ITE aids and FM systems

August 2, 2006

Tricia,

I may not have this completely right, so bear with me as I try to explain

what I understand about FMs and the different aid types. From what I understand

the BTEs and the ITEs accept the sound slightly differently.

The microphone part and the FM receivers (boots) transmit to each other on

an FM setting. The BTE aids are able to take that in as direct input into the

aids via the connections (little touch plates or prongs) They can accept the

sound using 2 settings that can be changed with a little toggle on the FM

boot. It can be either FM-only or FM+background sound.

For ITEs the microphone transmits (via FM frequency) to a receiver on a

neckloop. The neckloop is simply hung around the neck. The neckloop then uses

the

input to create an induction field that transmits to the hearing aids via

the t-coil setting on the aids (the same one that is used for the telephone).

That field has a very short range for transmission which is why the neckloop

has to be worn on the body and can't be set nearby.

From what I understand, t-coil settings allow ONLY the t-coil's input and

does not allow for the aids to accept background noise at the same time. Both of

Ian's aids (old set and new ones) are like this. Perhaps there are ITEs

which are different, but not that I know of. My mother-in-law's ITE's t-coil

settings transmit only what is coming in via the t-coil (for her, that's the

phone).

The BTE boots+microphone setup allow the sound of the FM system to be ADDED

to the incoming aid sound, amplifying the incoming FM

(teacher/student/whoever) over the sound coming from the hearing aids' own

little microphones (the

rest of the room).

So, for us, this makes ITEs not an appropriate choice for Ian. His FM is

very much a needed support and he has been very successful using it in school.

He alternates between the FM-only and FM+background all the time, depending on

what kind of class it is and what is expected of him.

Ian's new aids also have what we jokingly call the " party setting " which

uses the directional mike capabilities. He alternates between the " normal " and

" party " setting on his aids in conjunction with the FM+background/FM-only

settings to find the combo that works best for him in any given classroom

setting. According to what we've been told by the TOD and others, he is a

successful

FM user.

Ian has a neckloop and he uses it with his MP3 and CD players. Since he

hears only what is being played into his ears, I get his attention by throwing

pillows or balled up paper towels at him. So, he has taken to turning only one

aid to the t-coil and leaving the other one set to normal so he can hear what

is going on around him. When my daughter has on her headphones, she is

somewhat deaf to the world, but can hear you holler her name. Ian hears

absolutely

nothing so it is very frustrating for me. At one point I rang the doorbell

(blinking light attached) so that he'd come into the kitchen from the living

room. Putting the music into only one hear is the best solution and makes for

a less stressed mom. (lol)

So ... that's the basics of what I know of FM systems + hearing aids.

Best -- Jill

August 2, 2006

In a message dated 8/2/2006 4:30:01 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,

baytoven@... writes:

Clear as mud, eh?

,

Thank you so much for making me literally laugh out loud -- snorting my

coffee right up into my stressed out sinuses. LOL

So much of what we get to wade through for our kids is about as clear as

mud. Then try to balance out the implications and options, and you can end up

sitting with your head in your hands wondering exactly how anyone makes sense of

all this.

I just loved your last comment ... so true, thanks!

Jill

August 2, 2006

In a message dated 8/2/2006 4:59:15 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,

tgwca@... writes:

However, it would be preferable if he can have

aids with volume control as I think his hearing may fluctuate daily,

and also it doesn't sound like the FM system can be used as

successfully as with BTE's. It sounds like if he went with ITE's, the

best option to use the FM system would be to turn it to one ear only

if he also wants to hear what is going on around him, and even at

that I thought that the sound quality with the neck loop is not as

good. If I am off here, anyone, let me know because we are still very

much just learning.

Jill, can I ask what kind of BTE aids Ian uses, and what options you

got for them? I think I understand the boot with the toggle to go

between FM and FM+background. I think the boot just fits over the ear

also, and then it has a little switch to move between the two

settings. Is that right? Do Ian's aids have volume control that he

can manipulate? Can you tell me what the " party setting " (too funny)

with directional mike capabilities is, as opposed to the regular

setting? Also, I believe you mentioned doughnut shaped molds that Ian

has now and likes. Can you refer me to any websites to see what his

stuff looks like?

okay ... now to answer a few more questions.

Ian's new aids do not have volume controls quite like his old analogs did.

The digital aids are adjusted to be worn with the volume setting in the middle

of it's range so that the wearer can do minor adjustments. A head cold will

have him turned up to 4 where his normal setting is at about 3. Because he has

a conductive loss, Ian likes volume and tends to keep his set high.

On the older analog aids there was a set of little dials under a tiny door.

Those set the master volume range for the aids. They had their own range of

1-6, I think, with 6 being the highest setting. As Ian's hearing deteriorated,

the audiologist would turn up the little dial to higher numbers. Once we

reach the 6 we knew that the life of the aids had been almost reached, there

was

nowhere higher to go. We knew we had a maximum of about 6 months until Ian's

loss outstripped his aids abilities. So, we bought the Valeos.

On these new aids, one of the perks is the ability to use directional

microphones. That means that the mike can focus itself a bit, cutting out

background noise and allowing you to hear the person speaking to you better.

This is

good in a " party " setting because it cuts out a lot of the noise that is right

up behind and all around you.

Imagine yourself at a cocktail party or wedding where there are a million

conversations going on within a few feet of each other. You and I can focus on

the person/people right in front of us talking within our little group. But

our kids' aids will be amplifying ALL the sound from all sides of them. The

directional mike aims/controls its intake to a smaller more focused area. So, it

allows Ian to focus in on the speakers closer to him.

