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Got my First Pair of Hearing Aids - Oticon Opn 1 MiniRite

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Greetings everyone!
I’ve been reading a lot here and glad to be in the company of such knowledgeable and helpful people!
So now it’s time to jump in and share my experiences and ask a few questions.

I have had a stable reverse slope hearing loss for several years and finally gotten around to getting a pair of hearing aids. It was a choice between Widex Beyond and Oticon OPN Mini Rite. I picked the Oticon because I got the impression that the Widex depended more on the iPhone for operation than the Oticon. Being newbie who does not have an iPhone or compatible smartphone, I wanted something straightforward and simple.

So far, aside from picking up large amounts of background noise such as A/C units and computer fans, I am happy with my choice. One of the things I’ve noticed since wearing the Oticons is that sounds are more crisp. Especially mechanical noises and beeps. One of the first things I noticed when driving home after picking up my new hearing aids was all the clinks and clunks my car was really making. Good news for the hearing aids. Not so much for my car as I can now hear what’s really going on.

Only problem with the Oticons is that I still find myself needing to turn up the volume on my phone. Voices are a little crisper, but I sometimes still have to ask people to repeat themselves or get in closer to people I’m speaking with.

I’m still within the 30-day trial period and since I’m still having minor issues with the phone, I am really tempted to trade in the Mini Rite for the Mini Rite with .

Only issue here is that I’m not sure if the phones that I use at work are compatible. Both are landlines.

I like the size and the look of the MiniRITE and although the MiniRite-T isn’t much bigger, I am afraid of giving up something I like for something that might not work.

Bottom line, how can I tell if my phone would be compatible with the T-Coil?
And are there any functions/features that I would loose by moving from the MiniRite to the MiniRite-T?
And when the t-coil is activated, do the mics still pick up? I read here that they do, but I had the option to mute if I wanted to.

Any input is greatly appreciated!
Thanks!

10 people in this conversation9 min readJump to latest

You may need adjustments. They may not have them turned up to target yet.

About , I would be surprised if any modern phone has a magnet large enough to actually communicate by induction. Also, I’ve never found a venue that was looped.

I think Bluetooth is the way to go for phone calls and the manufacturers TV device for watching TV. You can also move the TV device to other sound systems.

Thanks for the response. I already had one adjustment and have not noticed a significant difference. They are not up to target, though, so I want to give them a chance. My audiologist said it should take a few more weeks.

I’m still on the fence about the . It seems like a good idea if it works with my landline phone. Unfortunately, I don’t know how to test this. There are a few local theaters in my area (Pittsburgh) that have loop systems, so that’s at least a plus.

I do have the Oticon connect clip which lets me connect to my tablet and cell phone through Bluetooth. It works for the cell phone, though output is not as loud as if I would use earphones when listening to music or watching video on my tablet.

I might get the Oticon TV device if my husband gets Oticon hearing aids.

Hey @Liz_B,
As an audiologist I’m always happy when the hearing aids have more options for us to explore in the future. So I really like the idea of the miniRITE-T just for the added flexibility. Unfortunately in Canada we don’t have as many loop systems - even the USA is lacking but you have way more. You can check out https://www.loopamerica.com/20 to see of other venues looped. I was at the American Academy of Audiology Conference earlier this year and was advised that they might be working on incorporating loop systems into Google Maps so it is even easier to find looped venues (which is very exciting).

As for the for use on landlines. As Don mentioned, many modern phones have a weaker magnet and the induction signal is weak. I don’t use T-coils for landline use as much as I used to. Especially since feedback management has improved so much in recent years - many people just use their acoustic program successfully on the phone - but this requires you to hold the handset speaker right up to the microphones (which would be on the top of your miniRITE hearing aid).

My advice would be if you are considering a t-coil and think you might use it then go for it. You aren’t losing anything by switching other than a slight increase in size on your ear. Otherwise you are only adding potential functionality. But as mentioned - as for whether the t-coil will help on your landline varies. Some landlines are fantastic and others are weak. You can always get a magnet form your audiologist to add on to your landline phone to increase its strength.

Loop systems are phenomenal though and I wish every venue out there was looped properly and I wish all hearing aids had the functionality of a t-coil for accessibility reasons.

Hope that helps! :slight_smile:

Edited

For the OPN, at least with the non- version, using a magnet (from your audi or whatever) doesn’t really increase a landline strength.

