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HEARING AIDS REVISITED We “road test” Blamey & Saunders’ new SIE-64 Digital Hearing Aids B ack in our July 2011 issue, readers may recall a feature on some new, low cost hearing aids from an Australian company, Australia Hears. In a nutshell, we’d heard about some new Aussie hearing aids which were a fraction of the price of those currently on the market and wanted to try them out. And we came away more than impressed – so much so that I bought a pair and have been using them ever since. At the time, we said it was rather unusual for a magazine such as SILICON CHIP to be “reviewing” hearing aids but from the letters and phone calls we received after publication, readers were most appreciative – and many told us they’d purchased hearing aids either for the first time or as replacements for aids they weren’t happy with. Nearly two years later, the company name has changed (apparently for legal reasons) to Blamey and Saunders Hearing Pty Ltd, reflecting the two siliconchip.com.au principals of the organisation – Professor Peter Blamey and Dr Elaine Saunders, both internationally-regarded experts in the field of audiology. But even more importantly, they’ve added a new model to their line-up, the SIE-64. It’s smaller than the previous models and as its name suggests, is a speaker-in-ear model (hence SIE) with 64 frequency channels versus the 32 channels of the models we tried out. While it is more expensive (and we’ll cover that shortly) the SIE-64 has been getting the proverbial “rave reviews” from users, even those who were converts to the earlier Blamey&Saunders models. Incidentally, when I reviewed the hearing aids I had the choice of either the LOF (Liberty Open Fit) or the SIE (speaker in ear) models but I couldn’t find much between them. However, I purchased the LOF by Ross Tester models – not just because they were $260 each cheaper than the SIE-32s but mainly because they offered the option of Telecoil operation. Don’t know what we’re talking about? Telecoil is a system which offers enhanced performance to hearing aid users in many public buildings (and can also be fitted to telephones). There’s a series of DIY articles in SILICON CHIP from September 2010 through March 2011 which will help you understand what it’s all about. But you want to know something? Apart from playing with Telecoil when I initially got the hearing aids, I’ve never used it in anger. The hearing aids themselves did such a great job of pulling speech (particularly) “out of the mud” especially in public areas and meetings, I didn’t feel the need to invoke the Telecoil function. It was one of those “manãna” things – tomorrow, maybe! I was delighted at the way the things worked – and being a person who had quite a number of meetings to attend, March 2013  53 The three models in the range: the new SIE (speaker-in-ear) 64 (left) and 32 (centre), with the LOF (liberty open fit) at right. As you can see, the two SIE models are fairly close in size while the LOF is a bit larger. All feature digital technology with quite advanced features – and the best part of all is the prices, especially when you compare them to others on the market. I had far better comprehension when someone up the back was speaking softly. The other biggie, at least as far as my partner was concerned, was the need NOT to have the TV or radio wound up to ridiculous (to her!) levels. Now I’m quite happy to have it at a comfortable level for her – and there has been a pleasant side effect. I’ve been complaining for years about the “muffled” sound quality of many TV programs, particularly where any form of accent is concerned. The English panel program “QI” (which both of us find quite interesting . . .) is a case in point. But with the hearing aids, I’ve found a rather significant increase in clarity and hence comprehension. She’s more than happy that “woddeysay?” has all but disappeared from my lexicon. So that was my experience with the Blamey&Saunders LOF hearing aids: very happy! Blamey&Saunders must have been happy with my reaction to them (and, apparently, quite a few sales as a result of the article). So much so that they not only advertised their new models in SILICON CHIP (obviously they recognised a significant portion of the SILICON CHIP readership was their target market), they also offered me the opportunity to “road test” the SIE-64s. As I commented in the earlier article, I paid full price for the originals – so who was I not to take them up on their offer! SIE-64 observations The first thing I noted was the difference in size – at 23 x 10 x 6mm, the ’64s are about 30% smaller than the LOF models (34 x 14 x 8mm) and slightly smaller than the SIE-32s (25 x 14 x 8mm); they take a smaller battery 54  Silicon Chip (size 312 vs size 13) and in fact are half the weight – 2g vs 4g – not that I noted much difference in use. But as I mentioned earlier, the major difference is a significant upgrade in technology, with 64 frequency channels (both the LOF and SIE-32s have 32 channels) and much better battery life over the SIE-32s (at 150+ hours, they approach the life of the LOFs and are half as much again as the SIE-32s). What difference does 64 channels make? The sounds we hear in the real world are a complex mixture of smaller sounds. The world of sound is made up of dull thuds, high pitched squeaks and everything in between. A properly designed hearing aid filters the whole spectrum of sound into separate parts that are called frequency channels. A good way to think of it is like a rainbow. By analysing sound in its smaller components, the hearing aid can adjust different parts of the sounds independently without affecting other parts. With more channels the hearing aid can be more selective in what it chooses to amplify. The result is clearer sound in noise and less distortion in