Resound Linx

Hi,
I am new to forum and have had resound linx for a week. All is well except the native app (the three taps on home key) will not adjust volume for left aid–ok for right. The resound app works for both ears. My audiologist talked to Resound tech and they said it was an apple problem. Any thoughts?

Gee - Resound says its Apples problem and Apple says its Resound problem. And a good majority of audiologists are not trained to know who’s problem it is should there be a breakdowns between HA’s and Apple iPhone. These kind of problems will increase over time as more HA users find out that a marriage between HA’s and iPhone won’t necessarily be honeymoon. But what the heck - when you pay $7000 - $8000 for two hearing aids you just have to accept that things won’t always work like they should. Of course Resound and Apple are laughing all the way to the bank realizing they can charge HA users extremely high payment fees and yet blame each other when a Resound HA doesn’t work as promised. It will be a year or two before all the bugs are worked out between HA manufacturers and Apple and over that time a lot of folks will be upset thinking they bought into a new hearing aid concept/technology, but in reality they bought it some major headaches.

I entered into this journey knowing that I was going to be a beta tester not only for my audiologist but for the Apple/HA partnership. I have been using the Linx for some time now and for the most part it has been a welcome change from my Verso 7’s. However over the past 2 weeks I have see a significant degradation in the voice quality when audio is streamed into the HA’s. The calls start out ok but then significantly degrade and sound very robotic and electronic in nature until the voices drop all together and I miss significant information. I agree, not the intent of why I purchased these initially. I have a very good rapport with the audiologist and they put me in contact with a representative at Resound and the partnership has been nothing but superb. The representative walked me through a step by step process to troubleshoot the problem as well as guide me through the proper way to pair the devices to the iphone as I found out there is a significant time that needs to be allotted to a transfer of information to the iphone from the HA. All in all the customer experience was fantastic. The problem was 90% resolved with the repairing but to be safe the audiologist opened up the office this am at 8:30 just to do some more diagnosis of the problem. He provided me with a different set of Linx 7’s to take home and try to see if it was the HA or something else. All in all a great customer service experience. Only bad part is the only color he had was the off white, but they are not noticeable. I will keep everyone posted on my experience.

Marc

@pdase said:

Hi,
I am new to forum and have had resound linx for a week. All is well except the native app (the three taps on home key) will not adjust volume for left aid–ok for right. The resound app works for both ears. My audiologist talked to Resound tech and they said it was an apple problem. Any thoughts?

pdase,

After you preformed your initial connection with the phone it takes 2-3 minutes for the authentication to complete. I was told by Resound support that after you tap pair with bluetooth twice you should leave the phone open on the general–>accessories–>hearing aids–>Resound –> this is where the native app resides. If you leave it here for 2 minuets after pairing it should resolve your issue. It did for me at least.

Hope that helps.

Marc

@jay_man2 said:

Do you have binaural directionality set in the hearing aids? I know that with my Kirkland 5.0s (rebadged ReSound Verso) that changing the volume with the app on either side automatically changes the other side. With my ReSound Future Remote mics that are set for basic softswitching I can adjust the volume of either side independently. Maybe if yours are set for binaural directionality the right side changes both, and the left side control is disabled. ???

Binaural directionality doesn’t require volume synchronization to be turned on. It’s possible to have one without the other. But the LiNX doesn’t have volume sync because there’s only one push-button, and it’s used for program change. Maybe the unit is defective and should be swapped out.

I saw that BoiseDoc has experience with Verso 7. It doesn’t seem to be clear to me if the Linx is better than the Verso in terms of speech understanding. I don’t care much about iPhone interface. The only things I care about are if it helps me understanding better in a staff meeting or in a noisy restaurant.

Linx uses new manufacturing process so in theory, the DSP could be faster. But a smart Verso engineer could accomplish almost the same with a slower DSP. The Linx brochure says it has “Sound Shaper” but I thought many HAs already are capable of changing the high frequency response to lower. I was trying to see how the Linx HAs process sound differently. The only thing I saw was “Sound Shaper” aside from iPhone stuff(I am not very interested in).

Blueharley,

You are correct. I did have experience with the Verso 7’s. From my perspective the verso 7’s and Linx 7’s are no different in functionality. For me the overall experience of wearing this device was important to me. The world I live in requires me to be actively engaged in meetings in many different environments as well as frequently talking conference calls as well as individuals phone discussions. For this reason the Linx was a better option for me. I did try the phone clip + with the Versos but the interface and functionality wasn’t to my liking. The Linx 7 partnered with apple has refined what is sent to the HA. I am happy to elaborate further if you like.

