Your iphone might be able to help you cope with one-sided deafness

[Machia2332]

I got really excited when I heard this news about a feature of iOS 12. 

A feature of iOS12 not announced at the latest WWDC event is a feature called Live Listen.

Live Listen was a utility previously reserved for use with hearing aids, but the new iOS version allows you to use it to listen via AirPods (Apple's Bluetooth earbuds) to the audio received by your iPhone's microphone.   

This sounds like a very affordable alternative to a bi-cross hearing aid for people trying to cope with one-sided deafness. 
If you have a compatible iPhone, the AirPods cost about $160. 

I've included a link to the article where I discovered this.  iOS 12 is predicted to be available during September 2018, the Beta version should be available 6/26/18. 

https://apple.news/A_ysoFKZARXa5_rv-xkAy1Q

[ANSydney]

Technology solves a lot of problems.

[SET WE300B]

I feel there is a tremendous opportunity to tap the computing power of today's mobile devices to control and manage hearing systems. A hope for the future is that new companies will exploit this. Hearing aid technology has been constrained for decades in producing devices whose primary focus is to be as small and invisible as possible. As the younger generation matures and begins to require hearing assistance I believe they will care less about the size and configuration of the microphone array needed to support a superior level of sound capture and reproduction technology. All one has to do is observe the many kinds of headphones and ear buds that young people have permanently stuck in their ears. The designers of future hear aid systems will be free of the associated stigma that hampered previous generations. One day people will marvel at how limited our hearing aids and Bicros systems are.

[Machia2332]

I downloaded the Beta version of iOS12 on my iPhone to try out the live listen feature.  I noticed that in quiet places where I can hear people easily, there seems to be an echo when the audio from the iPhone mic goes to the air pod on my hearing side.  I think the Live Listen feature will work best in problem hearing areas like restaurants, bars, etc.  I did notice one time while outdoors where it helped me hear things on my deaf side that I normally wouldn't.  That was a cool feeling. 
***The other cool feature with the Air Pods is that for someone with one-sided deafness, the sound quality with music playback seems much better than other ear buds.  From an article that I read, normal ear buds split the sound into left and right channels, so that if you're wearing just one, you get a partial range of sound that is meant for one side in stereo playback.  Air Pods are designed so that they detect when you're just wearing one of them and you get a broader spectrum of sound on that side.  I'm enjoying music with them more than I have in a long time.   

[tarheelEH]

I would like to ask if anyone know about another EarPods that just comes out this year. This one seems compete with AirPods market.  Will it be comparable to Apple brand’s LiveListen feature once OS 12 is available this fall?  It’s much cheaper though. Here is the link.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07DJ8B11J/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A33ZEMIFFMF9OL

[sezme]

As someone who's tried and didn't end up using CROS and BICROS hearing aids, I'm very interested in this possible aid to those of us with single sided deafness. The things I don't like about CROS aids (and I know I'm not alone) is that

A) I would really only potentially benefit from them in very specific situations, yet you kind of need to have them on you at all times which is  drag. The iPhone on the other hand is something I usually have with me anyway, and I do often carry a pair (I know...) of wireless earphones as well.

B) When I do use the CROS, because I want to hear what the person to the right of me in a crowded environment like a restaurant or party is saying, I end up hearing much more noise than speech. The sound of knives scraping against plates from across the room is louder than it should be, and the person talking to me gets drowned out among all the noise. Being able to use the iPhone as a microphone that I can place close to the person talking should help with that.

C) Hearing aid batteries are expensive, short-lived, and a pain in the neck. One more thing to carry around. iPhones and airPods are rechargeable and that's something I do anyway.

D) In spite of custom fitting, etc. I find the sensation of wearing hearing aids extremely difficult to get used to as they go so deep into your ear canal and block any unprocessed sounds from coming in. No problem wth the shape of Apple's earphones though.

So potentially this sounds like it might be a great solution to those situations when single sided deafness makes me feel isolated and unable to communicate with anyone. I do wonder whether (and if so why) the Live Listen feature is only compatible with airPods and not any other wireless headphone/earphone system. AirPods are quite expensive and I'd rather continue using my existing wireless bone-conductive headphones for now.

