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In reply to @hearingnoob

Has anyone had problems with all of the streaming features using the smaller 312 battery size in these aids vs. the 13?

I have Phonak Audeo Smart IX right now with basic streaming technology (StereoZoom). At times, the heavy power demands can overwhelm the batteries if they’re not nearly new, and I get rapid the battery alert tones.

As I consider the Resound Linx2 9’s, I want to start making the right decision. I don’t think the size difference on the ear would bother me much as the 13 hearing aid doesn’t look all that larger than the 312’s.

Any thoughts on this? I’d really appreciate some input.

Thanks,
Chris

I read an article about this issue that said that the 312 was too underpowered to properly service the new streaming demands. It said that the 2.4G power requirements – even using BT4.0 advantages – was at the very ragged edge. He said that those using 10Mhz versions didn’t have the problem. He lauded Resound for moving more toward the 13’s.

Sadly, he also said that Costco would use the #13 in the new aids there but Rasmus said that is incorrect and the KS6 will use the smaller battery. When the industry stopped including mercury, there was a loss of power that they don’t bother to account for.

I am not an EE but the gentlemen making the statements above seemed competent to judge.

Please do! As alluded to in other threads I have had a lot of issues with my current generation LINX and being able to hear in certain environments. I have no doubt the LINX is a great state of the art but sadly it doesn’t work for me.

ReSound in NZ has agreed to switch me to the LINX2 when it is released here next week, which is absolutely fantastic of them. I’m hoping it will go a long way toward helping me with my problems, and if the demo app is a realistic indication then I will be a very happy camper indeed :slight_smile:

I’ll also report back, but my audi has suggested we start right back at the beginning with a new hearing test and fitting, etc and then go from there.

Well I’ve had my LiNX2 for a whole weekend now and I’m loving them.

My previous aids were Oticon Agil and before that Siemens Pure so I can’t really comment on functionality above the first edition LiNX. I was interested in the first edition but had committed to wait for the second edition because when I got my Siemens Pure 700, I realised that the whole MiniTek set up really was a beta version and they were full of bugs.

I like the functionality in the smart app that I can turn down the background noise, and focus the microphones in restaurant mode. Seems to work a charm.

My father also called yesterday and for the first time in months I can hear him properly - he is shocking at being a mumbler. Streaming music also sounds really good - not noise canceling headphones good, but leaps and bounds above anything I’d managed to get out of the Agils and Pures.

I’ve also done some initial self programming and Aventa 3.8 is great. You can look up a list of complaints (i.e “my voice sounds too sharp”) and click on the solution which automatically applies a fix to the hearing aids).

Now to test them out with a week of work.

In reply to @rico567

@rico567 said:

Which raises, in turn, another question. If hearing aids are regulated because they’re classified as “medical devices,” why are they practically NEVER covered by insurance? Our health plan covers many things, including optical coverage (exam every year, lenses if needed, complete glasses every other year). But hearing aids? Nope. It’s a mystery.

My insurance plan covers $,1000 per ear toward purchase, limited to once every 4 years. Anthem Blue

My Linx2 9 review and top tips

After a couple of weeks using the Linx2’s, time for a review and some of thing I have learned to avoid the faults that the Linx’s still have. Firstly the hearing aid experience; these are much much better than my old aids (Phonak Mini Valeo’s) - much clearer, sharper and louder. For the first the I can now hear birdsong, watch the television without subtitles at a volume my wife can cope with and run big meetings at work and comfortably hear everything. Just brilliant. The ability to adjust the volume means that I can have aids rather louder than my last pair and just turn them down in noisy environments, or up when I need to to bionic hearing levels. They work pretty well in restaurants, and turning the noise reduction up full and focussing the directional mic to the max enabled me to have easy discussions in a bar.

