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by jaclaz 2101 days ago
Well, my mom has one of those.

They are actually two pieces, one is a match-box sized thingy that can connect to Bluetooth devices and that she wears around her neck that transmits to the devices in her ears and also has a microphone, it is very handy as she can easily answer the phone by pressing a button on it (leaving the telephone in the bag, it works as hand-free) and it also has two buttons that can regulate the volume of the hearing aids (the volume of her hearing aids can be regulated also through a teeny-tiny button on the back of the hearing aid, right hand one up, left hand down, but she simply cannot find/push them properly).

We got the above first to better adjust volume and for the telephone use, then she started getting issue with the TV and we bought the following.

Then there is a small transmitter connected to the TV that can link to the matchbox-like device (that has a fourth button to connect/disconnect to the TV device), it has both RCA plug and an optical input.

She is very, very happy of this setup for the TV, much more than what she had before (wireless headphones).

Prices are steep, to give you an idea, if I recall correctly:

hearing aids € 2,500

neck matchbox-like thingy € 250

TV transmitter € 300

2 comments

They do come up on ebay - I got the tv link for my cochlear implant for £30. Yes, I was lucky. I assume it was a deceased estate sale, and I'm grateful for their consideration. A charity shop specialising in recycling of this kind of tech would fill a definite gap in the market.
Thank you for giving a detailed explanation. I have got a general idea. I wish you could share photos, so I can replicate it for my Mom.
The issue is the wireless protocol used by the hearing aids (which I believe it is proprietary).

The TV box thingy is like a "normal" Bluetooth transmitter for a TV, the only differences are that my mom's one has direct RCA and optical instead of an audio jack and a blue led to show it is powered and a brightish orange one to show if the connection is active, here it is:

https://www.hab.online/product/oticon-connectline-tv/

The neck thingy is this one: https://www.hab.online/product/oticon-streamer-pro/

The above (UK) site seems to have all versions of these thingies, here:

https://www.hab.online/product-category/wireless-and-remotes...

The alternative:

https://www.hab.online/product/oticon-connectclip/

we tried but it is too small for my mom to use comfortably.

Here is the manual of the streamer, with more details:

https://www.oticon.com/-/media/oticon-us/main/download-cente...

Check also this:

https://www.ndcs.org.uk/information-and-support/technology-f...

Thank you, friend!