I'd be extremely interested to hear people's experiences using Live Listen as an aid for single-sided deafness. I'm especially interested in reading whether there is noticeable lag using the Live Listen / airPods combination.

[wasbjs]

While in Nashville for the symposium this weekend, I met a woman who had purchased a set of Bose Hearphones.  She seemed very pleased with the results.  I checked on the hearphones when I returned home in Knoxville, only to find the closest store is back in Nashville.  My AN on the latest MRI was around 8mm.  It appears not to have grown "significantly" since the diagnosing MRI sixteen months ago.  I have lost a great deal of hearing in the AN ear and some, probably due to age, in my "good" ear. 

I am searching to find anyone who also has tried the Bose hearphones.  I find hearing a speech while in a group, hearing conversations in a restaurant, and determining direction of sounds difficult, frustrating and tiring.  I wonder if the Bose contraption would be of any benefit and would address any or all of these difficulties.

If anyone has tried the hearphones or knows anything about them, I would greatly appreciate any information you could provide.
Thank you.

 

[notaclone13]

Here’s a rather long review about these on the Bose website from a lady who has single sided deafness due to an acoustic neuroma. Sounds very positive about them:

Rejoined conversations - got my social life back
The first thing the Bose salesman said was, "This is not a hearing aid." My husband said, "Good, because hearing aids don't work." I lost all my hearing on one side to a brain tumor, and lost a lot of hearing on the other side from other things. A hearing aid helped in a quiet room, but I still had to use closed captioning for TV and movies, and I couldn't join a conversation when there was even a moderate background noise.

We asked the Bose salesman if we could try out the HearPhones in the Apple Store a few doors down. Hundreds of people were milling around in there. He walked down with us. I stood across one of the big tables in the store. My husband spoke in a normal tone, and I understood him clearly. I spoke back, and he, with his normal hearing couldn't hear me over the din. Breathaking! We tried the food court and another noisy spot. No problem. My husband bought me a set for Valentines day.

We had dinner in a noisy Irish pub that night. No problem! We went to the movies. I dared to skip the closed captioning devise. No problem! TV? No problem. Phone calls? The Hearphones bluetooth made it no problem. I got my life back. Within two days my hearing aid gathered dust in the drawer.

It's also nice to wear a device that looks cool, sporty and powerful instead of an ugly little device that tries, but fails to hide, while apologizing for its own existence. People smile when they see my Hearphones. They ask about them; it starts a lot of conversations. They marvel when I tell them what it can do. Nobody smiles at a hearing aid.

Bose, if you're listening, I have a request. I'm still sound-blind on one side. I am co-chair of the San Diego Acoustic Neuroma Society, a national tumor survivors' support group. Almost all of us have single-sided deafness. There are hundreds of thousands more with other challenges leaving them with one good ear.

Please add a crossover feature, so sounds from both sides can be fed into one good ear. You would give us back the other side of our life.

Thanks,
Margaret Briggs

P.S. The collar tends to swing sideways. Please consider adding a downward curve that would settle the collar comfortably over my shoulders so wouldn't swing around side to side. I can't exercise with them because they would fall off.

P.S. I couldn't comment on the durability because I've only had them for 7 weeks. They seem well-built.

[Hollymoyer]

Bose Hearphones are helping me a lot!  I am able to hear and participate in conversations in restaurants.  I am able to navigate and hear people giving me directions in airports on subways and on busy city streets without confusion.  I like that I can choose when to use them and frequently only have them on when I am in a busy place or with a group of people.
I also like that I can dial back the sound during loud movies and concerts. I am so glad that I have them - my quality of life is much improved!

[notaclone13]

Hollymoyer, would you mind sharing where you purchased your Bose headphones?  Did you purchase from a Bose store in your city?

[Hollymoyer]

Yes, I bought them at a Bose store but they are available online...same price $500.00 - easy to set up and download app. 

[Alyssa]

Yeah, I bought one yesterday and tested today. It is grateful to find out it is helpful with simple solution.