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Listening to audiobooks in the gym. Bluetooth amplifying too much gym noise -- suggestions?

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I have Zerena 9 hearing aids and I’ve been using the mifi bluetooth connection for listening to audiobooks. However, when I go to the gym, the overall noise level in the gym overwhelms the audiobook to the point where I am catching only half the words. Suggestions? (I can’t wear the hearing aids with earbuds, and earbuds alone are uncomfortably loud in one ear and not loud enough in the other.)

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I don’t get it. Can’t you just mute the hearing aids’’ mics while streaming via the iPhone? Usually it can be done with a long push on either buttons.

A short push un mute the mics quickly if you want to hear the surrounding noise.

I don’t think the sound is coming through the mic. It’s just general background noise. Gyms get pretty loud. A closed headphone- not plugged into anything but maybe with active noise cancellation- or just hearing protection ear muffs might do it. Might not be the look that ColoradoLupine wants though. I can think of a couple of upcoming hearables that might do the job, but they’re not here yet.

@d_Wooluf said:

I don’t think the sound is coming through the mic. It’s just general background noise. Gyms get pretty loud. A closed headphone- not plugged into anything but maybe with active noise cancellation- or just hearing protection ear muffs might do it. Might not be the look that ColoradoLupine wants though. I can think of a couple of upcoming hearables that might do the job, but they’re not here yet.

Are you suggesting that the OP is wearing open domes and it’s the sounds coming through the open domes and not the amplified sound through the mics that is bothering the OP?

I highly doubt that this is the case because if you look at the OP’s , the hearing loss is pretty heavy such that it’s unlikely that the OP would be wearing open domes in the first place. Even if so, the unamplified sound coming through the open domes wouldn’t be able to compete with the amplified streamed sound from the iPhone due to the high level of loss across the board.

@Volusiano said:

Are you suggesting that the OP is wearing open domes and it’s the sounds coming through the open domes and not the amplified sound through the mics that is bothering the OP?

Yes, I was. I didn’t think to check the . I guess we’ll know when the OP comes back.

The hearing aid mics should be able to be turned down when streaming. Not sure if there is a Bernafon app to do that or the fitter has to do that via the software. Or you could simply mute the aids like @Volusiano suggested.

@seb said:

Have your audi give you a separate program to mute the HA’s when you are listening to the audiobooks.

Instead of using up a program for this (if you can even set it up that way), I think it’s better to just long press a button to mute the mics whenever and in any mode you want. Then a quick push of a button to unmute. No need to cycle through any special program.

Also, I think streaming from the iPhone is automatic and doesn’t take up any program in the first place.

I had the identical problem in the gym and my solution is to push soft ear plugs into my ears over my . I use Hearos Xtreme Protection and they work very well.

@ColoradoLupine said:

the overall noise level in the gym overwhelms the audiobook to the point where I am catching only half the words. Suggestions?

My wife had a similar (but opposite) problem. The streaming was much too loud.

Okay, this was with Oticon Opn’s and it was the TV Adapter, not the phone. However, the Opn and Bernafon Zerena settings may be similar. Here’s how we adjusted the programming settings to fix the Streaming-too-loud problem.

Thanks for the suggestions. I will go figure out how to mute the mics – off to the manual for that one. Gyms are very noisy and there are lots of loud, sharp noises.

If I have to wear noise canceling headphones I will; – will that affect Bluetooth reception?

I do have .

I’m also going to try @pvc’s suggestion.

Edited

Bernafon’s Oasis Nxt has the same settings, except they use a poor man’s graphics display. You have to use pull down menus to select +/- ranges

Features/Accessories:
Under the (Smartphone Tab) you can use the (Mic/phone level) to attenuate your microphone level as much as -12 dB which is a lot;

Capture

I assume the Zerena’s are from Costco. I assume that you are not a self-programmer thus you are unable to make your own fitting adjustments.

I think you should make a fitting appointment to get your Mic/Phone level changed to attenuate the microphones more aggressively. Also, I think you should be able test the lower setting immediately in the Costco warehouse by streaming audiobooks. If you think you need it even lower, then have them set it lower and try the lower setting by streaming again.

In reply to @pvc

I’m going in for another re-programming to further attenuate the external microphone. The revised setting (-3?) has helped and works ok when I’m walking in the neighborhood, but not if I’m near a moderately busy street or in the gym. I think that a related part of the problem is that I have my iphone volume at or close to maximum in order to hear the audiobook clearly. I don’t need the volume that high for most phone calls. Not sure why.

Well busy streets and gyms are noisy places. I’m thinking maybe your microphone should let you hear sounds from a noisy street for safety??

At the gym, you can toggle your hearing aid mute button (generally hold either hearing aid button for a very long press, 3+ seconds) to listen to streaming with no hearing aid microphone input. When the need arises to talk to a person next to you, then a quick button press on either hearing aid will un-mute the microphones so you can listen to the person next to you.

But I don’t stream so maybe I’m not the best person to advise.

I too have the Zerenas and what I do is turn the hearing aids down and turn the volume on my iPad (or phone) up. This cuts out the gym sounds enough for me to hear the audio book while I’m on the treadmill. Don’t know if it will work for you but it’s worth a try.

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