My 5-year old pair of Alta2 Pro Ti aids have failed and Oticon says they will not repair them because of their age. My audiologist is offering a significant discount on in-stock Opn S1 aids. I have an appointment in two weeks to buy a pair of these and get them fitted. I like some of the connectivity features of my current aids so well that I’m nervous the new aids don’t seem to support some of these features. I’m hoping someone can tell me what to expect with regards to the following points. My principle concern is connectivity, not the actual sound performance of the aids. I’m confident that will be OK. I use ear molds. I have mild to moderate, age (77) and noise related, high frequency hearing loss with tinnitus but my audiologist has never suggested programming the tinnitus feature in my current aids.
The in-stock aids that I plan on buying do not have rechargeable batteries. That is good because I did not want rechargeables.
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I currently connect to my iPhone and iPad via Bluetooth using an Oticon Streamer 1.3. I understand that the Opn S1 aids accept streams directly from Apple devices, so I am not expecting any issues here. Is that correct? I do wonder about battery life since the new aids will have to handle the Bluetooth power requirements that are now handled by my Streamer battery. Will battery life be much shorter with the OPN aids?
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I currently use the audio-in jack on the Streamer to connect my aids to the Fidelio system at our local movie theater. I also use that jack to connect to a small FM radio that I use at venues like race tracks and drive-in concerts, that broadcast a local FM signal to supplement their PA system. With Opn aids, how can I connect these kind of devices that only provide audio output via an analogue cord? I had planned to get aids with a T-Coil and then buy a neck loop. I think that would have solved the problem, but the in-sock aids the audiologist is discounting are not T-Coil compatible. How can I connect to these corded devices to my new aids?
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A new TV box comes with the audiologist’s discount offer. I’m told this will easily replace my current TV box and will work the same but without the need for a streamer between the TV box and my aids. Is this correct?
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I do not understand if I need to purchase a ConnectClip. I don’t think a ConectClip is required to place and receive calls using an iPhone. Is that correct? I bought a remote microphone clip with my Alta2 Pro aids but never found it of any use. But I’m always using my Streamer volume buttons to adjust the level of my current aids and to mute the aids’ microphones completely. It is extremely important to me that I be able to mute the microphones on my hearing aids while I am streaming audio from my iPhone, iPad or TV box. I’ve read in the ConnectClip online manual that a long press of the ConnectClip down volume button will mute the microphones. Does this mean that I have to buy a ConnectClip in order to get this functionality? Is there any other way to mute the microphones and adjust the volume? Can I mute the microphones using an iPhone App? I also wish Oticon had built the ConnectClip with an analogue audio-in jack like the Streamer has. It seems like it would have been such a simple thing to do.
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Is there any reason to consider having my audiologist program the tinnitus features? I understand it just plays masking sounds in the background and I’m not inclined to think that I’d like that. Just wondered what other tinnitus sufferers have done in this regard.
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Is there anything else I need to know or ask my audiologist about as I transition from Alta2 Pro to Opn S1?
Thanks.