Things aren’t quite as food when we come to the streaming features though. I have been waiting for this for years, and when it works is great, but streaming music and phone calls is rather unreliable and buggy. First up, streaming phone calls. This works very well; the call flicks through to the aids almost immediately on answering and I can hear things much better than holding the phone to my ear. Speaking into the phone or having it on the table works well. It is a shame that you can’t use the aid microphone instead of the phone and that calls don’t ring in the aids, even when streaming music. But generally the call streaming is brilliant. I did have problems with losing connections during calls; on an hour long conference call my right ear list sound every 30 seconds for an hour. I tried replacing batteries and that didn’t fix it, but eventually I worked out that the problem is the Resound App - when the App is shut down I don’t have problems streaming calls at all. So my top tip is don’t use the App, instead triple click the home button on the iPhone to bring up the inbuilt hearing aid control and use that instead. If you have to use the App, for the features that are only controlled through it (sound enhancements like comfort in noise, wind noise reduction and directionality) then close the App properly afterwards.

Music streaming is something I have been using a lot, in place of headphones for a couple of hours a day. I have reasonable low frequency hearing (20db) and use closed power domes and I get reasonable sound as long as the hearing aids are muted- a bit lacking in bass, and heavy guitars are a bit distorted but a good enough sound for me to have never wanted to get the headphones out. So music and podcast streaming is good when it works. The bass and treble control doesn’t help much, but I am seeing my Audi for some adjustments to get the sound as good it can be. The problem is that streaming can be annoyingly flaky - with one or more ears dropping in and out and each time losing the muting of outside sound which you need to reset.Some of which may be down to Apple and some to Resound and haven’t been sorted in the 2nd generation product. I have experimented to work out why and have found a few things:

Batteries - if the batteries are more than two days old then the range shortens so much that I can’t have the phone in my trouser pockets. Batteries last four or five days for hearing aids but streaming starts to worsen after two so I change them every two days. That’s OK, batteries are cheap.

Volume - if I have the music volume too high ( about 60%) then one or both ears start to drop out. This could be battery related too. I have the version with the smaller 312 batteries, perhaps the bigger ones are better?

The Resound App - as mentioned before this is poor and buggy so don’t use it or close it down

Once I did have to unpair, reboot the iPhone and then re-pair the aids as they didn’t connect at all.

So all in all, amazing hearing aids, that make life a lot easier, but are not yet foolproof and have problems with streaming, but which you can live with if you change batteries a lot. Do people with the bigger battery version have the same issues? Any other top tips?

Thanks Tony - very informative.

I’ve just switched to LiNX2 from the LiNX first generation and I’m still getting used to it (only 4 days in).

Cheers,
Richard

In reply to @hearingnoob

Anyone seeking more details might find what they are looking for in the brochure accessible with this link:

Hearing aids by ReSound - rechargable and streaming audio directly from...

ReSound is the first hearing aid manufacturer to stream audio directly from AndroidTM devices using Bluetooth® Low Energy technology. iOS direct streaming and rechargeable hearing aids

There are good charts on the last few pages.

Bill

In reply to @hearingnoob

I just ordered my first pair of ’s today and decided to jump to the head of the class and get the LiNX2 #9 - this is the newest (and most expensive) version. My loss is mild-moderate but in large rooms and meetings it really frustrates me. Being as active as I am, and getting cell phone calls and always having it with me, I thought I’d go this route. I will pick mine up in about a week and start the clock on 45 days. Plus, my insurance will rebate $2K back to me. I’m particularly interested in hearing comments from anyone else who has used the LiNX aids, particularly the new #9 or LiNX2.

Edited

Hi Susan,

I, like you, have a mild-moderate loss and trying to hear in large rooms/pubs/restaurants frustrates the crap outta me. There are a few threads on here about the LiNX and LiNX2. I started one off re a comparison between the two as I moved up from the original LiNX to the LiNX2 962, and a few others have shared their experiences either with the same upgrade path I took or by going to the LiNX2 as their first (or from another brand).

Overall I’m sure you will find it is an excellent HA - the Comfort in Noise and the Speech in Noise features on the app are great and do make a difference. You may have seen in the threads that some of us are still having issues with the streaming and the app. I’m sure these are only teething problems and should be fixed (I hope!) in a coming firmware update in the HAs and an update on the ReSound iOS app.

