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Hearing Aids and Headsets

DonFromTX

DonFromTX

Well Known Member
I got fitted for hearing aids yesterday, was trying to get some compatible with aviation headsets. Looks like my two Clarity Aloft headsets won't work with any of them. Does anyone else have hearing aids and care to share experiences with flying? I COULD just take them out while flying, but my particular loss makes speech difficult to understand.
 
This is second hand experience, but my primary flight instructor took his out when he flew. Since the intercom volume is adjustable he just turns that to a level he can clearly hear. I had volume adjustment on my headset so I just turned mine down to something that was comfortable to me.
 
DonFromTX said:
I got fitted for hearing aids yesterday, was trying to get some compatible with aviation headsets. Looks like my two Clarity Aloft headsets won't work with any of them. Does anyone else have hearing aids and care to share experiences with flying? I COULD just take them out while flying, but my particular loss makes speech difficult to understand.
Click to expand...

Don, I wear aids also and I take them out when flying and turn the volume up.
However some aids do not feed back when covered by headsets and can be worn under your headset, mine do (Hansaton) but it is too loud and too many noises for me to bother.
Bruce
 
In my case, it is not the volume I have a problem with, it is that I cannot hear certain frequencies of speech, it sounds like someone is speaking in grunts and growls without the high frequencies included. These ($6000 but furnished by the VA free) will amplify those frequencies I do not hear, making speech intelligible again. I expect traffic controllers and other pilots speech will be much clearer with them in.
 
I too have been looking into the hearing aid scenario. Everyone I know more than several have to remove their hearing aids when flying or they will get some affects from the quarrel between the different frequencies of the aids and the ANR headset.
An example is just the other day a friend said on the way home from X airport I heard the strobes, never heard them before but when removing the headset I realized that I still had my aids in. No noise since
 
Good point. These are blue tooth as well so might pick up frequencies there as well. They actually connect wirelessly to my cell phone so I don't even have to move the cell to talk or listen! I can see a learning curve coming with these buggers.

Larco said:
I too have been looking into the hearing aid scenario. Everyone I know more than several have to remove their hearing aids when flying or they will get some affects from the quarrel between the different frequencies of the aids and the ANR headset.
An example is just the other day a friend said on the way home from X airport I heard the strobes, never heard them before but when removing the headset I realized that I still had my aids in. No noise since
Click to expand...
 
I turn mine off in my and most A/C. Ive also had to turn them down very low on some friends A/C. It all depends on the intercom of radio audio. By The Way, I'm using a Bose 2nd Gen headset, not the latest one.
 
3 channel head set

My hear aids have 3 channels one set for normal,2 set for restrants 3 set for playing hand bells. You might want to being in your head phones and have hearing aid person adjust one cbannel for flying
 
My new fangled jobs do it all automatically, no volume controls or channels.
I guess I will get to do some experimenting.
QUOTE=redbaron;1207627]My hear aids have 3 channels one set for restrants 3 set for playing hand bells. You might want to being in your head phones and have hearing aid person adjust one cbannel for flying[/QUOTE]
 
Hearing aids

I have had hearing aids since about 2002 which I remove when flying and rely on my David Clarks to mitigate the noise. The radio use poses no problem. In fact, I remove the hearing aids whenever I am doing something noisy...riveting, mowing grass,using power equipment, etc.

Dick DeCramer
RV6
Las Cruces, NM.
 
Hearing Aids

I have noise induced hearing loss from 30 years exposure via Army Aviation.
I am using "in the ear hearing aids" made by "Phonak".
I have two headsets in our RV6. One is a Lightspeed Zulu and the other is a Lightspeed Zulu.2
My hearing aids work perfect with these headsets.
I can hear perfectly and never miss a radio call.
My recommendation is: Don't cheap out on hearing aids; and don't cheap out on headsets.
Your hearing will get worse as you age.
Always wear "ear muffs" hearing protection when using powered equipment; grinders, saws, high speed air drills, lawn mowers, chain saws. When shooting firearms wear ear plugs and ear muffs; or you will end up "deaf as a stump"...!!!
 
Your fancy aids should have programming capability allowing you to select with a single button push a curve the audiologist has established wherein the aid's fundamental frequency is suppressed to prevent feedback. Then you can leave them in under the headset for speech recognition. "Automatic" aids may not know what to do.

John Siebold
 
Use Bluetooth To Connect?

DonFromTX said:
These are blue tooth as well . . .
Click to expand...

Don - If you have one of the newer ANR headsets, perhaps your hearing aids can be connected to the headset via blue tooth? I'm not sure how that would work, but I know my Zulu 2 headset connects to me cell phone via blue tooth and allows me to make calls, so perhaps there is some way to do the same thing with your hearing aids?

Just a thought
 
hearing aids

I have Resound hearing aids from Costco. I leave them in and powered on with my David Clark headsets. No problems so far with understanding radio talk.
 
Thanks a lot for all the good information! I am sort of thinking that the Bose A20 would be a good match for me, Sporty's will let me try out any set I choose for 30 days each, very generous I think.
Has anyone used the Bose A20 with hearing aids? Would appreciate a PIREP if you have. I have not yet received the aids.
 
DonFromTX said:
Has anyone used the Bose A20 with hearing aids? Would appreciate a PIREP if you have. I have not yet received the aids.
Click to expand...

Not yet but will soon (appt this Friday) to restore my right ear hearing that disappeared last year during the night (sudden deafness). I've gotten some back but it is only good for low frequency sound and even then quite poor.

My left ear is still fine.
 
I always listen to a Chief Warrant Officer, since I am one also!
The VA says these aids I am getting cost over $6000, so I am not going to cheap out on them. I turned down the "all in the ear" type mostly because I and the audiologist thought they would not work well with a headset, thought I would lose the capability to remove them easily if I could not find a headset that was compatible, nice to know they work out OK.
The VA will furnish me either kind, so if I don't like the "behind the ear"
style, they will give me ones like yours. Thanks for that report on them.

Tracer 10 said:
I have noise induced hearing loss from 30 years exposure via Army Aviation.
I am using "in the ear hearing aids" made by "Phonak".
I have two headsets in our RV6. One is a Lightspeed Zulu and the other is a Lightspeed Zulu.2
My hearing aids work perfect with these headsets.
I can hear perfectly and never miss a radio call.
My recommendation is: Don't cheap out on hearing aids; and don't cheap out on headsets.
Your hearing will get worse as you age.
Always wear "ear muffs" hearing protection when using powered equipment; grinders, saws, high speed air drills, lawn mowers, chain saws. When shooting firearms wear ear plugs and ear muffs; or you will end up "deaf as a stump"...!!!
Click to expand...
 
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