Oticon Epoc and Bluetooth

Hearing Aids
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#1

I am new to this forum. I want to share my recent experiences with the Epoc and the Streamer.

I have had great difficulty using my cellular phone and my house phone because of my hearing loss. I hoped that using Bluetooth devices will help me. It does.

I can hear the caller on my cell phone clearly in both ears now because of the Streamer which communicates with the two Epoc BTE hearing aids. The Streamer communicates without wires with my Samsung Bluetooth cell phone. I do not have to hold the phone while driving which is a good thing.

I purchased a V-Tech LS5145 house phone because it has Bluetooth capability. It can work with cell phones and Bluetooth headsets. I hoped that it would work with the Streamer too. It does. For the first time in many years I can have a telephone conversation with somebody and not have to ask them to speak more clearly and slowly. In my case this technology is a marvelous thing. I no longer ignore the phone when it rings.

#2

Yes, the bluetooth capabilities can be a great thing for many users. Glad you are doing well with them, as many others have benefitted.

#3

its a good product…
it would be interesting to see if oticon will come up with a similar product at a more reasonable cost

#4

Phonak’s BlueTooth product is supposed to be available at the end of Feb. It seems like it will be a good product with some pretty cool features. Pricewise, it looks to be slightly more affordable than the Epoch, but not a huge difference. The disadvantage is that the hearing aids will require a non-standard battery (called a gen-X 13).

For now, hearing aids with bluetooth capatibility are still having to use a streamer (or some similar external device). The miniaturization of the bluetooth receivers and transmitters is the issue. That’s why the bluetooth earpieces everyone uses with their cellphones are still much bigger than a standard BTE hearing aid.

#5

I would bet some money that
oticon will introduce a cheaper version of the epoq at the AAA…

I would bet money on it…

#6

Hey guys. Just found the forum today (haven’t really looked before lol) but I’ve had a severe hearing loss since I was 9 (18 now) and it has continually gotten worse. Previously, I wore Syncro CICs, but now my audiologist feels I am out of the range of CICs and that I need to go with a more powerful model.

On monday, we ordered the Epoqs. Although I am somewhat dissappointed that I will have to wear a behind the ear hearing aid, I pretty excited about the capabilities.

I just have a few questions about the streamer. I’ve read conflicting information regarding the use of iPods. If i plug my ipod directly into the streamer (with the cable because it doesn’t have bluetooth) will it work? I read somewhere you need to DL a bluetooth update for it (or is this just if you want it to work without the cable?)

Also, I wouldn’t really feel comfortable with the streamer around my neck. If I was listening to music with my ipod hooked up to the streamer with the cable would I be able to put the streamer in my pants pocket? Or would that be too far?

Thanks in advance. :wink:

#7

You can connect the ipod using an audio cable
but it would create more and more cables.
Alternative, jabra sells an adapter which plugs under the ipod
so that you can listen your music cable free…

I have always dislike the syncro the sound is to aggresive, so you will find
a significant improvement with the epoq…

#8

Ok, thanks a lot. Any idea if I would be able to use to streamer with it in my pocket though? Or is that too far?

#9

I have these (steel gray and black BTEs) and I listen to music/audiobooks on my computer at work. I tried taking off the streamer and the second the cord is off my neck it starts to cut out. It won’t even work if the cord is not wrapped around your neck. I think it must have some kind of antenna in it or something. It came with a clip but that didn’t work for me at all.
Music sounds pretty good with these. There’s a lot of treble and very little (if no) base but I really like not having to take out my HA’s to listen to headphones.
I plug the streamer into my MP3 player and then put the MP3 player in my pocket. Most people just think the Streamer is the MP3 player. Sometimes if I have a zip up jacket on I just put the streamer under the jacket so no one can see it. It’s really not many cables at all. I don’t think you need any updates if you use the cable. It basically just works like headphones using the headphone jack. I have a generic MP3 player and I didn’t have to do anything special, I just plugged it in and hit the “music” button. Super easy.
I tried buying a Bluetooth USB adapter for my Mac at work so I didn’t need the cable, but it wouldn’t pair. They are buying me an internal mechanism so hopefully that will work. I’ll let you know as soon as IT has time to install it.
Hope this helps.

#10

the belt clip is used when you the streamer as a remote control

#11

Thanks for the reply, even though it’s pretty dissappointing lol

One more question. When your listening to music, does the hearing aid shut off and just play the music or can you hear through them as well?

#12

you can always hear the sorrounds as well

#13

Awesome. Thanks for all the help.

#14

also, the streamer can be have multiple the signal to the level of the outside microphone adjusted … so you can hear more or less background noise while on the cell phone…

#15

Well, the hearing aids came in and I went to get them on Monday. Unfortunately, because of the pretty significant bend in my ear canal, the micro molds didnt work. The reciever was pushed up agaisnt the wall of my ear canal making it impossible to hear anythign. At first we couldnt figure out what was wrong. The software on the computer was showing a graph that showed the hearing aids were meeting my hearing loss perfectly, but I just couldn’t hear.

So now, we are having new molds made of a softer material and with the bend in it so I can get the reciever facing my ear drum and not the wall of my ear. I get them back on the 25th. :mad:

#16

the first thing you do before fitting something with a micromold is check that the customer has a straight canal of at lest 6-7mm
if not a micromold is out of the question

#17

“One more question. When your listening to music, does the hearing aid shut off and just play the music or can you hear through them as well?”

Actually I’m pretty sure they can set it so you can just listen to music and not hear any outside sound or set it so you can hear outside sound and the music. I was there when my audi programmed mine because I had to move my appointment up and she didn’t have a chance to program them before I got there.

I have mine set so I can’t hear anything but the music when it’s in “music” mode. Sometimes I like this because the music sounds good and there are no distracting noises (and I can keep the volume really low to preserve the hearing I have left), but sometimes it’s annoying because people will be trying to get my attention and I don’t know it. Plus it takes a good 3-5 seconds to switch over so I usually have to have them repeat their first couple of sentences because they don’t realize that after I push the button it’s not an immediate transition. I might see if we can play with it at my next appointment.

I would suggest you bring your MP3 player to your next fitting because you should be able to plug it into your streamer and test it out so you can decide what you prefer.

#18

are you talking about music program with the streamer right?

cause if U use the music program with otu the streamer this shouldnt be a problem

#19

Yep, with the streamer.

#20

Hi - I am also considering the new Epocs - there will be a revision in a couple of weeks so I am just biding my time…

John