7 Comments »

• Paula Rosenthal says:

  September 13, 2007 at 2:47 pm

  A Cochlear rep contacted me today about making the iPhone work for people with Cochlear’s cochlear implant processors:

  “While it’s true that you’d get interference holding the phone right next to a hearing device, I am pretty sure that the Bluetooth access would work fine since the phone can be a distance away from the hearing device. I use the NoizFree Beetle H-1 with the telecoil and it works great! I don’t have the iPhone but BT should make it usable for those who have a telecoil or the Phonak SmartLink.”
• Tania says:

  September 13, 2007 at 6:50 pm

  I use a behind-the-ear aid with an FM system and an iphone. The FM has bluetooth on it, so I pair it with my iphone and can talk on the phone that way.
  It is somewhat of a hassle, however, because my t-coil is not being put to use.
• nuts4hockey says:

  November 3, 2007 at 4:08 pm

  I have an Advanced Bionics CI with a T-Mic and I tested the IPhone at the store as well as a friends phone and both times did not experience any issues with static or noise. The phone produced quality sounds and I was able to carry on a conversation for about 10 to 15 minutes.

  For those that are unfamiliar with the T-Mic, this is not a telecoil but rather a an attachement to the body of the CI that drops down closer to the canal area of your ear which is where you would normally put your phone as if you were a hearing person.

  Hope this helps!!

  Kev
• Gerald says:

  December 9, 2007 at 10:19 am

  Can someone collaborate on the comments by Kev above? I have the Advanced Bionics CI with the T-Mic also. If this would true that the iPhone works without static or interference I would purchase one right away.

  Gerald
• Why We Hate the iPhone « Hearing Informed says:

  March 2, 2008 at 1:52 pm

  [...] Paula Rosenthal at Hearing Exchange has this to say,  Apple’s new iPhone is not hearing aid compatible on microphone or telecoil settings. Complaints have been filed with the FCC because HLAA believes that Apple, when designing the phone, could have tested it for hearing aid compatibility implemented standards to make it accessible to hearing aid and cochlear implant users. [...]
• Carla says:

  April 30, 2009 at 8:23 pm

  I have an Oticon BTE, can’t read the model number but it is a hybrid (analog & digital) about 4 years old, with regular, MT, and T switch. I just got an iphone 3G from AT&T 4/26/09 and have some minor static but can hear fine on my T switch without any other attachments. The volume must be up on the phone but I get no feedback and I hear people talking to me thru the iphone just fine.

  I have over 80% loss in the ear I use and 100% loss in the one I don’t. I use a single BTE and life is mono but good. I am thinking of getting a noizfree only for the hands free option when driving or listening to music/movies on my iphone. I had a Palm Centro with an HA rating of 5 (highest) and hear almost just as well on my iphone now as I did on my centro. I will tell you this, whatever Sprint uses to broadcast cellular waves, my HA’s always seemed to be louder and clearer/work better with my T coil than other cellular companies. In fact, I left ATT (then bell south wireless) long ago because none of the phones seemed to sound great to me on T coil and I felt it was more because of the wavelength/type of broadcast carrier they use rather than the phones themselves. Now Sprint is falling apart on me and I can’t get good signals or service from them so I went with the iPhone at ATT rather than a new contract at Sprint.

  Your best bet is to try one either at the store or from a friend yourself. Everyone has different brands of HA’s, settings/programming and different hearing losses. Any cell phone, you should try first, then decide on your own. So many people in the phone stores and around the office have cell phones now, it’s really hard not to find one you are interested in to try out. I have found most people very understanding and willing to let you play/test theirs if you explain why. Since we are all different, what I don’t seem to mind or notice with my HA, you might on yours and it may drive you nuts. You never know until you try for yourself using your current HA, that was programmed specifically to you.
• Clare says:

  July 6, 2009 at 9:48 pm

  I tried using a friend’s iPhone with my power BTEs. All I got was buzzing with the t-coil setting and extreme feedback with just my hearing aid mic. Very sad because I love Apple and the iPhone could be so useful, if I could make phone calls with it.

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