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LE Audio and the Future of Hearing

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I’d love a smart watch Jim. At least a smart earbuds case might make feel better about being too cheap to buy one.

In reply to @d_Wooluf

Yeah, ChatGPT and other is definitely not a reiliable source of information. I read one article from a medical website that mentioned that the AI used actually made up references to back up the incorrect information it had supplied. AI is definitely too human.
I don’t think anything is super solid for in the hearing aid world. Resound will probably be first to actually implement, but I don’t think anybody knows. I fear there will be more glitches than we’d hoped for.

This is not the right forum for this, but it is important to follow your doctor’s instructions for monitoring and blood thinners. The major concern is increased risk of blood clots and stroke.

electrophysiologists are specialists in managing heart rhythm disorders. I would make an appointment with one.

Edited

In reply to @Raudrive

To sorta of get back on topic, I’m glad I wear ’s as I wouldn’t be able to hear my Apple Watch ding a heart rate warning, otherwise. Since my Apple Watch has 5.3, I hope it eventually gets upgraded to BT and can stream notifications about heart rate activity to me directly. I won’t have to hear the ding over all the other noise in the environment. Using classic BT, the Apple Watch can stream notification sounds directly to recent Phonak devices like the Lumity, and I really liked that aspect of the Lumitys.

I think ablation requires one to be able to map a focus of fibrillation. It’s more useful in paroxysmal atrial tachycardia, which my grandson has. If you have fibrillation like mine, which is so rare, it only occurs in a big way a couple of times a year, usually when I’m very short on sleep, have drunk too much caffeine, and might be dehydrated from drinking mainly caffeinated beverages, the best thing is to lead a better lifestyle. A year ago, I had a complete cardiac workup: Tc-99m stress test, 24x7 monitoring for two weeks, and an echocardiogram. Nothing significant showed up. When you don’t have a mapped focus, taking a strong anticoagulant (used to be warfarin) is the usual treatment to make it harder to throw a clot and have an ischemic stroke (ups the risk of a hemorrhagic stroke), and I don’t want to do that unless I get a lot worse. I already take 80 mg of aspirin a day because of previous self-diagnosed transient ischemic strokes.

So, for my nebulous condition, I value my Apple Watch for monitoring and wish it could stream directly to HA’s so I could be privately notified and not have the watch alert everyone around me, etc.

If HA’s had better monitoring (I think Starkey and Phonak offer some), that would be an inducement to go with a brand that does, especially for calling EMS and emergency contacts if my head hits the ground with a thud. For the frequency and severity of my problem, just relying on an Apple Watch for monitoring and SOS calls seems sufficient for now. Again, I think better battery runtime with BT LE Audio will help make additional HA functionality more feasible, rather than trying to make it happen with power-hungry BT Classic since the alerts and emergency phone calls, etc., are going to be streamed. I guess any HA monitoring can be transmitted via BT LE, which is already in all the current-day HA’s. But HA monitoring probably depends on being connected to one’s smartphone. The nice thing about watch monitoring is that it can be independent of a smartphone, and the watch back has a large electrical and optical monitoring interface which HA’s can’t provide. Warning of a sudden impact to the head (if you faint from low blood pressure) seems the most useful EMS alert that HA’s can provide.

Perhaps in the sharing aspect of BT LE Audio, there’s room for an broadcast EMS alert. If you fell on the ground and you were unconscious, but your watch, smartphone, and HA’s had recorded something, maybe the phone could broadcast a message on an agreed-upon BT LE Audio emergency Auracast channel. When EMS or anyone who had that feature on their smartphone came upon your prostrate body, they could read that broadcast information. Or, in a household, you might always be broadcasting your health status on an Auracast channel, and other folks in your household could receive an alert on their earbuds, smartwatch, or smartphone if your health status started going south.

All speculation inspired by trying to push the thread back on topic a bit more! :slightly_smiling_face:

I know there are more serious medically-approved monitors one can wear. Maybe the Auracast EMS broadcast channel could be used for those, too, especially to easily apprise others in your household of how you’re doing throughout the day (and night). Perhaps a similar service could just work through a server-based system, and caretakers subscribe to alerts from the server monitoring service. Haven’t been there, done that yet so I don’t know how existing medically approved devices work in disseminating alerts to those around you.