Cheers,
Richard

All Linx2 9 users,

I have switched from Linx961s to Linx2 961s a few weeks ago and I am having problems with hearing internal noise from the right aid, thought to be microphone noise. Initially it was attenuated somewhat with expansion in the fitting software but could not be completely tuned out. Fortunately I heard the noise during a fitting appointment and the audiologist listened to the aid with a headset and could also hear it. My audiologist said the right aid was also spending a lot more time in a different mode with regard to the directional microphones and sent it back to resound. They sent out a new one, which was fitted last week but it seems to have the same problem with microphone noise. Has anyone else had this issue? Did anyone find a fix? Anyone else had to have one replaced?

Apologize in advance if this gets lengthy. I received my new Linx2 aids from the last Thursday. I had previously been using Phonak aids (although one never did work right) for four years and for TV was using Sennheiser RF headphones. For walks, and long phone conversations I used Motorola 305 headphones, so this is my point of reference.

While I am very appreciative that the VA provides these aids for veterans, their audiology program leaves much to be desired. The patient may or may not see the same audi twice and appointments typically take 4-8 weeks. So, here was my experience. After four years with only one of my original aids working I was “eligible” for new hearing aids last month. I spoke with my long standing private audi, from whom I had purchased a back up simple aid a few months ago, and given my history she suggested I request Oticon Alta 2 aids from the VA. When I arrived at my VA appointment, the audi strongly recommended the Linx2 aids. I believe she said that the factory rep had just visited them. And, I had an iPhone 5. I had also requested open dome receivers in the ear but she was quite insistent that I go with ear molds and assured me I could switch to domes if the molds proved unsatisfactory. When it came time to pick up the new aids, I saw a new audi. She spent a total of maybe 20 minutes with me. Said she did not know much about these and did not know anything about the iPhone features, and as to these features “you are on your own.”

The new aids came with huge ear molds that appear to stick out of my ears and are very uncomfortable. The receiver tube is a size 2 and too short. If you push the hearing aid really into your ear, the hearing aid itself comes to the top of your ear and eventually falls off your head. If you place the aid behind your ear, you must leave the hearing aid in the outer part of your ear which allows it to easily fall out. I went back to VA the next day and asked for either domes or longer receiver tubes. She gave me some generic domes and said she did not have any parts, i.e. longer receiver tubes, for this aid and she refused to order any. Said to take it up with the audi when I see her in 4 weeks. So, as it stands now I am trying to use an ill fitting device. Here are some of my limited experiences with the aid and accessories.

Basic aid-I think it works ok when it is in the right position. Unfortunately, the audi only loaded the one program on it so I have not been able to try restaurant mode or the wind suppression features or the focused hearing. I had asked for mine in gray to match my hair but they appear to be two tone gray and white and very noticeable when wearing them particularly as they sit on the top of my ears with the short tubes.

Use with iPhone/Bluetooth-fairly easy to set up but connections can be a bit dicey. Clear phone conversations but when streaming Pandora the aids would cut out from ear to ear while I was off wifi and had my phone in my right front pocket. Surprisingly, carrying the phone in the left pocket helps a bunch. Music and conversations sound a bit tinny, but I cranked up the base and toned down the treble and that helped. I am avoiding use of the Resound app whenever possible as it does not yet seem ready for prime time.

TV Streamer-works well but again, the tinny sound is present. Has better than expected range. I am noting some sync problems with delayed or advanced speech in some programs.

Questions for fellow Linx2 users:

  1. For those of you with molds, are they huge clunky clear lucite things? For those without molds, how do you find the domes and which ones are you using? Is there an appreciable sound loss going from molds to open domes?

  2. I am a male, 6’1" and I know this probably has no relevance to the receiver tube, but what length are you using? Mine came with a size 2 (it is printed on the receiver itself). I think I need a size 3 which is the larger one.

