Skip to content
HearingTracker
Log in

Telecoils in Hearing Aids

This topic is closed.

33 replies1.3k viewsLast reply

Jump
Link to this topic
Edited

Hello Everybody!

I was listening to this video where the were mentioned. How can I know that my hearing aids have telecoils? If they have it, how can I activate it?

P.S. My hearing aids are Phonak Naída M70. I bought them from eBay, not a hearing aid company. I programmed them by myself after getting a great help from some members over here.

Thank you

16 people in this conversation10 min readJump to latest

Phonak hearing aids will generally have a “T” in the model number. are often not included to save space. Mine need adding in the Target fitting software.

@Zeeza said:

Phonak Naída M70

They have . You just need to add it in the software to have the program.

The Audeo has to have T in the name for the telecoil to be included but as you have the Naida, you don’t need to worry about that.

All Naida hearing aids have enough space inside for \TC. So your Naida Marvel have TC.
You need to add a separate program for TC in Target.
And for access you need to switch manually to the TC program if you like to receive/hear the TC signal

Bolero Marvel Rechargeables don’t have , but the battery versions do.

This video is very old. The newer system is called . It’s supposedly easier to set up and it works better. It’s a very new technology along with Bluetooth LE. My Jabra hearing aids have Auracast built in, and the Jabra iPhone app will receive the signal, I just haven’t found anyplace that has an Auracast transmission signal. I don’t attend church nor go to the movies very frequently.

@Flyboybob said:

This video is very old

Well, 19 months doesn’t seem that long ago. There aren’t many enabled venues yet at all. There are many tcoil enabled venues. Especially in Europe. You’ll find tcoil in metro areas more often. Another approach is using fm systems to spread the signal, and hooking up the fm receiver to your aids by an auxiliary device (I use a Roger mic in those circumstances.)

WH

Your audiologist can tell you if you have , turn them on, and show you how to use them.

As to , it was discussed a lot at the HLAA (Hearing Loss Association of America) Convention which ends today. The experts here explained that only a couple of hearing aid brands have the Auracast version of Bluetooth currently working. I think it’s the newest versions of Resounds (including sister brand Jabra) and Starkey brand aids. Most other hearing aid brands have the necessary chips in their newest , but the software needed to start using Auracast is delayed, waiting for more need of it, more places broadcasting with it. Once they are the decision to implement it is made, your hearing aid and provider /audiologist can set them up to work. But this will only be in the newest versions of hearing aids

Also, I learned at the HLAA Convention, that the current such as Loops can and should be run side by side since it will take years for all hearing aids to be ready. Many of us keep hearing aids for 4 years or longer so we won’t be using Auracast until we buy new Aids capable for Auracast. So keep asking for in your hearing aids, even if the new Bluetooth is available. . Loops will be around for a long time as event space owners won’t all want to change out what they have.

With the Jabra EP20s (and kin) the is in the external Multi-Mic/Mini-Mic. If you have such a mic, perhaps from owning an earlier Jabra model, you’re all set to use a when one is encountered in a public space or large room.

Edited

In reply to @firenzel

@firenzel said:

And for access you need to switch manually to the TC program if you like to receive/hear the TC signal

Ah, thank you! But I can only make use of it when the places support “assistive listening systems”, right?

Eidted: I looked up the Target guidelines but I couldn’t find how to add !

In reply to @Zeeza

You can only use it in venues (or other places) with installed; typically a copper wire just beneath the floor.

And it is required that the event uses micophones/PA-system that is connected to the hearing loop.

I often take advantage of it at lectures. Sound can be incredibly good when it is working.

The venue often have big sticker with a symbol when a hearing loop is installed. The symbol you see here:

Audio induction loop5

An audio induction loop system (also called an audio-frequency induction loop or AFIL, or a hearing loop) is an assistive listening device for individuals with reduced ranges of hearing. The first patented magnetic induction loop communication system was invented by Joseph Poliakoff (grandfather of Sir Martyn Poliakoff) in Great Britain in 1937. The pickup coil in a hearing aid is known as a (or T-coil) because its early form was to pick up a magnetic field from coils within a telephon...

I don’t know how it is in Egypt though. Probably marked with the same symbol.

@Swift said:

I don’t know how it is in Egypt though

I’m afraid it’s not available, at least in places I’ve been to!
Thank you!

In reply to @PeterH

Regarding Infrastructure: the Auracast Transceivers cost $50 or less (US $). If your Church, school, dance hall, bar has a broadcast system that has an appropriate output, donate the money yourself, get together with a couple other friends and pool the donation or buy the transceiver. They aren’t difficult to set up. Mine uses USB A (or USB C with a $5 adapter). My square dance caller just bought one that has (memory here) 1/8" banana plug, USB, and a fiberoptic input. Ranson is a frequent contributor here. His company FLOOCAST makes the FMA120 (and the 121 soon?) Which works superbly with a Samsung Galaxy 23 FE. IF you do that, everyone who has equipped hearing aids (I’m using Jabra 30s) or phone (or a phone with an FMA 120) and unequipped hearing aids can get the broadcast. When I was sailing, we said KISS…Keep It Simple Sailor! and this is much more simple than a setup for everyone to use. Cordially, KP

In reply to @Flyboybob

It’s not that old. It’s too soon to say that the video, or , is obsolete. Not much more than a year ago the ReSound Nexia was the only hearing aid to have implemented. Now there are a few more, and a handful of cell phones and such devices that already have it. But there’s hardly anywhere you can use it. It’s the next generation of Bluetooth, so widespread adoption is coming, but it not here yet, so what we’ve got for now is telecoil.

That said, in my experience, telecoil is also hard to come by, though maybe I function well enough without it, so I don’t look hard enough. I’ve only seen it at a few ticket windows and the like where it’s available, and I’ve only been to one venue where I could listen to a presentation piped directly to my hearing aids. Funny enough, I work at a library, and the reference desk is supposed to have telecoil. There’s mic for it, and a little sign with the telecoil logo on it, but it doesn’t work, I’ve tried. But then again, nobody has asked for it, as far as I know.

I’m not an expert on technology, but I understand that it’s not easy to maintain. , and LE Bluetooth are newer technologies and are easier to maintain. There are simple Auracast transmitters, available on Amazon for $50. I have the Jabra Enhanced Pro 30, (Same as the ReSound Viva), hearing aids and they and their iPhone app are Auracast compatible right now. Unfortunately, I haven’t found, in the nine months I have been wearing the hearing aids. The Auracast app has been out since around April 2025.

Related discussions