Basically the non-telecoil version of the OPN has an AutoPhone mode. If enabled, and if it detects a conventional speaker (with a magnetic base), it’ll automatically put the non-telecoil OPN into the AutoPhone mode. Even without a telecoil, the AutoPhone mode will improve the reception of the sound from the speaker of the phone handset (or speakers of a pair of headphones). But the AutoPhone mode is still not as good as the Telecoil option.

With newer smart phones/cell phones, there is no magnet in their speakers to trigger the non-telecoil version of the OPN into the AutoPhone mode. So putting a magnet near the vicinity of the smart phone’s speaker will trick the OPN into triggering the AutoPhone mode. Otherwise it will not enter the AutoPhone mode.

So back to your question of how to know if the telecoil version of the OPN will work with the landline phones you have at work, it’s simple. Put your non-telecoil version of the OPN you currently have into the AutoPhone mode (have the AutoPhone feature enabled). Then when you use the landline handset you have at work, if applied against your ear onto the OPN, if you hear a special chime, that means that it has detected the presence of a conventional magnet-based speaker and therefore activated the AutoPhone mode. If so, then this landline handset should work well with the telecoil version of the OPN.

On the other hand, if you don’t hear the special chime for the AutoPhone on your current non-telecoil version of the OPN, that means that your landline handset’s speaker is not magnetic based, and therefore won’t work well with the telecoil version.

In short, the AutoPhone mode in the non-telecoil version of the OPN is the poor man’s workaround for conventional magnetic-based speaker landline handset. The true solution for these conventional magnetic-based speaker landline handset is the telecoil version of the OPN.

I have the non- version of the OPN 1. The telecoil version wasn’t available at the time I bought my OPN 1. If it were, I would have sprung for the telecoil version. I don’t mind the slightly bigger size because it’s sitting behind my ear anyway, so a little bit bigger doesn’t matter to me. But the telecoil version will be helpful if I ever use conventional telephone landlines at work, or if I’m in a place with an induction loop system.

I can also buy a third party neckloop with an audio line input to be able to hear audio from non-Bluetooth audio sources, albeit these sources, if stereo, will have to be converted down to mono.

In reply to @Liz_B

@Liz_B said:

It works for the cell phone, though output is not as loud as if I would use earphones when listening to music or watching video on my table

Your fitter can adjust the streaming volume for phone calls. I also have a reverse slope hearing loss. I have the streaming volume maximized and the hearing aid mics on the lowest setting for phone calls.

In reply to @canadian_audiologist

Thanks for the info!
I checked out the list of loop systems at the link you provided and saw only four venues for my area listed. I know for a fact that there is at least one other theater that has the system that was not on the list, so I have hope that there are actually a lot more than we think. I don’t go to the theater too often if at all, but as you mentioned, having the potential would be nice.

In reply to @Abarsanti

Thanks! I’ll try that.
My audiologist already made a slight adjustment, but I’m not sure specifically what she did.
It did slightly boost the streaming output enough that I can at least hear my music above the sound of the bus on my commute to work. I think it can be better, though.

I have the Zerena model so the comparison is not direct but I can add this. My original ones had the t-coil, I found it (1) it made the larger due in part to the two volume buttons, noticeably larger (2) There virtually zero places in my travels that support t-coils. I returned them for the regular ones.

The sharpness can be toned down to a point. The problem is once my fitter turned it down to my satisfaction my voice recognition suffered so I found a middle ground. I am getting used to it.

I have the same Aids and find them the best I have had. It connects to my Bluetooth of my phone and the calls come directly to my aids, no outside sound. I also have the TV box and for the first time I am able to listen to TV without raising the volume. My only complaint is the battery life. 4 to 5 days depending on the amount of Phone calls and TV use.

Edited

Below is the Genie 2 screen shot for the Autophone. As you can see, you can set the non-listening ear to be attenuated to various levels. Maybe this is what is causing you to not hear your voice not as well, due to the attenuation of your non-listening ear. It can be set to 0 attenuation so that you can hear the mic on the non-listening ear just the same as the listening ear. This has to be done by your provider.

image

@Liz_B said:

. It was a choice between Widex Beyond and Oticon OPN Mini Rite. I picked the Oticon because I got the impression that the Widex depended more on the iPhone for operation than the Oticon.

Odd for two reasons. Widex is no more dependent than Oticon on the iPhone and the Beyond is not the latest technology by Widex. That belongs to the Evoke.

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