I just got brand new Phonak P90 hearing aids from the V.A. and the bluetooth works the opposite of what I expected. My previous B90s with the ComPilot would suppress the microphone when connected via bluetooth. That is the action I would expect. It was wonderful. Now note, the B90s did not do bluetooth. The ComPilot converted the bluetooth to telecoil input and telecoil input suppresses the microphone so one could, in the old days of telecoils, hear the phone and suppress the noise of the kids yelling in the background.
My new 2-day-old P0s don’t do that. The microphone input is a LOT louder when the bluetooth is active. Phonak was no help and would not even tell me if that was what is supposed to happen or not. When I called the VA, they said I would have to come in and see the audiologist to get an answer. Unfortunately, I will be out of town so I can’t see her until June 22nd. so I’m hoping to find if others are experiencing this issue. I need to decide whether to take the P90s or the backup B90s on my trip or even to return the P90s and ask them for a different type of hearing aid because the P90s don’t work as well.
When using the phone bluetooth or the TV one while also using a treadmill, I found the treadmill to be so loud as to partially drown out the sound from bluetooth. Moreover, if I turned off the bluetooth, the treadmill sound was significantly lower.
I then tried a test. I turned on bluetooth with my phone and played a song on it. I then started the treadmill and noticed the volume in my ears. Then I paused the song I was playing. The bluetooth remained active even though no sound was coming from the phone. That allowed me to more accurately pay attention to the treadmill which stayed just as loud. Then I stopped the song completely which caused the phone to disconnect and restore the microphone as the only input. It was lower in volume! Similarly, the TV did the same. That means the P90s are not only not suppressing microphone sound but enhancing it - an absolutely useless feature.
Now the question. Has anyone ever encountered this situation?