We call it the " party " setting because it was first used at a family party

where there were several dozen people circling around my inlaws' home and

making it very hard for Ian to follow anything. He leaned into me and confessed

that he was having a terrible time following any conversations and he was

getting a headache. We were standing forehead to forehead, so I reached my

hands

up behind his ears and hit his control switches once, changing the setting

from " normal (a broad range) to the directional mike, and asked if that was any

better. His eyes lit up and he was thrilled. He'd never had this as an option

before and in most settings, he doesn't like how it cuts out background

sounds. But in a " party " it is a wonderful thing. This setting also serves him

well when he's in the school cafeteria.

As to the donuts for molds, if you look in the babydewe2 photo album

(_Listen-Up : Photos_

(http://ph.groups.yahoo.com/group/Listen-Up/photos/view/22e3?b=1) ) you will

see a lovely profile modeling ear molds that look just like

Ian's, right down to the red-white-blue swirling. (Aren't these albums

wonderful?!)

My daughter is now whining at full volume that I have to feed her, and

I promised a Chinese take-out night.

Hope everyone is doing okay in this heat! NY is 100+ today ... well into

the teens when you add in the heat index. ugh

Jill

August 2, 2006

Hi everyone,

I've followed the discussion on FM systems and ITE aids, but I am

still a little unsure of some things. It sounds like with ITE aids,

your only option to use an FM system is with a neck loop, and that

the sound using neck loops is not as good? Am I right on this? I have

also not seen a neck loop. Is it attached to a cord?

Also, I am wondering about if ITE aids are used with an FM system and

with a neck loop if that is the only option, can you program the FM

system to either receive just the speaker's voice, or to receive the

speaker's voice and surrounding noise, too? That is to say, I have

heard that you can program the FM system for either of those options,

but I am not sure if that is only accurate for FM systems used with

BTE aids, or if this is also true for the FM systems that you would

use with a neck loop and ITE aids. Because is blind and relies

so much on sound to interpret what is happening in his environment, I

would like him to be able to use an FM system that also allows him to

hear the other kids in the class if he chooses.

Thanks,

Tricia

August 2, 2006

A neckloop is a cord that fits around the wearer's neck. It transmits the

sound via magnetic energy to the hearing aids, that pick up the sound using

the telephone coil.

The small FM receiver BTE boots that are capable of both FM speaker only and

FM speaker/HA microphone mixing do so because they work off the hearing

aids. The direct input doesn't suffer from the additional transmission of

sound.

It's this extra transmission, after being transmitted across a room via FM

frequency, then magnetically from the neckloop to the hearing aids, that

seems to degrade the sound too much for my son with a severe loss. Booth

testing with an FM with neckloop vs direct input showed a significant drop

in benefit. He can use it for sports, in fact needs the extra range for

large field sports afforded by a body worn receiver, but needs direct input

into his hearing aids from an FM unit for classroom listening. Your son's

mileage may vary, and the best way to find out is to test both ways.

Even if a body worn FM can't be set for FM speaker/HA microphone mixing, the

hearing aids should be able to do it, since you'll be using the T coil with

a neckloop. My sons' digital hearing aids can be programmed to receive T

coil only, or T coil+Microphone sound. So even with the body worn FM, they

can still use their hearing aid microphones for surrounding noise. Since

M/T is a program, we can't change without reprogramming the HAs. The FM

unit needs to be compatible with the hearing aids to allow the hearing aids

to use their own microphones, or you will not be able to use the hearing

aid's microphones for a FM/HA mix. The FM unit may have its own microphone

for FM/HA use, but it will be on the body worn unit, far from the hearing

aids and unnatural.

Clear as mud, eh?

> Hi everyone,

> I've followed the discussion on FM systems and ITE aids, but I am

> still a little unsure of some things. It sounds like with ITE aids,

> your only option to use an FM system is with a neck loop, and that

> the sound using neck loops is not as good? Am I right on this? I have

> also not seen a neck loop. Is it attached to a cord?

>

> Also, I am wondering about if ITE aids are used with an FM system and

> with a neck loop if that is the only option, can you program the FM

> system to either receive just the speaker's voice, or to receive the

> speaker's voice and surrounding noise, too? That is to say, I have

> heard that you can program the FM system for either of those options,

> but I am not sure if that is only accurate for FM systems used with

> BTE aids, or if this is also true for the FM systems that you would

> use with a neck loop and ITE aids. Because is blind and relies

> so much on sound to interpret what is happening in his environment, I

> would like him to be able to use an FM system that also allows him to

> hear the other kids in the class if he chooses.

> Thanks,

> Tricia

>

August 2, 2006

Hi Jill,

Thank you very much, the way you explained it makes sense. How old is

Ian? I am impressed with how you describe his ability to manipulate

his own aids.

Does Ian use the neck loop for his MP3 and CD player because it has

the right end to plug into those, and the " boots " that fit over the

ears don't work with MP3 and CD players? I have a friend who is blind

and wears BTE's and says he prefers to use a Direct Audio Cord over a

neck loop to do the same because he thinks the sound is better. He

says that one of the ends plugs into regular jacks, and the other

plugs directly into the aids.

Anyway, 's loss is mild right now, but it will progress. We

don't know at what rate, but it will likely drop, then stabilize,

then drop again and so on. The struggle I am facing right now is that

I would like to try some ITE aids for him because they leave the

pinna uncovered, and he uses the pinna for spatial information

because he is blind. However, it would be preferable if he can have