The wireless features in the new GN ReSound Alera family of hearing aids, which start shipping this week, are very similar to those found in several other high-end hearing aids already announced by other manufacturers. But, taken together, they help set the bar higher for premium hearing aids and assistive listening devices in general. The only question is how much better the new wireless features will make the new hearing aids from GN ReSound and other manufacturers when users start trying them out in the field.
One of the first things you learn in Marketing 101 is that “first,” “best” and “only” are some of the strongest words in the English language. So it’s no surprise that in the increasingly competitive hearing-aid industry, manufacturers are starting to use those words more often. GN ReSound’s news release announcing first shipments of the Alera hearing aids is a good example, claiming the company has come up with “the first truly wireless hearing aid with no strings attached.” The news release goes on to announce “a new approach to the way a hearing aid receives sound from devices such as TVs, stereos, cell phones and computers,” claiming that, “for the first time the patient can receive sound directly from the device without cables, wires or the need to wear uncomfortable accessories.”
That’s an exciting claim, except for the fact that, at least two other leading manufacturers that I know of have already announced products delivering very similar benefits by streaming wireless audio directly into their hearing aids. The new Widex Clear 440 family of hearing aids provides wireless streaming of cell phone and television signals directly into the hearing aids, without cables or wires, and the Oticon Streamer has been transmitting Bluetooth signals from a distance of up to 20 inches into hearing aids since its introduction along with the Oticon Epoq family of hearing aids in 2007. So it’s worth a close look at how GN ReSound is the “first” or “only.”
- UPDATE (Aug. 9): According to Karen Sams, a marketing representative for GN ReSound (see her comment at the end of this post), the Alera hearing aids’ proprietary 2.4 GHz transmission scheme eliminates the transmission delay that causes echoing and signal degradation in other wireless hearing aid products. It also transmits over longer distances than other hearing aid manufacturers’ wireless products, with the Alera Unite TV streamer broadcasting directly from your television set into your hearing aids — without requiring a second device worn on the body to relay the signal into your hearing aids. Not requiring an intermediary relay streamer is a real advantage that I’ve only seen with the GN ReSound Alera products. Most wireless hearing-aid products still use near-field magnetic induction, transmitting from the streamer through an induction loop into the telecoils in your hearing aids. I’ve experienced widely varying results with wireless induction, especially the signal distortions and delays that GN ReSound says it is solving with the Alera wireless products featuring near-field induction technology. So GN ReSound is backing up its claim to be first to deliver new technology with new user benefits.
However, while bragging rights about who is first may be important for a while, at the end of the day the market will vote for “best.” And on that score it’s clear GN ReSound is in a neck-and-neck competition with other makers of premium-brand hearing aids to lead in delivering new wireless features that will substantially improve the experience of hearing-aid users. In the past, the only way to get audio from an MP3 player or your cell phone or your TV was to either plug them directly into a Direct Audio Interface (DAI) shoe, a clumsy connector at the base of your behind-the-ear hearing aid that wires you directly to the device, or else stream the audio through an induction loop you wear around your neck which transmits through the telecoils in your hearing aids. The new technologies from Widex, Oticon and GN ReSound skip that intermediary step with devices that transmit directly into your hearing aids from distances ranging from 20 inches to more than 20 feet.
The Bluetooth phone streamers are small and have enough range to transmit from within your coat pocket; however, as you need to speak as well as listen, you need to fasten the microphone to your lapel (GN ReSound Unite Phone Clip) or hang the device from your neck (Oticon Streamer) or hold it up and speak into it like any cell phone (Widex M-DEX). The TV streamers are more interesting, with the new GN ReSound Alera’s Unite TV Streamer an impressive product that plugs into the TV and transmits TV audio directly into your hearing aids over a distance of up to 7 meters (23 feet).
