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Bluetooth using Specsavers' Advance Hearing Aids

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I will soon be purchasing some hearing aids from Specsavers, Australia. I am finding it very difficult to find any information on the different levels available. Standard, Plus, Premium, Super and Elite.

The Specsavers’ site shows different features and a series of asterisks showing there score in each category. To me this does not mean very much.

I have a TLC smart TV which has Bluetooth installed and one of the main features that I require is good TV sound that I can hear and understand rather than reading sub titles.

The Super are described:- “ The features of the Specsavers Advance Super are comparable to the Phonak Paradise 70, Signia 5X and Styletto X5. ”

The Elite being compared to Phonak Paradise 90, Signia 7X and Styletto X7

Specsavers offer a Bluetooth transmitter for pairing my hearing aids to the TV.

I understand that Phonak Paradise have improved their Bluetooth connectivity but I can’t find out if it is version 4, version 5 or .

Bearing in mind that TV sound is very important to me, has anybody experienced Bluetooth with Specsavers’ Advance hearing aids and is it really required that I purchase Specsavers’ transmitter or will the TV connection be just as good by itself?

I can buy a much cheaper Bluetooth transmitter/receiver from Jaycar but I don’t know if it will work even though Phonak say that their Bluetooth connects to almost everything.

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@philwright said:

I am finding it very difficult to find any information on the different levels available.

That’s hardly surprising, seems only Specsavers know, why don’t you insist they they supply you with a full list of features in their respective models. If they won’t why bother with them, just go to Costco for the KS10.

But it’s pretty easy to find the Phonak P70 or P90 specs on the Phonak website, print it off and take it in to Specsavers, and ask what features you get from them and what you don’t.

@philwright said:

Specsavers offer a Bluetooth transmitter for pairing my hearing aids to the TV.

No doubt it’ll be the Phonak TV Connecter like this.

TV Connector for Hearing Aids | Phonak86

The Phonak TV Connector is a wireless accessory that streams TV and music directly to your hearing aids.

@philwright said:

Phonak Paradise have improved their Bluetooth connectivity but I can’t find out if it is version 4, version 5 or LC3.

It’s classic bluetooth and , so yeah works with just about everything. For Android device using the App you’ll need Bluetooth version 4.2, don’t know if Specsavers have a App for their respective models.

@philwright said:

is it really required that I purchase Specsavers’ transmitter or will the TV connection be just as good by itself?

Well only you’ll know for sure, some people have had problems connecting to their TV, so it’s better to have the TV connecter, you can then use it on your laptop as well.

@philwright said:

I can buy a much cheaper Bluetooth transmitter/receiver from Jaycar but I don’t know if it will work

The biggest concern/ problem here is lip-sync issues, most will give you more grief then satisfaction, use the TV connecter for the best results.

Edited

If you want a decent experience, you’ll need a Bluetooth transmitter that’s supplied by the manufacturer of the aids. The transmitter will connect to the aids using a proprietary low latency connection.

Btw, there’s a hearing aid topic on the Whirlpool forums. Not that active but specsavers has been discussed int he past. forums.whirlpool.net.au

In reply to @tenkan

Thanks for that. I am Specsavers because Costco does not qualify for me to get the HSP contribution. It is $1500 in my case which is a big chunk off the price so even their top of the range becomes affordable.

In Costco, which was my first choice, they don’t give anything.

The Advance range is generally made by the big name brands with some premium features turned off. In my experience Specsavers will be happy to outline the differences during a consultation. Bring a notepad to jot down notes in case they are reluctant to give you a printout of said differences.

Hi Sulaco, I tried it via Email and this is what they told me:
​The Advance band consists of a wide range of hearing aids manufactured by different manufacturers. At Super and Elite level, they are equivalent to the branded products.

That’s pathetic, seriously why are they being so elusive? They know the exact features of the model you want to buy, and you have a right to know.
Honestly can you not find any audiologist clinic that will accept your insurance with a small outlay by yourself.

Remember also you will not be able to do any , or take them to any other audiologist clinic for adjustments, as they are locked to Specsavers.

In reply to @philwright

I’m in Melbourne, several years ago I purchased hearing aids from Costco. I paid the account first then I sent my receipt and copy of my account to MBP and they refunded me the $800 per aid that I was able to claim.

I know Costco don’t deal directly with health funds. Have you made an enquiry if you are able to send in your account after you have paid it?
Good luck with your Specsaver aids.

In reply to @tenkan

Hi Tenkan, there are others in my area but they are all expensive for what they sell. I have tried to research them and at this stage Specsavers, with all its faults, seems to be the best. Particularly if the top two levels are chosen.