Sincerely,
Marc

I have found that it is imperative to pair the Linx 961’s to the iPhone correctly. To pair them, go into the iPhone settings>General>Accessibility>Hearing Aids. Now, open and close both hearing Aids. After about a minute, you should get a pop up asking if you would like to pair the hearing aid, touch yes and it should pair in a few seconds. You will then receive a 2nd pop up asking if you would like to pair the other aid. Touch yes and wait. Make sure both the right and left show on the screen with battery information. The name of your hearing aids (mine say my name’s Hearing Aid and below ReSound Linx 961) will appear and should be in BLUE. If not blue, they did not pair correctly. If they did not turn blue, start the process over until they are paired correctly. Remember, you have 2 hearing aids so, you will need to answer yes to the pair question twice (1 for each aid). Over the last six weeks, I have had a couple of times when one aid was not communicating with the ReSound iPhone App. To fix this, I powered off the iPhone and powered it back on. I was then able to adjust the 1 aid that had been abandoned by the App. So if one aid is being stubborn and will not play nice, try powering off the iPhone and back on, then try that aid again.
Battery life is lasting around 4 days, 3 if I stream music from the iPhone, talk a good deal on the iPhone or stream TV a lot or use the streamer inside the iPhone settings>General>Accessibility>Hearing aids. Speaking of that streamer, it woks fairly well as I used it in a few large meetings at work. I really use the app more though and just adjust the volume, bass & treble so that I can hear all the voices in the meeting.
I have saved a few locations with different settings and those work well also. I wrote in an earlier post that I had a problem getting the iPhone to ask me again if I wanted to switch to that location and settings, if I did not answer the pop up question as soon as it showed on the screen. I have now found that if I drive into my work parking lot, I get asked if I want to switch to the work location and settings as soon as I enter the lot. But, I am usually driving and by the time I find a space and park, the question is gone on the phone and I then could not go to " My Places " in the App and touch work and get it to ask me if I wanted to switch. It would just ask if I wanted to delete it or see it on a map. I finally found that if you unlock the iPhone and drag down from the top of the screen, I get brief summary of my calendar for the day, All previous messages and Missed messages. If I choose all or missed, I then see the ReSound App message asking if I want to switch to that location. I select it and it then asks me again if I would like to switch to this location. I touch yes and my aids change to my work settings. Another mystery solved. So far, I would say I like the ReSound Linx 961s and I like being able to control the settings as different locales have different noises that may interfere with being able to hear. With the App, I can always find a setting that gives me better hearing in that situation.
Some people on here seem very interested in the cost of the Linx 961s and are wondering why no one tells the price paid for them. Mine were $7,000 and $300 for the resound Unite TV streamer. I have very good insurance that will cover 80% of the cost less my deductible, which I have already met. So my cost in negligible since the insurance pays most of the cost. I am one of the lucky ones that actually has insurance that covers 80% of the cost. Most insurance companies will pay nothing or just $1000 toward the cost. I went through an independent audiologist as I wanted to be able to get adjustments and support from a professional. I researched through other people in my area with aids how they liked their audiologist and if they would use that audi again. My 1st set of aids were Phonak Exelias and were through a very well known hospital here in Atlanta. After initially getting the aids and getting assigned an audiologist with the Phonaks, every time I went back for an adjustment, that audiologist had left the group and I ended up starting all over with a new one. I went through that 5 different times and finally 1 audi bent the connection pins on 1 of my Phonaks and then wanted me to pay for the repair. I decided that I needed someone that would always be there and went with an independent audiologist that was recommended by a friend that has been using hearing aids for 15 years. I highly recommend an audiologist with experience and that will always be there when you need them.

I also just got a pair of Linx 961’s but the pairing process on my iPhone 5 seems to work a little differently. After opening and closing both hearing aids, and going to the Hearing Aids setting screen, I don’t get the pairing questions. The box with the “Bill’s Hearing Aids” and ReSound Linx 961 shows up in black letters, and then after a minute or so, the hearings just pair and the letters in the box turn from black to blue. And both work fine after that.

I have found that while the hearing aids work really well and the streaming function also works quite well, it is, as with almost every bluetooth device I have tried, a bit finicky at times. For example, if some other bluetooth device gets used, sometimes it doesn’t affect the Linx pairing and sometimes it does. I have a KEVO lock on my front door that can be locked/unlocked with my iPhone. Sometimes that messes up the Linx pairing and sometimes it doesn’t. I haven’t figured out a pattern yet.

I do wish that the app would remember the treble/bass settings. It forgets it every time streaming stops for a while or is switched off manually by me.

I paid $6800 for mine. I got another price quote for $6400 but in addition to that there was a couple of hundred dollars of additional charges for evaluation, etc., so I opted to go with an audiologist with whom I was very comfortable. Unlike cicada, I was not so fortunate re. insurance. My insurance pays nothing for hearing aids. They will pay part of the costs of a hearing exam but that is all, and that is certainly a very minor cost in the purchase of hearing aids.

My first pair of batteries lasted only 2 days but I really used the streaming functions heavily. Between listening to music and listening to podcasts as I tested various settings I probably used the streaming functions more than I normally would. But I try to walk 3-5 miles a day and I listed to podcasts or music all that time so I will probably go thru batteries pretty quickly. Fortunately I can get 40 batteries at Costco for $8.99 so that isn’t too bad.

