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Phonak Marvel: Nobody can hear me on the phone

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I work in a warehouse space and am always struggling to be heard on the phone. I can’t talk on the phone like normal people (ear to phone) so it’s either streaming or speaker. I’m in sales. A large part of my job is spent on the phone but the lack of quality on the Marvel’s mic is killing my ability to do my job. I wish there was a way to switch back and forth between phone mic and mic. Does anyone know if that’s possible? I’ve tried putting a box over my head and that works a little bit.

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LOL dieslgrl!! A BOX on the head. Let me tell you, if someone said stand on my head for the perfect phone connection, I’d try that too! I totally empathize with your situation - and being in sales, you simply gotta get this situation fixed.

I’ve found that the combination of my Marvel aids + Samsung S9 + T-Mobile service on the cell is NOT optimal. I get the same occasional complaints from friends and family that my voice is cutting out or not clear. I blame T-Mobile as much as anything. If you’re making calls from in a warehouse it’s QUITE likely there is signal interference. That is another big problem when I try to take calls inside Costco.

Try getting as close to a “sweet spot” or actually out from the concrete bunker for your calls if you’re tethered to a cell phone. If you need to hear on a landline, I highly recommend you get “Acoustic Phone” set up as a program on your Marvel aids. I just had this done a few days ago and it is a game-changer. I can hear on ANY landline phone - and even better, folks say I come in loud and clear, too. Acoustic Phone sends the audio to BOTH ears - it’s every bit as good as streaming, no kidding!

The downside is that you may get telephone elbow holding the landline receiver up to your ear. Not sure how mobile you have to be in your job, but folks here have also talked about pairing with work phones via dongles or what-have-you. If you are SEATED much of the day, consider using Acoustic phone with your work phone. If you need to move around a lot and require the cell phone, that’s just as good as it gets inside a warehouse.

Keep us posted on your solution.

That’s crazy I’m also with Tmobile but sometimes my reception is good, other times it’s really bad! I noticed that if I’m talking to someone else who is wearing a head set, our voices bounce off of each other and we get about a one-second delay before every word reverberates back. Super annoying!

Does the acoustic phone only work with tcoil?

In reply to @Neville

I have the Audeo M90R (whatever that means.)
Ive been wearing them since January or so since they were only released Nov 2018. Used to wear Oticon Opn’s which were fantastic for phone calls since they used the phone mic, not the mic. Same phone & provider with the Opn’s.
I do not have tcoil though. I would have needed my employer to install a loop and force customers to hold or clip on a microphone when they come into the store. None of that was sensible. I am in sales and have to talk to groups of people and am often on the phone to do my job. I’ve pulled back on phone calls bc of the constant frustration it causes both myself and the person I’m talking to. They don’t know they are talking to someone who is severe to profound but now I have to tell every single person I meet with or talk on the phone with bc IT WILL become an issue. It’s just a matter of when. I’m hesitant to spend more money on more gadgets since HA just aren’t working for me anymore. I just wish for a less exhaustive day and if I could talk on the phone more easily, I think that would do it.

I suspect the source of your issue is that the Marvel uses the mics instead of the phone mic when you are streaming a phone call. For some it seems to be a problem and others not. I suspect it may have something to do with the background noise, which in your case sounds like it is loud.

I have a recollection that someone using a Marvel or the Costco KS9 which is a Marvel posted that they had found a way to defeat the HA mic, and just use the phone mic. The bad part is that I have no idea who, or where that post might be. It may be in a Marvel thread, or worse news still, it may be in that KS9 thread that is over a 1000 posts long…

You can use a Roger Pen or Roger Select with the Marvel, for phone calls, and it uses the Roger microphone, around your neck. Pricey though.

Yes, I’m going to say it again, the previous Phonak hearing aid, the Audeo B90, with a Compilot 2, can have a directional lapel mic and it only picks up my voice, very little background. It is crazy the Marvel doesn’t have this. The Roger stuff gets you close, at 10 times the cost.

Here is a link to look at from Phonak26. I think they are basically saying in a noisy environment you are better off not streaming to the phone, and just use the phone in normal mode by holding it up to your ear, and using the phone mic.

In reply to @dieslgrl

@dieslgrl said:

Does the acoustic phone only work with tcoil?

diesigrl, you do NOT have to have in the aids for Acoustic Phone to work! It appears to be a program that uses the phone mic to literally transmit the caller’s voice to BOTH ears at once - stereophonically. It’s NOT streaming, and you don’t hear the caller’s voice inside your ears.

FUNNY ASIDE that may impact your (and others’) use of Acoustic Phone. If you have multiple handsets (like you may have in an office or even at home - think Panasonic phone sets with the base unit in the living room and the handsets sprinkled throughout the house). VERY IMPORTANT: you have to actually “answer” the phone and only then, hit the button on your aids to put them into Acoustic Phone.

Yesterday, hubs and I tested out all kinds of situations with Acoustic Phone. If I try to put my aids into Acoustic Phone BEFORE answering the landline, it will only try to connect to my cell phone (via streaming). Therefore, you have to first engage the landline handset (ie, turn it ON or pick up the receiver) first, and only then, put your aids into Acoustic Phone. I think that’s why many here have Acoustic Phone as the very first program after default for easy access.

The only hassle for you would be that you’d want to return to the default program after each phone call. Maybe not optimal, but at least you don’t have to worry about dropping calls or the echo-factor with cell phones and T-MOBILE - which, I personally think is the most lame service out there.

In reply to @Sierra

Sierra, thank you for taking the time to post!!
if I’m willing to put a box on my head, I’m more than willing to dig thru a thousand posts!! I can search the boards or that post and check it out!
I’m not sure what I’d do without you guys! Fixed my app issue and now getting closer to solving this! Thanks again!

In reply to @Don

Ive been debating the Roger Select, but I might be a year off from a .
helping less and less. Select would put a $1500 band-aid on the issue. I’m just not sure what I’m gonna do. Sucks new aids aren’t as good as slighted older models for this feature. This was never an issue until I caught a promotion to a better store and lost my acoustic drop ceiling. I might need to rethink Roger. Maybe just a R pen if I’m only going to benefit a short while? Will that fix the phone issue?

Edited

@dieslgrl It’s my understanding that to get a Roger Direct receiver on your aids you essentially need to pay an audiologist the cost of a Roger Pen or Roger Select for the installation. Maybe there’s a way to do this. If so, it’s above my pay grade, and I’m fairly nerdy.

I’m not sure how the Roger would help with phone calls, however. I think it might depend on how old your Marvels are. It should be a great help in a noisy work environment.

@lgpiper said:

I’m not sure how the Roger would help with phone calls, however.

Better microphone, set for directional mode, positioned right below your mouth so it picks up your voice and not all the surrounding noise. Plus it can connect to two phones or devices at one time.

here i found one video on how to get the rogerdirect in to the

In reply to @tribalrose

Tribal rose, thanks for posting! Funny thing, I had to get a new set bc Opn’s were picking up everything around me and I have these use HVAC intakes above my desk! Marvel’s are way more directional and seem to be a better fit for me even though I LOVED my Oticon’s!!! :heart: My work environment is a huge stresser for me even though it’s the best in the company. I won’t give it up bc even w/the stress I make the most amount of money I could elsewhere in my job.

In reply to @Neville

Oh man I’m digging myself a deeper hole. If I go with Cochlear America’s, if still need to wear a hearing aid on my other ear. But for their to work together for streaming, they only work w/Resound. Wah Wah Wah :woman_facepalming:t2:

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