Hi I am wondering if there is anything that will work with my Oticon delta hearing aids (I know there is a new blue tooth product but have only had these aids 18months and don't want to change them yet) Problem is having conversation with passenger while driving. Also can;t hear the indicator clicking and often leave it on if it doesn;t cancel automatically. Also can;t hear the high pitched beep warning I've loeft my lgihts on. Have flattened battery and had to call AA 4 times. Try to remember but if only it could be lower pitch and louder! Thinking of the beeps that they used to have on the indicators when I towed caravan.

My mum is deaf as well, so if she is my passenger it is hopeless!

Any ideas? Any make of car that has really good soundproofing?

Can your audiologist boost the HF on the aids?
RNID have listening devices that are portable and use the “T” switch on the HA which may help.
The Contego is expensive, but there are others.
It would help to get into the habit of checking the dashboard indicators.

If you get your Deltas set to a fixed forward directionality it will help as this stops them shifting the quiet spot - normally in a car this will be the point producing the most noise - wing mirror/air vent area. The other thing you can do is to have the noise reduction minimised to pick up un warning signals (and more wind noise). However if the tonal output of the dashboard warnings contains a pure-tone signal the Delta's feedback manager will squish it as apparent feedback.

You have a couple of options - locate the speaker for the warning tones and exchange it for a buzzer, or stick a bit of yoghurt pot against the surface of it to resonate in a different way.

Failing that you could have the wife's Peugeot 407 which has automatic lights and wipers

I found that the neck microphone with the FM system worked the best, limited to who was wearing the microphone, but the foam baffle to cut wind noise down did a good job in cars as well..

Expensive option though.

I recall someone doing an in-car loop system, can't recall who though.

Hello, I'm new to the forums!

The Delta does not have a telecoil or FM option so there's no add- on you can use which will be compatible. Also changing the directionality just for use in the car will probably have an adverse affect on other areas of use.

Something that may be worth trying without going to the expense of having new aids is a "Conversor" available from www.conversorproducts.com.

-no I don't work for them, I'm a dispenser working for one of the big names, but with 18 years NHS experience too

Hi Shaddow,

The conversor depends on a T-loop according to their website as the interface to the HA.

As such, how else could you interface it to the Delta?

I have to admin to being quite surprised that a BTE wouldn't have a loop facility.

Hi Sandra, I have made use of a contego in the car. the mobile microphone is placed in the back of the car. This transmits by fm to the reciever worn around my neck as I drive. The sound is passed to the aids via the T switch. Without a T set up on your aids you will have problems.

You need to check with the audiologist to see if a loop can be programmed for the aid.

Hope this helps.

Hi David, you can plug in ordinary headphones to the conversor and wear them instead of your aids in the car. Surprised it doesn't say that in the blurb!

Hi Shadow,
Thanks for that, I guess if you only have a mild hearing loss then that could well work with headphones, however, with more severe hearing loss use of headphones surely will cease to be of much use?

I of course speak from a profound loss, where I use FM as a means of direct connection to some audio devices and to dedicated noise cancelling microphones and systems, which are more efficient than standard hearing aids, while providing an extra 10-15dB.

This is dependant on FM as I found with super/ultra power hearing aids there was just too much noise picked up from every light switch in the property etc!

Thanks everyone for all your advice. THings have moved on a bit as I realised that I really need a loop in order to function in lots of situations, When i got these HAs they were fine but my hearing has got worse. As David says, taking them out to use headphones would be pointless as I have severe bilateral loss at high and mid frequencies. I'm collecting two new oticon aids with loops on Monday, through NHS! Last time I used the NHS they only had analogue so I've been private for about 7 years now. What a difference, I only went for my first consultant visit on Tuesday! Going to go for it and buy a contego listener now which looks to be what I nheed for all situations including the car!

Thanks again folks. Sandra