[TenTec] Rag Chew, DX, or Contest with Hearing Aids

[denton]

Looks like this would be an excellent write up for the ARRL! A recent copy 
of QST has done a short article but methinks something a bit more on the 
lines of product reviews would be nice.

My current hearing aids, a pair of Resound Forza...sold by Costco..use a 
wifi audio interface. The interface has both mic plus plug in for audio 
sources. This has been the best for me. The device has a range of about 25 
ft with fresh charge..so can grab a cup of coffee while listening to ssb or 
cw. To me, the difference between rig speakers and the wifi audio interface 
is remarkable!

I have work hearing aids since I was a small boy, and have been hamming for 
almost 35 years.

A previous set of hearing aids used telecoils and I used an inductive loop 
with an audio interface, but like Gary, this was not good for me. Kept 
picking up too much inductive hum from other sources (power supply, light 
fixtures, etc) and I could not move around the shack anywhere.

Hope this helps someone.
--------------------------------------------------
From: "GARY HUBER" <glhuber at msn.com>
Sent: Wednesday, March 13, 2013 6:43 AM
To: "TenTec Reflector" <tentec at contesting.com>
Cc: "SMC" <smc at w9smc.com>; "W9AML group-email" 
<w9aml at midlandsnetworking.com>
Subject: [TenTec] Rag Chew, DX, or Contest with Hearing Aids

> For those with hearing impairments, the joy of using amateur radio is 
> diminished if you can’t hear or understand the sounds coming from your 
> radio.
>
> If you buy or have hearing aids with T-coils (telephone coils) you already 
> have part of the solution. Hearing aid T-coils normally are used to 
> inductively couple with the coil in the telephone handset, bypassing the 
> hearing aid microphone. In many hearing aids the T-coil program has a 
> separate profile since normal telephone audio frequencies are from 300 to 
> 3000 Hz with a 6 dB per octave rising response providing equal loudness.
>
> With open hearing aids which have a small opening which allows some sounds 
> to pass unamplified to the eardrum, the use of a headset allows the sounds 
> from the headset to mix with any sounds produced within the headset as the 
> result of the T-coil and inductive coupling with the headset. I’ve found 
> this to not work well for me.
>
> I found J-hooks 
> (http://www.hearinglosshelp.com/products/earlinks.htm#musicliks) which 
> provide NO external sound, but do inductively couple to the T-coils of my 
> hearing aids to produce sounds inside my hearing aides to be the best 
> solution. I can now copy CW, chase DX, or participate in an AM net (I can 
> even be net control).
>
> I have NO relationship or interest with 
> http://www.hearinglosshelp.com/products/earlinks.htm#musicliks except as a 
> satisfied customer.
>
> Having been through the disappointment as the result of not being able to 
> hear in a hobby where “you can’t work them if you can’t hear them”, I’m 
> trying to get the word out to others with problems hearing their radio. If 
> you know someone with hearing problems, please pass this on to them.
>
> 73 ES DX,
> Gary -- AB9M
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