Assistive tech- when do you use it and which ones?

[Mary Beth]

Lots of discussions recently about using assistive tech to stream or hear in difficult situations.  
 

When do you use assistive tech and which tech do you use?

[Mary Beth]

@artkup

@Joan

@Nikki

@Lauren

@Darlene Mac

@John R

@Dennisjbr

 

Tagging a few members to get us started.  I hope a lot join in.

[Mary Beth]

In my daily life, the only tech I use is the Artone Max BT neckloop.  I use it to stream audiobooks and sometimes for hands free phone calls.

 

When I fly, and once in awhile on video calls, I use BOSE QC35 around the ear headphones.

 

If I had AudioStream BTLE Sonnet/Sonnet2 covers, I would use them daily.

[Eric in Tulsa]

I stream directly to my Phonak Paradise P70R from my iPhone. Incoming calls, YouTube videos, Roku, Prime Video. You name it, if I can get it on my iPhone, it streams to my aids. 
 

the P70’s connect direct to the iPhone via Bluetooth, so I don’t need an intermediate device.
 

I am extremely happy with my Phonak aids. More importantly, my wife is happy. 
 

The P70’s are a far cry from a cochlear implant, but they are better than where I was. 

Edited November 22, 2021 by Eric in Tulsa
I was wrong about being able to listen over the hearing aids and still play sound over the surround sound. Either that, or I can’t figure out how to make it work.

[Mary Beth]

I am very happy for you @Eric in Tulsa!  
 

Roku question…. To independently adjust audio volume are you streaming the audio from your phone while watching the show on the TV?

[Eric in Tulsa]

According to the release notes, yes. I just upgraded yesterday and have not tried it yet. 

[Mary Beth]

Report back on how that works please.  It’s a cool feature. @Eric in Tulsa

[artkup]

one month into being bimodal, on @Mary Beth 's excellent recommendation, I've been streaming via Artone Maxloop and the Artone TVB from my TV. A couple of times,  I have tried a to stream using the same setup to stream from my computer, by plugging the TVB into my computer's headphone jack but it didn't quite work.  It should have and i need to give it another effort, though haven't been motivated since I can hear fairly well from the acoustic computer speakers.  I also tried using the same setup once on a ClearCaptions "landline" phone plugging into the neckloop jack on that phone, but seem to have only received a signal in my left side hearing aid. (Yes, the Rondo remote had the input set to "T"!)  Not sure why this didn't work as expected.  Though honestly, I haven't focused that much on this yet, since I am trying to see how much I can hear in assorted circumstances without the use of streaming to see how my new bi-modal ears will work. My main issues seem to be figuring out the BlueTooth protocols on my assorted assisted listening devices mentioned above.

 

Also, I bought the accompanying Artone microphone, but haven't had the need/opportunity to give it a whirl. These were all purchased on Amazon, and with the generous return policy during the holiday season, I have until the end of January to decide which of the devices I bought from them I really will use.  I'm curious, I believe @Mary Beth has both the artone mic and some form(s) of Roger mics, in which situations would she use the Artone Mic over the Roger(s). I suspect I'll end up returning the Artone Mic and trying to find some Roger combo that will work better in noisy situations which I heretofore have avoided.

 

[Mary Beth]

@ats169 would you like to share your experiences with the Artone Mic with @artkup?

Here is Art’s question…

”I'm curious, I believe @Mary Beth has both the artone mic and some form(s) of Roger mics, in which situations would she use the Artone Mic over the Roger(s). I suspect I'll end up returning the Artone Mic and trying to find some Roger combo that will work better in noisy situations which I heretofore have avoided.”

[Joan]

Although I don’t need or use any assistive devices for “situations,” I love using my Artone Max3 neckloop for audiobooks and, occasionally, for hands free cellphone use. I also love the Artone TVB/neck loop combination for television. 
@artkup I have also paired my Artone Max3 neckloop directly to my computer (pc laptop) and it worked very well.

