Ask HN: Hearing aid wearers, what's hot?

Post by Barbing » Mon, Nov 24, 2025, 9:27 AM UTC

KingMob wrote: post #30

mustntmumble wrote: post #26

I'll tell you what is NOT hot! I have Phonak Audeos paired over bluetooth with my iPhone. A few years prior, I used to have Oticon, also paired with my iPhone. With the Oticon, if I made a cellphone call, the iPhone would use the default iPhone microphone while the audio would stream to my hearing aids. It was good that way because in a noisy environment I could hold the iphone right up to my mouth and the other part…

I have the same problem, but I always assumed it was Apple's fault. I don't know why the HAs/Airpods have the final say. I don't think there's a way around it on the iphone, but I was able to cobble a fix for my macbook at least. It uses Shortery to run a Shortcut whenever my HA connects. The Shortcut runs a shell script that uses https://github.com/deweller/switchaudio-osx/ to determine the built-in mic and switch b…

Post by pcrh » Mon, Nov 24, 2025, 9:49 AM UTC

furyofantares wrote: post #40

There's something I think must be possible and wonder if it would be useful: using noise cancelling earphones to mimic someone else's hearing loss. The idea is if you live with someone with hearing loss, you could enter the frequencies they can't hear, and cancel only those. Then you could spend a day with these in to try to get a more direct understanding of which noises they can hear and which they can't.

Post by shawabawa3 » Mon, Nov 24, 2025, 10:05 AM UTC

danielparks wrote: post #80

jonathanlb wrote: post #35

I'll tell you what's not hot: cochlear implants. I wore hearing aids since the late '80s. I wear CIs as of about 5 years ago, and while my hearing is much better and stable than it used to be, I've found that UX for CIs is pretty bad. For one, unless you use Med-El's Rondo processeor, you're going to have a thin cable connecting your processor to the coil. Taking off your CIs and putting them back on (as one does eve…

Have you tried the non-over-the-ear cochlear devices? The kind that have everything built into the part that sticks magnetically to your implant — I don’t know what the term is; I don’t use them myself. I know somebody who really dislikes the over-the-ear type devices and swears by the all-in-one kind. She seems to get a full day of battery out of hers, but I don’t know what kind they are and I imagine usage patterns…

Post by Aldipower » Mon, Nov 24, 2025, 10:10 AM UTC

remh wrote: post #2

I’m sorry I can’t answer your question but on a related note I wonder if anyone has used AirPods Pro 3 as hearing aids either as their first pair or replaced their traditional ones with AirPods? I’m considering getting a pair for a family member who has been reluctant to wear traditional ones but I think would be willing to do AirPods.

Post by stonecharioteer » Mon, Nov 24, 2025, 10:46 AM UTC

SapporoChris wrote: post #89

stunthamsterio wrote: post #88

I've got moderate to severe SSHL and use an Oticon intent 1 miniRite. For my use it's been very good - long last battery, relatively robust. It also has excellent bluetooth connectivity, so I often use it to stream audiobooks in tedious meetings. In terms of hearing quality, for me, it's been solid, with the caveat that it took a while to get the fitting right. I think my audiologist was a bit old school, and was sti…

Thank you for the new acronym. Sudden sensorineural (“inner ear”) hearing loss (SSHL), commonly known as sudden deafness, is an unexplained, rapid loss of hearing either all at once or over a few days. SSHL happens because there is something wrong with the sensory organs of the inner ear. Sudden deafness frequently affects only one ear. https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/sudden-deafness To save some people time if they…