My first choice was Costco and I actually had a fist session with them. It was only when I found out that they did not have the government subsidy that I had to stop the visit.

Today, I intend to contact the Australian Hearing Services Programme(HSP) and try to find out why Costco does not qualify when all the other providers do qualify.

In the meantime I would have thought that I could have found all this information via Google but, so far, no luck

In reply to @philwright

only deal with Signia aids, unless you have a or a child. If you have any sort of pension card you should/might be eligible for the voucher service the Government has running. This only allows for the very basic level of aid though.

Edited

Hi,
Costco do not supply their aids through HSP as they do not release their software for other clinics to use, which in Australia is a stipulation for the clinic to have access to the hearing services subsidies.

Specsavers on the other hand do allow this so if you were to get your aids at Specsavers and transfer to another clinic that clinic can get the specsavers advance software to adjust the aids, hence why their aids are elligible for Subsidies under HSP. They are not ‘locked’ to specsavers clinics for adjustments

The bluetooth television devices which connect to advance are a rebranded signia streamline TV device for the advance range made by Sivantos (Signias parent company) and a rebranded phonak TV connector made by Sonova (phonak / unitrons parent company).

At present there is a global shortage of the Sonova TV connectors so even if you did want to order one you would not be able to and sonova cannot give us an answer on when they will be available. The bluetooth transmitter from JayCar may work with the Advance made by Sonova as this brand uses a bluetooth classic protocol, although sometimes there is latency with these devices - I also had a patient connect their hearing aids directly to the TVs bluetooth with no intermediate device, although am guessing this would vary across different TVs too.

Generally I tell people to see how they go with the hearing aids alone first, and if TV is still an issue to come in ang get a TV transmitter - They do work very well and will provide the best transmission of sound, but who knows - you might find that the hearing aids work well enough on their own!

Also - last thing to consider is that the advance made by Signia will only stream audio from an iPhone / IOS device (made for iphone technology) where as the advance made by sonova will stream audio from both android and iphone - Although if you have an iphone personally I prefer the made for iphone technology.

Hope that helps.

Thanks MFAUD, it certainly does help! My TV has bluetooth in the setup and it seems to connect to most devices(so I am told).

At this stage the Super range from Specsavers has the features of Phonak Paradise 70 and research tells me that it also has a good chance of connecting to my TV.

I will do as you suggest and try them out first with no bluetooth and if it works okay then I am laughing. Otherwise I will try the bluetooth in the TV and finally a transmitter.

I have three other bluetooth transmitters for my various sets of headphones and I am thinking it might even be possible to pair with one of them…

Thanks for the information

In reply to @MFAUD

@MFAUD said:

Costco do not supply their aids through HSP as they do not release their software for other clinics to use

Costco hearing aids aren’t locked,so most clinics or people already have the software, quite a few of the older models they sold were locked tho.

@MFAUD said:

Specsavers and transfer to another clinic that clinic can get the specsavers advance software to adjust the aids,

Have you done this yourself? All indications so far say they won’t, but good if they are doing this, as it’s always been unfair for any reason, but if you have, could you go into the software and give @philwright the list of features he’s looking for,as I’m sure that would be much appreciated.

@MFAUD said:

They are not ‘locked’ to specsavers clinics for adjustments

Hope your right, there locked in most parts of the world.

So there’s 2 advance models, a Sivantos model (which one, from Signia or Rexton?) and one from Phonak, based on Paradise P70, thats confusing,but could be why even Specsavers couldn’t supply the features list!

In reply to @philwright

Sorry to hear that they avoided your query. In my case the Advance version of the Linx Quattro was missing an Impact Noise feature and I also wanted to program the hearing aids myself so I went with the official Resound model which they sold at the time.

Costco KS10 is half the price of Specsavers Elite, also a better device. Plus the TV connector which is also cheaper.

Hi hindhaugh90, Costco in Australia is far more expensive than Specsavers because Costco does not get the $1500 government subsidy and Specsavers do get it.

My problem is that Specsavers have different models but they won’t disclose the difference between them except for the price and a star system under each category. For example the difference between the Plus and the Premium is one star extra in Phones and Outdoor Activity. For this the cost increases by $500. See what I mean here48

I feel that the differences must be listed somewhere but I can’t find them.

The information that I have gleaned from this forum far exceeds the information from Specsavers.

TV Connector - if your TV has then you might connect directly. If you can hear your standard or sound bar from the TV then you might be happy.

But the TV connector gives you an amazing stereo experience but it might be disconcerting. Noises off screen can be really well off your screen. Also consider dialogue between two characters. The one on screen is in front of you and the other off screen. Then the camera shifts to off screen character whose audio now comes from your front. This audio shift seems odd.
I enjoy TV much better with the connector.

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