So I am looking forward to the marketplace voting on which of the new packages of wireless features from high-end hearing-aid manufacturers is best. Most likely, different brands will meet slightly different sets of needs for different users, who will gravitate to the solutions based on whether they are heavy Bluetooth phone users or whether they watch a lot of TV. In any case, the new wireless technologies are setting the bar a notch higher for all makers of high-end hearing aids, where the market soon will be demanding more and better ways of integrating hearing-aid users with all the listening, communication and entertainment environments they encounter.
audiologists says
ReSound’s Multiscope Adaptive Directional microphone system adjusts the focus of the microphes from the listener based on the intensity and direction of the noise source. So the hearing instruments can be set for a wider or a narrow beam in front of them. Different memories can be set for different listening environments. These settings are programmed by your hearing specialist.
audiologist
Amy says
Two weeks ago I received my new Alera hearing aid. Previous to the Alera I had a GE Resound Completely in the Ear hearing aid that was about 10 years old. I was fascinated with the new bluetooth technology and my old hearing aid was giving me way too much feedback to the point I hated to put it in. I am completely deaf in one ear and have a significant hearing loss in the other ear and have been this way since birth. So, I only had to get fit with one hearing aid. My audiologist originally wanted me to get used to the Alera hearing aid before purchasing the TV and phone accessories. However, since one of my big reasons for getting the Alera hearing aid was to get those accessories, I decided to order them at the same time I ordered my hearing aid.
I have to tell you I LOVE the tv transmitter. It truly has changed my TV viewing life. Up until now I have only been able to hear about 1/2 of anything that was said on the TV. Now with the TV streamer I am able to pick up every word, and even allt he cool background noises in the movies (birds chirping, fire crackling, etc.) It almost brought me to tears. For the first time I was able ot watch a movie from beginning to end without pausing to ask my husband what was said. I was even able to walk downstairs to get a drink and still heard the TV up in my bedroom (kitchen is right below the bedroom).
I read the post about testing the different TV units and the Resound Unite unit sounded “tinny”. I will say when I first got my Alera hearing aid 2 weeks ago the audiologist was interested in what the sound quality was like for me compared to my old ReSound aid. I told her it sounded a bit like I was in a tunnel. Like any hearing aid you have to give your brain time to adjust to the sound. I would say by day 2 the tunnel sound was gone and everything is much clearer for me.
As for the phone clip. I agree with the post that states the cell phone has to be close to the clip or you lose reception. That seems to be very true. I am not as impressed with the phone clip’s functionality. Calls often sound far away or staticky or drop all together. And, I also agree it is hard to figure out when the clip is truly working and connected. I do enjoy sitting at my desk and putting my cell phone on my desk, tuning into the radio app on my phone, put my clip next to the phone and amazingly I can hear my radio station through the hearing aid and nobody knows I am doing that. That is the one main function making me keep the phone clip. I also agree that the clip you attach to your clothes is cheap and there have been a few times in the two weeks of owning it where it fell off my clothing. I can understand how easy it would be to lose.
The remote is a nice feature for turning the hearing aid up and down in certain situations, But, truthfully only got it as it essentially was free by buying the tv and phone clip.
For the person asking pricing. I bought the package of the 3 products and it totaled a little over $550. I believe the tv streamer is around $350, phone abour $250 and the remote about $150. The middle line Alera hearing aid that works with these streaming products is about $1500 plus fitting fees. All in all the package cost me about $2650, which my insurance picked up part of.
Gail Kubik says
My son is a disabled Veteran from Iraq. He was fitted and recieved his unit yesterday. His tinnitis and hearing loss is profound. We decided to take his guide dog to the dog park for some R&R and the sping clip part of the phone clip poped off the unit. I mean its the first time we used it. Um all we did was put it on his shirt. Its not like we were doing anything rough with it. I think its a terrible clip attachment and if its lost we are screwed. The VA paid for it and he cant get another one for a while. Praise God we found the unit. But the clip part wont stay on. I sent the company a email I hope they can help us on this.
Richard Head says
Can anyone give me a ballpark price?
Karen Sams says
Thanks everyone for all the feedback on Alera. If you’re having technical issues with the Unite accessories, you can call 1-800-248-4327 for tech support. ReSound has made some improvements to the phone clip that may address these issues.
Fred Rodman says
I’ve put the Alera and Resound Unite product line through its paces and really am in a pickle. While the TV technology is clearly superior to, for example, the bluetooth Oticon, the Resound Unite falls short in the music and telephone streaming. The phone clip streaming device sucks the life out of the 312 batteries in the matter of days (say 1 or 2) if you use them like I do. Plus, the clip itself is very finicky with its bluetooth connection. I found I have to put my iPhone in my shirt pocket to maintain the bluetooth connection. Putting it into my pants pocket resulted in full dropouts with every step I took. The Oticon’s device seized the bluetooth connection and never let go, no matter where I put my iPhone. Even while bicycling, it held the signal.
