of the Resound mic. If it’s noisy, the mics are also useless.
So, the problem is basically 4 people conversing in a noisy restaurant equals: “I can’t hear anybody!” And I have to shake my head like an idiot faking understanding.
Is there anything out there that will work?
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In microphone mode, the Smart Mic microphone picks up environmental sounds and transmits it directly to the hearing aids. You could either clip it to a person speaking, or place it in the middle of a group, and it will transmit up to 60 feet to the hearing aids. I haven’t tested the range. Smartphones are not involved in microphone mode.
In microphone mode the Smart Mic would be like the Resound Mini Mic.
In regular Bluetooth mode the Smart Mic is like the Resound Phone Clip+.
Well, four people conversing in a loud restaurant is difficult for most normal hearing people, and difficult for all hearing impaired. If it is a general roar then the noise program might be able to lower the background roar. If it is other tables close by all talking at once, then your hearing aids cannot tell which speech you want to listen to. Your pro may be able to set up a noise program for you, for extreme conditions.
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dward- You said you had the Resound Mini Mic. There is also the Resound Multi Mic. What follows is from the Resound website:
“A smart and flexible hearing aid microphone
The Resound Multi Mic hearing aid microphone offers a small, flexible solution to let you hear up to 80 feet away* without having to wear an extra device around your neck.
Place the ReSound Multi Mic horizontally on a level surface, such as the table, and it automatically switches to a mode optimized to pick up the voices of multiple speakers.”
I do not own one so I cannot vouch for its effectiveness.
Also, it woluld be worth giving the “hear everyone” option within the restaurant program a try if you haven’t already.
Hi Don, I’m jumping in because I have exactly the same problem that dward brought up: Hearing several people when at dinner. I am hoping there is an electronic solution to the problem which I think dward is asking for. With regard to your response, I went to the Costco web site and can find nothing about a Smart Mic. Do you have a link to it? Or more information? Thanks!
I am a Resound Linx 3D user. I have the Multi-Mic. Here is where the multi-mic may be effective. Get a euro pin style receiver for the Phonak FM. Plug the receiver into the multi-mic. Now the FM system is coming to you another way. Telecoil can sometimes have kind of a low volume…which is kind of funny if you think about it. The multi-mic can use its onboard microphone for conversation augmentation, it has built in telecoil, it has 3.5mm input, and has the euro plug receptacle for a fm receiver. It is REALLY helping me at work. I have my 2-Way radio plugged into it. I can actually understand a good bit of what is going on now.
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The Smart Mic is the Rexton/Costco bluetooth phone device that also has a microphone mode. I don’t see it on Costco or Rexton. It is the same as the Signia Streamline Mic device, here:
Thank you, Don for the information!
To add to this, I was kind of an afterthought. Nobody called me to help them. Now, I have started getting calls since people are realizing that I am listening.
I agree. The KS8 is a Rexton.
New to the forum so I hope this gets attached to the right thread.
I also enjoy the smart mic. To use it as a remote ‘ear’ you simply switch it into transmit mode, set it near the sound source and then walk away. You will hear the sound in your aids from the other end of your house. Very nice. However, my smart mic keeps jacking up the volume to max and hurting my ears. Wondering if there is a way to stop it from doing that?