Phonak Paradise with Roger On and Plantronics MDA220 UPDATE

Hearing Aids
#1

Hello

Today I started my trial with Phonak Paradise as well as Roger On. Several issues

  1. I use the Plantronics mda220 with the special dongle. SP…. Can’t remember the exact number. I connect to my office Cisco multi line phone.

  2. I tried to pair my HA with the MDA 220. It was unsuccessful. I found another Dongle called avent It worked.

  3. When connected to the office phone the app on my iPhone disconnects. The reason I want to use the app is to be able to mute my external mic on my aids so I don’t hear all the other conversations around me

Questions

Which dongle should I be using?

How can I mute my mic on my HA?

Can I use Roger on to connect to the MDA220? I need to be hands free

Any help is greatly appreciated

Regards
Scott Sattler Rph

UPDATE

ordered the EPOS ENTERPRISE BTD 800 and i was able to pair with my Phonak paradise with the PLANTRONICS MDA220

The only problem is that while on the call the hearing aid external mic does not mute
So im gett a lot of background noice which makes it very difficult to hear. The rep told me that the app should work but it does not

#2

Plug the Roger On iN into a headphone jack with the cable that came with it. That’s what I do.

Roger On iN doesn’t contain Bluetooth so won’t be able to connect to a Bluetooth dongle.

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#3

Long press down on the HA should mute the mics while connected via Bluetooth. (Roger On, TV-Connector, Dongle etc.)
This can be disabled in Target by your audi. If it doesn’t work he can enable it for you.

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#4

Hey
How do u talk with out picking up the handset

#5

I believe my voice is picked up from the laptop speakers. I have no idea, it just seems to work. My Roger is placed next to my laptop plugged into the headphone jack.

#6

Hey
I’m at work with my new PHONAK paradise
Trying to connect to my Cisco landline with Plantronics mda220 it won’t pair with SP271401 blue tooth dongle I can’t get it to pair

I having such a terrible time

I really need help

Thanks

#7

You might consider asking your employer to provide you a Cisco phone that includes Bluetooth - that might allow your Paradise aids to connect directly to the phone. I’ve got a Cisco 8851 VOIP phone at work - the Bluetooth in it works with my Oticon ConnectClip turning my Oticon OPN S 1 aids into a “headset” where the microphone is in the ConnectClip. You just need to ensure that your Paradise aids could connect to the Phone Bluetooth. My 8851 can be easily be connected/disconnected from Bluetooth devices using the keypad (setup button and number keys).

If that isn’t possible, you might try a different Bluetooth dongle. I read some time ago on a thread in this forum that Phonak recommended a Sennheiser BTD 800 dongle for those having trouble connecting to a computer. Oticon provided the same device with my ConnectClip for use with computers that wouldn’t work directly with the ConnectClip. I’ve used it with my iMac - I had choppy/intermittent audio without it and things work fine with the BTD 800 (I don’t need it with a MacBook Pro). It is now marketed by EPOS in the US and they provide firmware updates (some for Teams and other apps like Zoom) for the dongle. Updates need to be done in Windows. It comes in normal USB and USB-C versions.

The following is SPECULATION. Some Cisco phones have USB ports - I have NO idea if a bluetooth dongle know to work with your aids would allow connection as a headset to your existing Cisco phone. The BTD 800 I mentioned above is effectively an audio adapter that connects to a device like a computer using USB and then converts to Bluetooth to connect to a “headset”.

#8

Hey
So can my hearing aids connect to the mda220

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#9

A doc at support.poly.com lists only two USB adapters as compatible with the mda220 - the BT300 and BT600. I expect that really means they have only tested those two devices and haven’t run exhaustive tests with other devices to ensure compatibility. It doesn’t state who makes these but other web pages show it as Plantronics which I think is now poly. A BT600 is a USB device that connects to Bluetooth headsets. I don’t know if it would connect with your Paradise aids when plugged into the mda220 but it might. You need some USB dongle that is compatible with BOTH the mda220 and your aids.

Have you tried plugging the existing dongle now in your mda220 into a computer to see if the paradise aids can be paired and then connected to the computer via the dongle after turning off bluetooth in the computer? That would tell you if the existing dongle and aids are compatible. The dongle needs to provide compatible bluetooth (like 4.2 or 5.0) needed by the aids AND have the bluetooth profiles (and minimum versions) needed by your aids. That info isn’t always easy to find :frowning: In my case, Oticon does provide some information on their professional site - I don’t know about Phonak.

You might also have to clear any existing pairings in both the dongle and hearing aids to ensure that you haven’t run up against some limit. I know that there are limits to the number of devices that can be paired with my ConnectClip and your dongle and/or aids may also have limits on pairings and number of simultaneous connections. How to clear pairings and connect/disconnect depends on the device - time to find the appropriate documents and do some reading.

Good luck

#10

I also think the pairing procedue is the key.
I don’t have any experience with the mda 220. How do you initiate the pairing there?
The procede has to be started simultaniously on both side, the dongle and the HA. The HA stays in pairing mode for a couple of minutes after switched on.
Doing the pairing with the dongle on a PC might be a good alternative as @biggar mentioned.
Btw. The HA can be paired to max 8 devices. The oldest pairing will be discharged If you add one more.

#11

I don’t have experience with it either but reading the User Guide, it appears to be an audio switcher that connects a USB headset to either a computer or phone. It doesn’t have Bluetooth built-in but a Bluetooth Adapter can be plugged into the USB headset port in order to connect to supported Bluetooth headsets. The support doc I found lists only the BT300 and BT600 as compatible with the mda 220. So I agree that the key is to make sure the Bluetooth dongle now plugged into the USB headset port of the mda 220 (seen in the photo) pairs with the hearing aids AND works correctly with the mda 220. If the existing dongle worked with some Bluetooth headset, then the things to determine are whether the dongle will pair with and then connect to the Paradise aids and whether the dongle supports the Bluetooth profiles (and minimum versions) needed by the aids to operate as a “headset” for the phone and computer connected to the mda 220.

I see that the firmware in the mda 220 can be upgraded. The OP might check to ensure the mda 220 has any update available that might fix relevant bugs and maybe allow for a wider variety of USB Bluetooth adapters. Same thing applies to the firmware of the existing dongle. (Of course, newer firmware in either device may have new bugs :frowning:) In my case, the BTD 800 dongle has had a number of updates to allow for better integration with applications like Teams and different headsets.

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#12

I’m having a lot of difficulty connect my roger on with my desktop
I have all the parts

I really need help
Working and I’m getting yelled at

#13

I ordered the EPOS ENTERPRISE BTD 800 and i was able to pair with my Phonak paradise with the PLANTRONICS MDA220

The only problem is that while on the call the hearing aid external mic does not mute
So im gett a lot of background noice which makes it very difficult to hear. The rep told me that the app should work but it does not