  3. When I use the app, the only other device I have is the box marked for the TV and minimic. The examples in the literature show two boxes for these two options but mine are in one box. Is there some way to break these into discreet boxes? Any other advice on using the iPhone as a mike? I did get it to work in Live Listen mode once and it was not real impressive. Is this the best it gets?

  4. Is there anyway for the consumer to download the additional programs that my audi did not or do I just wait patiently for the next month?

Thanks very much for any help and advice you can provide. I am sure I will be back with more questions.

Edited

Update: I visited the tech today to try and get longer receiver tubes as mine will not allow the aid to go behind my ears. Because the aids are new, the VA clinic I visited does not have parts for the Linx2 so if you have an issue as simple as needing longer tubes, it requires sending the whole thing back to the manufacturer, and they quote 4 weeks as the turnaround time. I don’t know if this supply chain problem presents itself with private audis, but one would think if VA is pushing these, they might think to stock the parts needed. I should have gone with the Oticons I think-and I still may. I did try and contact Resound Customer Service and was advised they do not provide customer service to US veterans who obtain their aids through the VA. So, what that leaves you with is no Resound Customer Service, no local parts, and VA staff who are totally unfamilar with the product.

Sorry about the poor service you are getting from the . Vets deserve better than that! My audiologist has all tube lengths in stock and can change them according to fit. VA should do the same. Challenge them.

  1. I have custom ear molds, but they are made of a softer gel like material, instead of hard lucite. I was offered the option and chose that material. These molds are larger than the ones for my LiNX 961s. That’s because the “Receiver” for the LiNX[SUP]2[/SUP] 962 is longer than the one for the LiNX 961 and the mold has to be larger to accomodate it. It does cause them to back out at times, but that’s a small price to pay. The LiNX[SUP]2[/SUP] is head and shoulders above the LiNX in performance.

  2. I’m 5’-9 1/2" and have the size 2. They are marginal in length, so I’m sure you need a 3.

  3. Do you have more than one streaming device paired? Each time you pair one, it creates an icon for it at the bottom of the screen on the Smart app. You can then go into Menu > Settings > Programs and rename each device. You can have up to 3 devices paired. I have one for Game Room TV, Upstairs TV and Mini-Mic and have them labeled accordingly.

  4. You can actually download the fitting software and run it in the Simulate mode. You can’t connect to the hearing aids without an interface. Here’s the link to the Aventa software:

    GN ReSound Support Website - Releases & Updates4

It was graciously given to me by another member of this forum.

Additionally, you can actually view the training sessions for the software here:

http://www.audiologyonline.com/audiology-ceus/course/resound-fitting-software-training-aventa-25622

Hope this has been helpful.

Bill

Bill-thanks for the information. I am looking forward to the new and longer receivers. I understand what you are saying about how much larger the receivers are. The tech said I have HP receivers but the paperwork all says standard. I am still unclear about how to work the minimic. As I said, the streamer box has the TV and the minimic in the same box. That seems to feed from the TV fine. I can stream music from my iPhone but I do not use the app as that seems to cause intermittent interruptions. Can you advise how to use the minimic? Appreciate your help.

Gary

Sam you are full of crap as far as the is concerned.

If you truly think you are getting screwed over ask to speack with the patient advocate at your clinic who in turn will writeup your complaint and forward it to the VA Hosp or Center that supports your clinic it will then go to the director of the department who will forward your complaint to the chief of audiology who will be required to write up an action plan of how her people will make you happy then it floats down to your who also make a written action plan. you will hear directly from the chief as to your satifaction with the action AuD has taken.

Wow. I did not say I was getting screwed over. I expressed my appreciation for getting these from them. That however, in no way mitigates their need to be conversant in the materials they provide and to stock parts so those of us with hearing deficits are not going without for a month. I wish the system worked as well as you think it does. Unfortunately, it does not. I am really pleased that your experience with the audiology program is so positive. In my locale, a simple appointment historically takes about 8 weeks and when you show up for it, the audiologist is often “in training” that day and “didn’t someone call you?” So, you wait another 8 weeks. The new Choice program seems to be working where one can go outside VA if you cannot get an appointment in 4 weeks.

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