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Do Modern Hearing Aids Apply Your Program/Correction to Bluetooth Streaming?

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Edited

Apologies if this question has been asked before. I did find this article https://forum.hearingtracker.com/t/resound-linx2-iphone-streaming-based-on-program/64614 (member archive), but it’s not exactly what I was looking for.

So, the question is: when I listen to media (of any kind) streamed from my phone to my hearing aids over Bluetooth (of any flavor), do the hearing aids apply the currently selected program (to “correct” for my hearing loss) to the Bluetooth stream?

Maybe it varies by brand or model or Bluetooth protocol or phone(?). If so, I’m guessing there’s no way to know for sure, but if this wise forum has some info, I’d be interested to listen. When I asked this question of my , I’m not sure he understood, and just gave me an answer to placate me.

Why am I asking? Sometimes when using my phone, I’ll launch an app or whatever, and I think the app either plays a sound or maybe some silence, and my hearing aids “cut out” for a short time, which makes me wonder if the hearing aids are switching from “my surroundings” (with correction applied) to the stream (raw?). IDK, but I’m curious why the aids would “cut out”. It seems like the surroundings should continue to be mixed seamlessly into whatever stream I’m listening to.

Also: Oticon Intent 1, Google Pixel 9 Pro, Normally connected over LE (but sometimes AuraCast).

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Hearing aids typically have a separate program for Bluetooth so that can be tuned separately.

I know Phonak does for sure, actually two.

The normal setting for Bluetooth is that you hear the streaming audio tuned to your and you also hear the environment around you due to the hearing aids’ microphones. So if you are in a noisy environments the environmental sounds can be louder than the streaming sound. So I ask my audiologist to set my aids’ microphones to mute ehen streaming.

@cvkemp said:

So if you are in a noisy environments the environmental sounds can be louder than the streaming sound. So I ask my audiologist to set my aids’ microphones to mute ehen streaming.

I believe that can be adjusted with aid toggle switch or in the phone app.

This is from memory. I am bilateral now. Don’t even have Target on a computer anymore.

The Philips apply the current program settings to the stream. It seems seamless to me.

In Phonak Target software you can go to Fine Tuning and select one of your streaming programs from the list on the left side of the screen. Then in the main body of the screen you can adjust just about anything to suit your streaming preferences. Note that the settings default to what Target thinks you need based on your . This is where you can choose to have your mic’s active or not during streaming. Once saved that all becomes permanent.
In Oticon Genie software the parameters for streaming are set automatically according to your audiogram. The only control you have over it is in the last programming section where you enter your external devices. There is very limited choice here. Basically you can change the gain during streaming and set how much input you want to get from your mic’s whilst streaming. There is also a slider to adjust sound quality during streaming.

Edited

I confirm that in Target (Phonak) you can set completely separate gain curves for dealing with streamed input. Very useful, as I like more treble there. In that same setting you can lower (but not increase) the simultaneous input from your microphone (ambient sound). If you need your audiologist to do this for you, you can immediately check the result by taking your smartphone, switching on Bluetooth (which was off because otherwise Noahlink/Target couldn’t communicate) and listen to, e.g., a podcast.

Once I made the mistake of setting the amplification of the streaming input too high. That is unnecessary, because you can also simply increase the audio input to your streamer. When that audio input was too low the streamer would frequently auto-shut off, thinking that there was no TV.

If you are looking for a flexible solution to tweak the sound from your TV streamer you can also insert a device like this:

IMG_6230

In reply to @Gilbert

What if we don’t do , I don’t and I will never do it any more. When I retired from IT I removed everything Microsoft from my life. I was so burned out fixing Microsoft software. I am now strictly an android individual. Sure there things I could do. But I am so happy to be rid of everything Microsoft.

From my experience, Oticon EduMic is based on the first program (reacts to changing it from to , for example), but with an insane amount of upward spread of masking even on the least bassy settings, voices sound nothing like IRL. Doesn’t let change the program to another. Oticon ConnectClip is better, allowing you to choose the program, but it is still more bassy than it should be.

adjustment

The adjustments in Oticon Genie are the same for Phone, EduMic and ConnectClip. Useless for me so I decided to continue using headphones with a decently neutral frequency response.

@cvkemp said:

I am now strictly an android individual.

I would end in an insane asylum if I had to only use mobile OS, they’re absolute garbage with 0 multitasking and a hostile interface making simple things take an unreasonable amount of time.

Edited

To each their on poison. To me Microsoft was my poison and I totaled dumped it in the toilet. Android does everything I need now that am retired. My stress level is now totally relaxed.

In reply to @cvkemp

@cvkemp said:

When I retired from IT I removed everything Microsoft from my life. I was so burned out fixing Microsoft software. I am now strictly an android individual. Sure there things I could do. But I am so happy to be rid of everything Microsoft.

My last Audiologist ran Target on a Mac

My Mac is 10 years old. I don’t do and have no desire to.

In reply to @Gilbert

@Gilbert said:

Basically you can change the gain during streaming and set how much input you want to get from your mic’s whilst streaming.

Thanks, @Gilbert , I think this answers my question. Now that I know what’s there, I can ask my Audi to adjust this next time I’m in.

Don’t know if it is default for my Phonak Marvels (yeh I know, updating very soon) or Audi work but mine dim the mics & use music program; I can definitely hear the change.

Edited
@someozi said:

Don’t know if it is default for my Phonak Marvels (yeh I know, updating very soon)

You sound like you are expecting ridicule for still using Marvels. Although there is much discussion here about the latest and greatest models, there are many of us here still using older ’s very successfully and use this forum to get help and advice for them.

@Gilbert said:

You sound like you are expecting ridicule for still using Marvels.

My wife is still very happy with her KS9 aids. I have asked about updating to Sonite Rise aids and she is quick to say no, not needed now.

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