HLAA Exhibits - Part Nine

By Cheryl Heppner

Editor: One of the best things about the HLAA convention is the opportunity to see all the latest and greatest technology. For those who can't make it to the convention, Cheryl Heppner does an OUTSTANDING job of reporting on the exhibits.

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- Advanced Bionics
- Uniden

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Advanced Bionics

Advanced Bionics highlighted its Harmony HiResolution Bionic Ear System at this year's convention, and emphasized its programs for hearing music better with a cochlear implant. It was a tad disconcerting to visit their exhibit, because the faces of NVRC board member Mike Royer and his daughter are on many of their advertising materials. Mike himself was there as well, always ready to pull my leg in Reno as adeptly as he does it back home. Sheila and Gerry Adams were also on hand again this year for Advanced Bionics. They are former residents of Loudoun County. Sheila is loving having bilateral hearing with the addition of a Harmony cochlear implant to her older model, and Gerry is loving her having it. I can still remember him serenading a group of cochlear implant users years ago at NVRC's old office.

The new Harmony features technology called the HiRes Fidelity 120 Sound Processing option, which Advanced Bionics says can help not only with hearing words and sentences but also the meaning conveyed through emotions and voice inflections. They emphasize, however, that three main factors will determine how well you hear with a cochlear implant. One is biological factors such as the age when you lost your hearing, the age at which you get the implant, and the medical health of your inner ear and other related medical conditions.

Another factor is how much time you devote to practicing and honing your listening skills, which Advanced Bionics compares to how an athlete's muscles get stronger with training. The third is the cochlear implant technology. Advanced Bionics reports that in clinical trials of the Harmony's HiResolution Sound, the majority of recipients reported that music sounds better, speech sounds more natural, and using the telephone is easier. Some recipients also reported that hearing in noisy environments is not as demanding. Advanced Bionics, like many other companies, was using what must be the new industry buzzword -- "CD quality" sound -- to describe the improvement in quality. As in phonograph record quality vs. CD, or traditional TV vs. LCD or plasma. Advanced Bionics has developed some tools and resources to help with listening therapy -- programs, websites for practice, workbooks, CDs, and interactive computer programs.

Something I never thought we'd be concerned about when I got my cochlear implant in 2000 was that people with two implants might accidentally connect one of their processors to the wrong ear. Not to worry if you have the new Auria Harmony BTE sound processor. It has a safety feature to protect against that. And this processor's gone mod! You can be sedate or bold in your color choices. On the crazier end of the spectrum there are designs with tiny rocket ships, or tiny stars, or one known as "Liquid Gel." The rechargeable PowerCel batteries give a day's worth of listening and the charger can accommodate up to four at any time.

The Harmony's earhook has a lot of options. One is the T-mic microphone for everyday listening. You can swap it with another earhook that gives you the ability to direct connect to cell phones, MP3 players and assistive listening devices with a 3.5 mm stereo jack.

www.bionicear.com

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Uniden

Cordless phone manufacturer Uniden was announcing its newest line of cordless phones at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas back in January 2008 when I was there for the captioned radio press conference. One of the new series of Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications (DECT) 6.0 was on display for the HLAA conference, and it is hearing aid compatible. Unfortunately it was a prototype and you'll just have to find patience until it debuts with the rest of the DECT-1500 series in September 2008. You can't find it among the DECT models currently on the Uniden website yet, but keep checking.

Why keep checking? Because as Al Baum said, "all of the new Uniden models going forward will be TIA-1083 compliant." Uh oh, I just saw the geek speak alert going off! Translation, all of them will meet requirements of a Telecommunications Industry Association standard, number 1083. Further translation: this is the standard which attempts to provide hearing aid compatibility by reducing or eliminating magnetic interference. Even further translation: it helps to stop buzzing, humming, or whining noises from cellular and cordless phones that were being experienced by people wearing hearing aids or cochlear implants. Class dismissed.

If you need a new or refresher class on the hearing aid compatibility ratings of wireless phones, you'll find a brochure to download and some great Frequently Asked Questions at: http://www.accesswireless.org/hearingaid/brochures.cfm. M for Microphone, T for Telecoil, the higher the number, the better. That's a little pop quiz to see if you need to visit that website or not. Once you know its meaning, you can check out the Uniden DECT phone boxes or website for the TIA-1083 logo.

DECT 6.0 uses a frequency that is new to cordless telephones. The technology avoids interference with household products like baby monitors, microwaves and WiFi as well as other DECT 6.0 phones which are sure to arrive soon. Other advantages of this technology are reputed to be sound quality, voice clarity, high security, and longer battery life.

Not to give Mike Royer a swelled head or anything, but he must have been either exceedingly charming or quite a pest at the Uniden exhibit. Al Baum gave him a Unident TRU-9465 cordless to take home and try out. And what did Mike think? Here's what he's said so far:

- "I love this phone because I can hold the receiver to my ear without interference and without having to use my t-coil. The natural amplification of the phone is sufficient."
- "I have never been able to hold a cordless phone to my ear before because of interference!"
- "The handset has easy-to-follow-icons and the LED is bright!
...and of course, "I AM SO HAPPY!"