Krista Posted June 12, 2020 Report Share Posted June 12, 2020 Hello I am new to Hear Peers and have a 15 year old son with bilateral CIs. He’s been implanted for over 10 years. We upgraded his processors from Opus 2s to Sonnet 1 about three years ago. I was wondering if anyone has experienced a “scratchy” noise while using the AudioLink? He uses Roger system by Phonak during the school year, so we decided to purchase the AudioLink to stream through his phone etc...for summer. He’s complaining about scratchy noises while streaming. We downloaded the A2DPblocker app to go completely wireless and still he’s experiencing the scratchy noises. He hates it. I’ve contacted our audiologist but wanted to know if anyone here has experienced this and if you’ve found a solution? Not sure if he needs a special MAP to use AudioLink. We’ve done all suggested troubleshooting so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Mary Beth Posted June 12, 2020 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted June 12, 2020 @Krista Welcome to HearPeers. I have the AudioLink as well. I experience the same problems your son is reporting. Poor sound quality and connectivity issues. I have friends who also have the same experience with AudioLink. Med-El replaced my AudioLink because I thought it must be defective. The new replacement AudioLink has the same problems. I do not know a fix for this. I am using the Artone 3 MAX BT neckloop to stream all audio from my phone to my processors on MT or T setting. It works great for me. It is available on Amazon for $129. By far, this BT neckloop delivers the best audio to my processors. I learned about it from Med-El. In other countries it is included in processor kits. There are a lot of people in HPs who also use it. Wishing your son the best. Link to info on Artone 3 MAX http://www.handsonhearing.com/user-review-on-artone-3-max-bluetooth-neckloop/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krista Posted June 12, 2020 Author Report Share Posted June 12, 2020 5 minutes ago, Mary Beth said: @Krista Welcome to HearPeers. I have the AudioLink as well. I experience the same problems your son is reporting. Poor sound quality and connectivity issues. I have friends who also have the same experience with AudioLink. Med-El replaced my AudioLink because I thought it must be defective. The new replacement AudioLink has the same problems. I do not know a fix for this. I am using the Artone 3 MAX BT neckloop to stream all audio from my phone to my processors on MT or T setting. It works great for me. It is available on Amazon for $129. By far, this BT neckloop delivers the best audio to my processors. I learned about it from Med-El. In other countries it is included in processor kits. There are a lot of people in HPs who also use it. Wishing your son the best. Thanks for the info Mary Beth!!! Just wondering if Medel reimbursed you then? I'm a bit disappointed with this. Also, does the neck loop have to be worn around the neck? My son will never wear a neck loop. He would rather go without than stand out even more than he already does lol. He's more of a "load up your pockets" kinda guy, also it's more for him to have to care for. The AudioLink seemed so perfect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Mary Beth Posted June 12, 2020 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted June 12, 2020 @Krista I understand your son. I am a Teacher of the Deaf and I work with many teens with cochlear implants. Finding the right tech is very individual. This neckloop is very tiny and easily worn under a shirt. Some CI users prefer to use around the ear BT headphones. Many of their hearing friends use headphones so they blend in. My favorite around the ear BT headphones is BOSE QC35. Great sound. Awesome bass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes polyesternapkinstowaway Posted August 8, 2020 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted August 8, 2020 So I took the AudioLink with me on my morning walk today and it was completely useless unfortunately. I first tried with it in my pocket connecting with my phone to stream a free audiobook (Dracula, since I'm familiar). It couldn't maintain a connection to the CI. I then tried with it clipped to the neckline of my shirt and my phone in the pocket where the AudioLink had been. Still couldn't maintain a connection. The only way I could get it to work was to hold them both in the same hand up at the level of my ear, which isn't particularly practical when one is out exercising. It's clear to me based on the power output I found and posted in a different thread that the design is relying heavily upon multipath effects, which works great indoors. I can stream just fine in my home office with the AudioLink in its dock plugged into my desktop, or lying on our bed with the AudioLink on my nightstand streaming from my phone. But outdoors there's nothing to bounce signal off of, so you only have the very weak line of sight path which isn't enough. I do have an Artone 3 Max, it's in it's box still as I was waiting to get the telecoil in my hearing aid turned on at my next follow-up, but I think that I will just get it charged up and see how it does tomorrow morning by comparison. Krista and Mary Beth 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Mary Beth Posted August 8, 2020 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted August 8, 2020 @phobos512 Yup. Many people are reporting the same limitation with AudioLink. It definitely needs to be close to the processor. And in some situations, clipped on a shirt under our chin still loses connection to one of two bilateral processors. Single sided users are clipping it on the side of their CI. That is not helpful for bilateral CI users. The AudioLink’s heavy dependence on line of sight is similar to Roger. Both lose signals very quickly when line of sight is lost, even indoors with bouncing signals. The Artone BT neckloop does not have that problem. I can listen to an audiobook on my phone while the phone is in our living room and I move between rooms, go upstairs, go downstairs and even go out onto our patio. So much better signal integrity. I will be curious to read your review after you try it. It will be a great match for being bimodal. This is why I am very curious about Rondo 3 and its telecoil adapter since it does not have a built in telecoil. I stream audio often and my favorite device is the Artone. Of course, I am hopeful Med-El will release updates to the AudioLink so it works better. And I REALLY hope Med-El releases a direct to processor streaming solution before too long. polyesternapkinstowaway 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krista Posted August 10, 2020 Author Report Share Posted August 10, 2020 So my son does not complain about a loss of connection to either of his processors with the AudioLink. He reports that he hears whatever he's streaming but with scratching noises still. We went to see our audiologist in St Louis, MO and she created a separate program to use only with the AudioLink (decreased all levels of sensitivity and we turned down sensitivity on the AudioLink as well) It worked!! No scratching noises. My son used it for 10 hours straight on the drive home (to Canada). He was beyond excited. He did have the AudioLink clipped to his seatbelt strap for the drive. I didn't think to ask him about any loss of signal bc he was beyond happy it was working (w/o scratching noises).....2 days later when we were already home, the scratching noises came back. We've been in touch with our audi in Stl and she has several ideas on how to fix the issue, but unfortunately we can not get back to her bc we will have to self isolate for another 14 days again since the Canadian borders are so strict with quarantine still. My audi contacted the regional manager for Medel Canada and we were told to book an appointment with our audi in Canada, but they aren't taking appointments at this time due to covid-19. It sucks. We were so close. We are waiting to see if they will lift border restrictions soon, but good news is the regional managers are working closely with the engineers in Austria to troubleshoot this issue. I just wanted everyone to know that we aren't giving up with the AudioLink and anyone not enjoying it to work closely with your audiologist bc there is a lot they can do for you to use it properly. It was designed by Medel so it does work. Everyone is different. So are our programs. The same goes for the AudioLink. As for the loss of connection, I would communicate this information with your audi. There are solutions. The engineers need to know users are having issues. Good luck and I appreciate the feedback as I will be asking my son about any issues with connection. Krista polyesternapkinstowaway 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Mary Beth Posted August 10, 2020 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted August 10, 2020 @Krista That is encouraging. I hope Med-El addresses the static/scratching noises with an update to the AudioLink so that we do not need to use a specially created program in order to hear well with the AudioLink. In the meantime, I hope Med-El shares info on these special program setting changes with our clinical audiologists. Fingers crossed. Sorry the problem came back for your son. polyesternapkinstowaway and KimPossible 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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