[artkup]

 

2 minutes ago, Joan said:

 I have also paired my Artone Max3 neckloop directly to my computer (pc laptop) and it worked very well.

I don't believe my desktop has BT.  I certainly could add another BT transmitter but hesitate to confuse my neckloop with too many connectivity options. So for the time being, I prefer to port my TVB-neckloop combo to my computer if I ever need that option.

[ats169]

15 minutes ago, Mary Beth said:

@ats169 would you like to share your experiences with the Artone Mic with @artkup?

Here is Art’s question…

”I'm curious, I believe @Mary Beth has both the artone mic and some form(s) of Roger mics, in which situations would she use the Artone Mic over the Roger(s). I suspect I'll end up returning the Artone Mic and trying to find some Roger combo that will work better in noisy situations which I heretofore have avoided.”

I use the mic religiously in yoga class, hiking, and the like. Without it i'm less inclined to go and be social. I adore the mic. I do have issues with connectivity, and usually do a reboot and reset of the mic and neckloop as part of prepping for hike or class. It's a bit of a PITA but well worth it. @artkup

I use it while driving too, if I have a passenger. one issue is EM interferences from the car itself, and some cars are worse than others. 

[Lauren]

Artone 3 Max Neckloop - used primarily for phone calls so I can have sound in both CI (left) and HA (right) ears. Have tried it with Sonnet 2 EAS and it works well for me; haven’t yet tried the telecoil adapter for Rondo 3 but will some day. Also have used it a few times for music but that’s a bit too advanced for me still so haven’t done much in that regard. Only negative I’d say is it’s just a streamer so when talking on the phone my voice isn’t picked up. Just something to get used to. 

AudioLink - use it daily with my Rondo 3. Use it for any/all streaming: TV, iPad, iPhone, etc. Can be tricky for new users to get set up for streaming, as you have to connect it to the processor first, then to your device via the device’s Bluetooth, then connect in the AudioKey 2 app, and then (for BT streaming) get the Audio2Ear app and toggle on the streaming button (only thing inside that app). Must do that for each device you want to stream from. To actually begin streaming, check BT connection, make sure it’s connected in AudioKey 2, then toggle on in Audio2Ear. For TV audio, have to use the provided connections or (if TV is older/different) get adapters. Just make sure that the base is plugged in correctly! Device itself does have quirks. Doesn’t always keep audio clear when moving around, and sometimes I’ll be streaming for 7+ hours and it’s fine, other times it’ll disconnect once while actively streaming. Haven’t found a cause. Picking it up out of the base and plugging it back in solves the issue and reconnects it when that happens. 

AudioStream - Only recently really started using it daily, but it’s great. As noted on a different thread, it does make rehab go a little better as the sound quality is slightly better than the regular battery sleeve when using the microphones. Streaming it’s amazing, no other words for it, short and sweet  

Things to be aware of:

1-It is chunkier on the ears than a regular battery sleeve, be mindful of this if you are like me and have small ears with glasses. Not a lot of real estate for it.

2-It will drain the batteries faster, so always plan around that. In that same vein, it’s a power hog so it can’t be used with off the ear wearing options for streaming, can only use it as a regular sleeve.  

3-Occasionally it can be tricky to connect or re-connect but that’s only happened to me twice so far and I was able to resolve it myself by poking at things. One of those instances was when changing batteries so something about that made it tricky to get going again (still resolved in less than 10 minutes, wasn’t watching a clock but it was quick to fix).

4-Needs to first be configured inside the AudioKey 2 app for whichever Sonnet (left or right) then connect in the Accessibility (not Bluetooth) settings of your phone/device. The app will walk you through configuration.

That’s it for me. Haven’t had a reason to need additional devices yet as I’m not even six months into this yet; only time will tell if I acquire additional devices. 

[Mary Beth]

@Lauren

thanks for sharing your tech experiences.

 

The Artone 3 MAX BT neckloop has a built on mic that picks up our voices for others to hear us.  Just clip it to your shirt when you make calls so your voice is picked up well.

