Hearing aids

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ninjod

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My father now requires hearing aids and he continues to be very active including spending time sailing with me. His current hearing aids cause him all manner of issues when sailing (and cycling) with whistling, wind noise constantly in his ears. There are a few products that claim to solve this problem but so far we’ve had no luck.

Does anyone know of or use a hearing aid that works in such conditions?



Thanks for your attention
 
MoodySabre said:
Your post has triggered an advert for comparehearingaids.org

My NHS ones are no good in windy conditions or with a woolly hat covering them.
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Perhaps a furry hat is required, modelled on the microphone mufflers that you see being used in TV interviews with dog owners whose pets are trying to kill the fur...

Mike.
 
I’ve been using hearing aids for twenty years now and have yet to find a solution to the wind noise problem. It can be reduced by turning off the rear microphone (possible on most modern aids) or wearing a furry hat which covers the aids and the tops of your ears but frankly, those measures only ever reduce the impact of the noise. I’ve used high end digital aids which are meant to filter extraneous sounds but they don’t work to cancel out the very variable noise caused by wind.
My solution for much of the time is simply to park the aids in a waterproof box and replace them when I go ashore. I mostly sail with my wife who knows how loudly she has to speak in order for the message to get through: its much harder with guests who simply don’t appreciate how little I can hear.....
 
ninjod said:
My father now requires hearing aids and he continues to be very active including spending time sailing with me. His current hearing aids cause him all manner of issues when sailing (and cycling) with whistling, wind noise constantly in his ears. There are a few products that claim to solve this problem but so far we’ve had no luck.

Does anyone know of or use a hearing aid that works in such conditions?



 Thanks for your attention 
Click to expand...

No. What you describe is a very common issue and often results in people ( like me) not bothering with the hearing aid
 
I have a set of Phonak aids (https://www.phonak.com/uk/en/hearing-aids/phonak-cros-b.html) that are suppposed to have wind noise reduction and to cleverly adapt to varying noise enviornments. It seems to work, but it can take a moment or two to adjust when going from one noise environment to another, and some environments fool it - church for one! But they do need to be set up properly using an analysis of your hearing in a sound-proof booth; it's not a DIY thing.
 
I've given up wearing one due to background noise. I am forever telling crew that I am deaf/old/thick etc.

What helps is shouting. If you shout at them they shout back.
 
I take my hearing aids out on deck. While I watch a lot of YouTube videos where they don't have a "dead cat" over the microphone I can do without that wind noise in real life.

We us a lot of hand signals onboard.
 
This maybe obvious. But I was having problems with my hearing aids and went back to where I got them and the technician readjusted them. Big difference, I can wear hats over ears and rarely get the screaming whistle sounds when I put hand over ear. I can't imagine having any problems in a moderate breeze. Last summer I swam off the boat more than sailed so didn't wear them. I have no problems cycling. NHS hearing aids from Specsavers (Siemens). Your Dad's hearing aids might be old technology that has been improved upon significantly. Maybe......
But I don't remember wearing my hearing aids in a decent blow so can't comment on that.
 
The new Phonak Marvel rechargeable hearing aids released at the end of last year might solve this problem. They have a wind block feature that automatically suppresses wind noise. I haven't used mine on my boat yet, but the wind noise hasn't been a problem whilst "outdoors" and it can be "tweaked" by your audiologist. There are other useful features for sailors such as water resistance to IP68 (batteries in my previous hearing aids often short circuited through sweat in a hot climate) and the Bluetooth connectivity to a mobile telephone is very useful.
 
I have had NHS Aids for many years and the wind whistling noise has always been a problem. I have just had the aids changed and this time they are Phonak Nathos S+, these have a wind protector filter on them and they largely eliminate the wind noise. The only problem so far has been that the filters block up and hearing gets poor. The local NHS can easily replace the filters but it is not a DIY job it seems. Design fault I think.

Hope this is helpful
David MH
 
It's the constant tinkle tinkle of water I can't stand. I can also hear every squeak and rattle of my car as I drive to the boat.

Only wear them for family social gatherings nowadays.

(They're the NHS ones - which on the whole are pretty good - but not in the circumstances above)
 
Tradewinds said:
I can also hear every squeak and rattle of my car as I drive to the boat.
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I usually have mine in, but turned off, in the car. I don't hear squeaks and rattles, but it just ups the general tyre/engine/wind noise, which tends to kick off my tinnitus. I'll switch the left hand one on if I listen to the radio (rare), or I have a passenger I am trying to converse with (also pretty rare).

They are NHS support supplied, and Phonac brand, I think. I'm really impressed.
 
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