I strongly suggest you see a cardiac electrophysiologist. afib episodes often become more frequent over time. Ablations are very effective— more effective in earlier stages before afib becomes persistent.

Edited

@chrisb. I have seen a cardiac electrophysiologist. He’s the one the results of the full cardiac workup I described were reported to. 24x7 monitoring showed at most several very brief, very rare episodes of tachycardia, sporadic PVCs, and no atrial fibrillation. If you can’t map it, you can’t ablate it. I’m like the erratic appliance that works perfectly when the repairman shows up.

My wife’s is a board-certified internist. She says not too many people having atrial fibrillation have ablation. Around 11% to 13% of folks having ablation have complications, so it’s not a benign procedure. She found 2022 data that said only about 4% of folks with atrial fibrillation have catheter or surgical ablation, usually folks with a bad case that cannot be chemically controlled.

For sporadic episodes of atrial fibrillation that may be caused by poor lifestyle (along with aging), getting adequate sleep, exercise, hydration, proper electrolyte balance, weight control, and stress management are typical first recommendations and were all things discussed by a nurse practitioner, my primary care physician, and the cardiac electrophysiologist I saw. I was told no alcohol and caffeine, only in moderation, if at all.

At any rate. I happened to mention a reason I want a smartwatch rather than just a smart earbud case. So everyone should consult their own physicians for medical advice and not take seriously anything that happens to get mentioned online, including my own situation and descriptions. Further cardiac discussion could take place in the social section of the forum.

Edit_Update:

https://forum.hearingtracker.com/t/atrial-fibrillation/76812?u=jim_lewis (unavailable)

I was a little concerned that you were going it alone from your earlier posts.

I am in total agreement that aFib treatment and decisions should be done in consultation with doctors. Elctrophysiologists specialize in heart rhythm disorders are a sensible choice.

I speak as someone who has had half a dozen episodes of aFib and a successful ablation.

Two new videos on . Nothing much new but brings it together quite well.

Doesn’t matter. Apple have to implement to keep it up to date.
A little tibit from Apple: A few mac supports it, not all mac… Hardware support for LE audio is non existent in older mac

In reply to @d_Wooluf

@d_Wooluf said:

We are seeing hardware with Bluetooth 5.2 but the spec for LE Audio hasn’t been released yet.

EHIMA announced Audio on January 7, 2020 [link]
Bluetooth SIG reannounced the Audio Sharing subset of BLE Audio naming it on June 8, 2022 [link]
On July 12, 2022 Bluetooth SIG announced The Complete Suite of Specifications [link]

coming to Windows.

Announcing new Windows 11 innovation, with features for secure, efficient IT...7

Technology is creating amazing opportunities for our industry and the world, and Windows 11 is at the center of innovation with new experiences that transform how we interact with the Windows PC and each other. With Windows 11, we’re seeing record

For the next generation of wireless audio, we’re excited to announce Bluetooth ® Low Energy Audio 4 , a first for the PC ecosystem. In partnership with Samsung Galaxy and Intel, Bluetooth® LE Audio brings high-quality audio at low power, delivering better experiences for your calls, videos, and music on compatible devices, including wireless ear buds like the Galaxy Buds2 Pro. We’re excited about this new feature and future possibilities as Bluetooth® LE Audio expands to more devices.

In the footnote it states available 5/23 and is hardware dependent. So presumably is available now if you’ve got appropriate hardware. There seem to be internal cards for computers with 5.3 and also some USB dongles, but none by any major manufacturers. Haven’t verified if any claim , but it does seem to be coming. Guess the only way to receive is through one of the few earbuds that support.

Intel have been doing a bit of promoting as well. The “Engineered for Intel” thing worries me slightly. Anyway, the video mentions 13 generation Intel CPUs. That’s the current generation I think.

My Samsung S23 is supposedly compatible (per NRF Connect)
Yes 13th gen is Intel’s latest. I can’t think of any reason why a computer would need the latest CPU though. Any computer with a M2 slot should be compatible with the right card (and maybe more crucial, the right drivers)

Perhaps incorporating into Windows will provide the critical “server” mass to get OEMs to make BT LE Audio a “thing” in their client HA products.

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