At first I was having a little too much harshness and popping sounds in the podcasts but I found that between adjusting the bass higher and the treble lower, and then lowering the overall sound settings a bit (I had the sound settings too high!) they work pretty well. They are not as good as the LG HBS-730 bluetooth headphones as far as sound quality goes but they are pretty good - acceptable to me, for sure - and they are much more convenient. Rarely, when I am out walking and listening to a podcast or music, one hearing aid will drop out for just a few seconds but it always self-corrects and both are working again quickly without any intervention by me.

I find the iPhone app to be quite good and very useful for switching settings between General All Around, Restaurant, and Music, as well as adjusting overall volume. I rarely touch the programming button on the hearing aids themselves.

Right now I am using the power domes (my audiologist took molds for the micro-molds but they haven’t arrived yet. So far I am doing fine with the power domes - very rarely do I have feedback problems with them - and they are pretty comfortable even when wearing them from 7 am to about 9:30 pm.

0250 L-20 R-20
0500 L-20 R-15
1000 L-35 R-20
2000 L-70 R-85
4000 L-100 R-105
8000 L-85 R-90

cicada - please let us know the insurance coverage (insurance carrier) you have that will cover 80% of the cost of your Resound linx 961s. It would be wonderful if you could provide such information, since as you say most if not all insurance companies will not cover the cost of a hearing aid, much less the cost of a hearing aid battery. So step forward and tell us (ALL) what insurance coverage you used to pay $6000 plus towards the purchase of your ReSound HA’s. And by chance you don’t respond with the actually insurance provider, then please don’t ever post on this board again.

— Updated —

[<b>cicada</b>](http://www.hearingaidforums.com/member.php?69034-cicada) - please let us know the insurance coverage (insurance carrier) you have that will cover 80% of the cost of your Resound linx 961s.  It would be wonderful if you could provide such information, since as you say most if not all insurance companies will not cover the cost of a hearing aid, much less the cost of a hearing aid battery.  So step forward and tell us (ALL) what insurance coverage you used to pay $6000 plus towards the purchase of your ReSound HA's.  And by chance you don't respond with the actually insurance provider, then please don't ever post on this board again.

I’ll jump in here after having the Linx 961’s for about a month. The HA portion has been fantastic and when using the phone over the aids, I can now here and understand some people I never have understood before.

They streamed beautifully until I got home and have narrowed down that some other bluetooth device(s) are interferring and loosing the connection. Low batteries do this as well. Certainly not music rated for sound but acceptable if you can have the batteries available. I am challenging some of the reasoning coming out of the customer service via the Audiologist as I have some technical prowness. (The reasoning that low bars on reception cause the bluetooth to fade out was one of them, whereas I drove around a mountain some other time that I know has no reception and they worked well that day). I have rebooted the phone which has solved some problems.

My main concern is too much too fast and these will be outdated in two years time; along with lack of understanding support of what does what when two separately manufactured devices are to work in unison. (its their software, not ours). I may be able to try out the Stakey model coming out in lieu of the Linx and make a good comparison.

If Resound will work with the users and update the software/hardware as technology advances, that would be a plus. I like the many features, but I want the confidence that they will work closer to 100% of the time.

One thing I do like in the working environment, I can take the I-phone and zero out the volume on every other program and when I enter into a loud scenario, (or machinery) I can immediately switch to “ear plugs” and back again at the poke of a button.

those of you who have had the LinX for a while and have perhaps stop playing with all the functions – how is the battery life on “normal” usage – recognizing that that is a variable and relative notion, but let us say your normal usage. And are you still happy with them.

thanks in advance

Battery life for me, with the 312 Ray-O-Vacs my audiologist gave me, are lasting around 4 days. If I use a good deal of Bluetooth, stream, etc., I get about 3 days. I plan to try a different brand and see if that changes. Any suggestions on any to try? I am please with the hearing aids themselves, they perform very well. Restaurant mode works great for me in loud situations. It does seem to amplify background noise, but I am able to hear the voices I need to hear. I also use the Restaurant mode in large meeting situations and that is a job saver for me! I like mine better than the Phonaks I had before. I am pleased and plan to keep mine. I’ve learned the quirks of the phone delay and work around it. I have had batteries go dead while on a conference call and as long as I replace one at a time, I am able to keep in the conversation. I can always switch to the phone and am able to hear well that way since the aids work so well. All things considered, there are a few things that could be better but I 've worked with software for over 35 years and I have never seen a perfect program. I like that I do not have to wear another device around my neck. My iCom by Phonak, had to be repaired 3 times and replaced once because the wire around the neck wasn’t strong enough to last more than a year or 2. I know there is a belt clip device but, I don’t need several devices hanging on my belt. So, yes, I am happy.

thanks this is very helpful for the info… i will pick up my LinX Monday

Steve

— Updated —

thanks this is very helpful for the info… i will pick up my LinX Monday

Steve