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How to hear better at meetings where speakers are far away and speak softly

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Hello. I just joined the forum and this is my first question. I have moderate hearing loss + tinnitus. I use both Oticon “invisible” hearing aids and Widex behind the ear twinned to an i-Phone. I need help hearing at large business meetings where speakers are around a long table, some 20+ feet away, and speak softly with no mikes. I tried the Phonak device that transmit the voices to the hearing aids and sits in the middle of the table with mixed success. It didn’t always work and I gave up on it. Interested to know if anyone can suggest solutions.

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Hello @Zeno330 Welcome to the forum, I hope you will find here what you are looking for.
20ft is a long distance, not sure which Phonak accessory you’ve used.
Are you happy with your current hearing aids be it Oticon or Widex? (I am sure Oticon and Widex have some sort of microphone accessories for group situation)

That is a TOUGH ONE to tackle. I’ve been there, and know what it’s like. Is it essential that you be sitting in the room with everyone? Cuz one alternative is to have you dial in from your cell phone and stream the call. That would require that a phone be on the table for call-ins.

My guess is that even the Phonak Roger V2 stick in POINTER mode would be a very awkward solution. And, as you’ve observed, tabletop doesn’t always work the way it’s “marketed” by Phonak. While the Roger V2 has a lanyard so ONE speaker can wear it and transmit their own voice to your aids, that’s not a solution for a room full of people.

Other thought would be to ask for a Zoom and then stream from your office. Main thing is, you need to STREAM that audio right into your EARS. Good luck with finding a solution and please let us know what you come up with.

Is the Phonak mic you mention truly compatible with the hearing aids you own? Also have you tried Live Listen on your iPhone? I have a “hearing the group” situation in my own life, but haven’t worked at solving it. Sadly, the group discussion itself is not one I care enough about !!

Edited

In reply to @mystuart

Why do you consider it sad that you haven’t worked on finding a solution for the group hearing your refer too. I think its HAPPY that you have no solution but you don’t care that much anyway. Good for. you.

@Reginald For comparison sake - do you know the going price for the Sound Assist? I’m already disappointed in Phonak lack of consistent, reliable support, but I’m curious whether they are also giving us the shaft on price? I’m assembling a file for future reference if/when I have the funds and reason to purchase new H.A. As it stands right now my first choice to look into would be products NOT FROM PHONAK.

Don’t know definitive answer but my guess is that these big time TOP purveyors of hearing aids could come up with a universal device such as Sound Assist or Roger Device that would work with most other hearing aids (excluding ) as well.

@kcsummerkc said:

@Reginald For comparison sake - do you know the going price for the Sound Assist? I’m already disappointed in Phonak lack of consistent, reliable support, but I’m curious whether they are also giving us the shaft on price? I’m assembling a file for future reference if/when I have the funds and reason to purchase new H.A. As it stands right now my first choice to look into would be products NOT FROM PHONAK.

Last time I’ve checked, it was around €300. And you don’t need anything else. So it’s much cheaper than Phonak’s offerings.
That being said, newest from Signia and Resound are enabled, the rest will follow most likely. Meaning that they will work with all upcoming LEA streaming/mic type devices, not only from their manufacturer.

In reply to @1Bluejay

The Zoom idea is interesting. Guessing that would require work to get some decent microphones to make it work for multiple people around a table.
If required to be in person and it’s a big table and more than 5 or 6 people, I think it would take at least two Phonak Roger Table II microphones to be satisfactory. Other option would be for all speakers to wear a microphone. Starkey also has a table microphone. Haven’t really heard much about it.
A future possibility when compatible hearing aids become available (like Resound Nexia), there’s the potential for non proprietary microphones to be able to assist in such situations.

Thank you, everyone, for these thoughtful responses and ideas. I don’t know much about the various equipment choices. Will try to find a very good audiologist to help me navigate the situation. Looks like I am not the only person to have this problem and that it is not so easily addressed.

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