[Mary Beth]

41 minutes ago, ats169 said:

I use the mic religiously in yoga class, hiking, and the like. Without it i'm less inclined to go and be social. I adore the mic. I do have issues with connectivity, and usually do a reboot and reset of the mic and neckloop as part of prepping for hike or class. It's a bit of a PITA but well worth it. @artkup

I use it while driving too, if I have a passenger. one issue is EM interferences from the car itself, and some cars are worse than others. 

@artkup ats169 uses her Artone Mic quite often.

[artkup]

2 hours ago, Mary Beth said:

@ats169 would you like to share your experiences with the Artone Mic with @artkup?

Here is Art’s question…

”I'm curious, I believe @Mary Beth has both the artone mic and some form(s) of Roger mics, in which situations would she use the Artone Mic over the Roger(s). I suspect I'll end up returning the Artone Mic and trying to find some Roger combo that will work better in noisy situations which I heretofore have avoided.”

I'm trying not to have too many redundant devices, mostly to save money.  I'm wondering, for someone who needs (and owns) a Roger mic setup for noisy situations like in restaurants, is there any additional benefit to also having the Artone microphone?

I seem to recall someone saying that the Roger mic battery lives isn't very long. Is this true

[Lauren]

3 minutes ago, Mary Beth said:

@Lauren

thanks for sharing your tech experiences.

 

The Artone 3 MAX BT neckloop has a built on mic that picks up our voices for others to hear us.  Just clip it to your shirt when you make calls so your voice is picked up well.

Sorry, worded that wrong. What I meant to say was that it picks up my voice for others fine but I can barely hear my own voice speaking due to the telecoil taking over the Sonnet 2 microphones for streaming. It picks up the phone call fine and no issue speaking, just can’t hear myself.

[Mary Beth]

@Lauren

oh I see.  Try setting the Sonnet 2 on MT for phone calls instead of T.  That will pick up your own voice so you can hear yourself.

I stay on T for audiobooks, MT for phone calls and one side on T/other side on MT when listening to audiobooks while on a walk.

[Eric in Tulsa]

2 hours ago, Mary Beth said:

Report back on how that works please.  It’s a cool feature. @Eric in Tulsa

Mary Beth, I’ve spent the last hour trying to figure it out and I can’t make it work. I can either listen to the Roku over my P70’s via the iPhone Roku app, or I can listen over the surround sound speakers. I asked my wife if I misread the release notes on the upgrade and she doesn’t think I did, but now I can’t find the release notes. 
 

I will keep trying, but in the meantime I have corrected my post. 

[Kylie]

As a SSD user I perhaps use my tech less often, as my best hearing in the general world of daily life is just my hearing ear + CI. It is more for convenience of rehab than necessity in the moment. But that's very important too 😊

BUT for rehab purposes, needing to isolate the CI side, I started with the artone which was great. Then I have 'upgraded' to the audio stream which I LOVE. I use this several times per week, usually for streaming podcasts or audiobooks or watching videos. This is inferior to my hearing ear for the same activities but by far the most enjoyable way to practise. Plus I listen to the same things with my hearing ear on other days so I have a good sense of what it 'should' sound like, which I find helpful in gauging progress.

The other item I use is my Bose over ear headphones, as recommended by users on this forum. This is the best focused listening for 2 ears together. I like them for video calls the best and sometimes audiobooks or music while I'm doing housework.

I especially love that neither of these tech options require me to use my fine tuner, so that's one less thing to fiddle with. It lives in my handbag but I haven't touched it for maybe a year! I don't find I need it for anything anymore.

[Mary Beth]

@Kylie

the simplicity of listening…. It’s terrific!

[Dianna]

Hi, i have used audio link the most for the 9 weeks ive been active. I have used it for direct link to my tv, laptop, phone. I streamed a ton of music the first few weeks, alternating with no tech. And i have used audio stream some.  Use audio link by cable, or audio stream without for phone to stream rehabbing or music. Generally when out of the house i just use sonnet 2 alone.  I have no ha on my unimplanted ear yet, when that happens i will stream thru my phone wireless!