We’ve received some great feedback so far from audiologists and dispensers using the Unite Mini Microphone wireless accessory. Some ReSound customers have joked that the Mini Mic has saved a number of marriages and others have shared the unique ways in which their patients are using the Mini Mic to improve the quality of their lives.
“One of my patients who is really hard-of-hearing told me that he and his wife can actually talk to each other from another room,” says Jane Watson, Audicles Hearing Services. “They attended a wedding reception recently and when he came out of the men’s room laughing, his wife asked why. He said that he heard her talking and panicked that he had gone into the ladies’ room instead!”
“One of my Mini Mic patients has created a new wearing position called the “Bra Mount”,” says Jane. “His wife can wear her Mini Mic inside her clothes and he still hears her without any annoying scratching sounds.”
“Another of my first users took her Mini Mic on a trip to Napa with her husband and some friends. She was so thrilled to be able to sit in the back seat of the car and still engage in the conversations in the front seat.”
“Another patient left my office and went shopping with her daughter-in-law. The patient went into the ladies’ room at the store and her daughter-in-law continued talking to the sales lady about wrapping up some of the things as a surprise for Christmas. When the patient came out, she said, ‘well now I guess I know what I’m getting for Christmas!’ Beware of what you say when wearing the Mini Mic!”
“One patient told me that she took her Mini Mic to her supper club, which involved 16 people sitting around a dinner table at a very noisy restaurant. They were intrigued by the Mini Mic and took turns passing it around the table. She reported that she could hear all of them and was thrilled. She also uses it as a BiCros system by putting it on her dead ear side when she goes out.”
“The Mini Mic has been the most fun product to add to an already great hearing aid system,” says Jane. “I used it as a marketing tool the last two months of the year and gave them away with any new Alera purchase. I didn’t receive any of them back! I encourage anyone to try this with their patients who just need that extra boost in certain situations.”
3 thoughts on “Audiologists Speak – Unite Mini Mic Success Stories”
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Your article seems to focus exclusively on the microphone aspect of the mini-microphone. I’ve been trying this out to stream music to my hearing aids using the line-in and despite adjustments in the programming, the sound is quite poor. It’s disappointing that the sound quality is only 20 KHz, which seems to be half that of CD audio (correct me if I am wrong). The line-in attribute was the whole purpose of buying the device for me.
The line-in provides a high quality stereo signal with a bandwidth up to 9.4 kHz. Ultimately, the sound quality of what is heard is determined by the hearing aids that receive and reproduce the streamed signal, and how they are fit and adjusted for the individual. Thus it is most often the hearing aid settings that need tweaking if the sound quality is not satisfactory. Although you don’t mention specifics about your fitting or hearing loss, those with an “open fit” are sometimes initially disappointed with the sound quality of the streaming. Individuals with hearing loss that is of less severity and mostly in the high pitches are often fit with an open solution. This type of fitting allows bass sound from the environment to enter the ear canal freely, as this range of sound does not need to be amplified. However, bass sound that is transmitted via streaming can also leave the ear canal freely, which can lead to a tinny sound quality. There is a bass boost setting that can be activated by the audiologist that can help create a fuller sound. It can also help to switch to a different eartip, or to have a custom-made eartip fabricated, which also can enhance the lower pitches.