some environments. Of course, having 64 channels doesn’t mean that the device is twice as good as having 32 channels. And the quality of a hearing aid doesn’t depend just on the number of channels – the quality of the underlying amplification technology is paramount, as is the ease of use. The price Let’s get a possible negative perception out of the way up front: at $1725.00 each, the SIE-64s are $500 more expensive than the $1250.00 SIE-32s. And they’re an even more significant $735.00 more expensive than the LOFs, which sell for $990.00 each. Obviously, for a pair you double the prices. Those prices might look expensive – but mosey into any audiologist (particularly those with shop fronts in shopping centres) and discuss digital hearing aids and you’ll find that prices start at a few thousand each and go up – way up – from there. As I mentioned in the earlier review, I was told when I first had my hearing tested that I’d have to spend at least $10,000 each to get a reasonable digital hearing aid: “anything under that is not much good”. Well, not from them, anyway. So $1750 each compares very well with what is currently offered on the “professional” market (as long as you are comparing apples with apples). If your budget can’t quite stretch that far the LOFs at $990 each are still a perfectly viable alternative. All models come with a “starter kit” containing ear tips (a variety pack with various sizes), a carry case, a box of 60 batteries, wax cleaning tools, a drying jar and instructions. Most of the ear tips are open type but two are occluding, which means they seal the ear canal to stop extraneous sounds getting in and sound produced by the in-ear speakers from getting out! By the way, don’t be tempted (conned?) into buying some cheapie out of China – with all the claims in the world – for perhaps fifty bucks or so. They’re all over ebay. I know someone who was tempted and their purchase lasted less than a day before going into the bin! The difference between a properly designed hearing aid and a cheapie really is the proverbial chalk and cheese. siliconchip.com.au Or is it simply that one works and one doesn’t! Controls On-board controls are minimal but also different between models: all three have an automatic volume control but the 64s have an up/down button, where the 32s have a digital dial and the LOFs an analog dial. Program selection on the 64s is via an up-down button, the 32s use a magnetic wand while the LOFs use both a magnetic wand and button. Apart from the Telecoil option mentioned earlier, the only other “obvious” difference was in the prompts: the 64 has pre-programmed voice message while the others have a series of beeps, which you need to remember or refer to the instructions to interpret. Programming If you already have an audiogram and submit it with your order, Blamey&Saunders will supply your hearing aids pre-programmed to suit. Alternatively (or if you want to experiment!) they have available PC software called “I Hear You”, which suits all three models. As well as enabling you to take total control of the aid programming, you can also send data to Blamey&Saunders support staff for advice if you need it. On the SIE-64s, programs are “stepped through” by pushing the up-down button (no magnetic wand is required as is the case with the others). Four programming “channels” are provided (on all three models); however a Telecoil option is normally preprogrammed into channel 2. Digital technologies As a final note, it’s worth mentioning that Blamey&Saunders hearing aids offer, possibly uniquely, four different technologies in these Australian designed and developed hearing aids. First is the “ADRO” system, which stands for Advanced Dynamic Range Optimisation. This ensures that sound is always presented at a comfortable and audible level – not too loud, not too soft at every frequency. Second is ADM – the automatic adaptive directional microphone, which increases the signal-to-noise ratio by reducing the loudness of background noise from some directions. Third is AFC – adaptive feedback cancellation. This time-domain design is inherently resistant to distortion and provides up to 19dB of additional, stable gain. Finally, they include ultra-lowdelay sound processing. The shorter the delay (and by definition there must be some delay) the better the sound quality. Earlier hearing aids often produced reverberation and even echoes of the sound – most disconcerting! The SIE-64s have the shortest delay of any device in the industry, with no perceptible distortion or echo. Are the SIE-64 worth the extra money? I’ve been using both the old and the new hearing aids for about six weeks now, a few days with one type then I’d swap over to the others, just for a reasonable comparison. I’ve even gone without both for a few days here and there (and that was a real struggle!). I noticed pretty well straight away that the SIE-64s are better than the LOFs. Even though I was very happy with those and, without knowing about the new models, would have remained more than satisfied. But I do know – and I know that my hearing was better with the 64s. They have a crispness and clarity which I thought was pretty good in the LOFs but it is even more pronounced in the 64s. So yes, as far as I am concerned, they are worth the extra. I didn’t notice any particular difference in wearing them, despite the 64s being half the weight and quite a bit smaller. In all cases, they are quite unobtrusive behind the ears – most people will not know you are wearing hearing aids unless you tell them (especially if you have long hair!). Conclusion So once again, we take our hat off to an Australian company (pioneers in their field) which has again produced the goods with these hearing aids which compare so well with models SC many times the price. 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