Starkey Laboratories announced its Bluetooth Eli (Ear-Level Instrument) last week in a news release on the Advance for Audiologists website. So we are starting to see the long-awaited arrival of multiple Bluetooth-enabled hearing-enhancement products, which answers my question in an earlier post on whether and when all the anticipated Bluetooth products would ever make an appearance. The Starkey news release claims it is the "first" Bluetooth product from a hearing-aid company, which I don't think is true, as the Phonak SmartLink Bluetooth product has been out and available for a while. But it does appear to be the smallest Bluetooth-enabled hearing-enhancement product on the market, another claim made by Starkey which is certainly something to brag about. It's a tiny device that fastens to the DAI (direct audio input) connector on your hearing aid. It's got a microphone receiver and transmitter that communicates wirelessly with your Bluetooth-enabled cellular phone, personal communicator, or other device. MicroTech says it allows for hands-free operation for up to two-and-a-half hours at a time. Like the Phonak Smartlink Bluetooth personal communicator, ELI is in the advance guard of products utillizing new communications standards that will bring the hearing-aid industry into the consumer electronics mainstream.
Posted by David at 04:11 PM on Jul 12, 2005 in ASSISTIVE LISTENING, BLUETOOTH DEVICES, NEW PRODUCTS
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dear sir as i have the band starkey hearing aid , and am would like to know the price of the bluetooth Eli connect on the hearing aid.
thank you await your reply
My specialist told me about the bluetooth, will this help a person as myself with the speech part , I lost my hearing in 2001 and have seen many specialists and was just told about the bluetooth. my problem is the volume is there with the Nasau hearing aid, butI still have the speech discrimination.
Thank you,
Daine A Seeley
Smartlink does not provide a direct bluetooth connection to the hearing instrument, the bluetooth link itself is only to the smartlink device, then the audio is transmitted via unencypted FM to and from the hearing instrument. This could lead to security issues as well as a stronger possibility for interference.