The Resound Unite doesn’t appear to be quite as nimble in its assortment of options. It doesn’t allow the user to mute or activate the “room” mics on the fly, a very important feature of the Oticon, especially in the workplace.
Resound should have thought this through a little more before piling on the separate accessories. As far as it goes, the remote is stable and functional, but separating the remote from the streamer requires just another little doodad someone like me could easily lose track of.
I still am torn between investing in the Oticon or Resound products. I really like the Alera overall, apart from its accessories. Plus its TV streamer not requiring a worn clip or lanyard is a real plus.
But the Oticon streaming is what I was originally after. I listen to my iPhone more than I watch TV.
Stanford Hartman says
Have been looking for new hearing aids and was very interested in the new “Bluetooth” technology. I went to Costco and tried the ReSound Alera the Bernafon and the “Kirkland” brand this past week. Each of them would be a good replacement for my older aids.
After trying each device I wanted to experience the bluetooth capabilities so asked the Costco Tech to set up each to try the TV streamer. Unfortunatley the Bernafon control device was not charged so only tried the ReSound and “Costco” brand. We were not able to set up a TV so we used her computer instead. The sound from the ReSound device was like listening thorugh a “Tin Can”. When I asked the tech what she thoght she agreed it sounded that way.
We then tried the “TV Streamer” on the Kirkland brand which sounded more normal. I am going back next week to try the Bernafon to make a final comparison. I liked the ReSound devices but am concerned about sound quality of their TV streamer? Am not sure if it was operator error on part of the Costco Tech or whether the ReSound device was the cause.
Has anyone had experience with the “bluetooth” capabilities of the ReSound devices? It would be great if they worked well as I travel and these added benifits would be great.
Matt Perry says
We’ve been fitting the Alera like crazy recently. It really is a nice device. I’ve previously fit other wireless products (mostly from Unitron and Oticon), and they offered nice systems, but they required streamers. A lot of my patients would eventually grow tired of wearing the streamers and ultimately stop using the wireless features. With the Alera line, there’s nothing to wear around the neck – which greatly simplifies things.
Ellyn Stecker says
I am a Resound Alera user. I was looking forward to the wireless aspect and still am. I just got the phone clip for the Resound Alera. It is a great idea! I want to be able to run and listen to the radio or music or podcasts on my cell phone using the clip.
I deeply admire the inventors of the hearing aids and the wireless devices. However whoever designed the user phone clip could make this better with the following: 1. Make the on/off functions clear. It is hard to tell when the phone clip is on or off. Transient flashing blue lights are not helpful. 2. Don’t let your company reps tell us that the charge on the thing lasts for 200 hours when it doesn’t. 3. Make it possible to use the bluetooth aspect for more gadgets besides the hearing aid and phone. 4. So far I cannot find anywhere to clip the thing in a Prius.
Ellyn Stecker
Paul Uhlir says
I keep wondering if all the talk about wireless/blue tooth capability is a big curve ball that we should simply be avoiding. I do not use a hearing aid myself but I read and write a great deal about them. Could someone who uses a hearing aid tell me if adding this type of technology to a hearing aid is a good thing or is it bloating the products and avoiding focusing on the more important things such as sound clarity and battery life?
webmaster says
David,
When Consumer Reports sites price as one of the major barriers to purchasing a hearing aid, we would have to disagree with you slighly on the following statement:
“So I am looking forward to the marketplace voting on which of the new packages of wireless features from high-end hearing-aid manufacturers is best. ”
When it comes down to bells and whistles over affordability, the current marketplace is leaning toward who can provide the best value.
That is what HearingRevolution is trying to accomplish.
We offer the Alera line, including testing and fitting, for a very competitive price.
When you have a moment, check us out.
Karen Sams says
Thank you so much for your blog post about ReSound Alera™. I wanted to follow up with you and address your questions regarding how Alera™ is the only hearing aid of its kind.
The difference between ReSound Alera and all others currently on the market is the form of digital wireless technology. All others are using near-field magnetic induction (NFMI) to transmit to the hearing aids whereas Alera is using proprietary 2.4 GHz transmission. The practical difference is that NFMI has a very limited range and therefore a relay station is needed. So the wearer must have both a streamer to connect to the TV AND a relay station device that is worn or held within about 20 inches of the hearing aids to receive and pass on the signal to the hearing aids. The Alera hearing aid requires only the streamer to connect to the TV, and this signal can be picked up by the hearing aids with no intermediary device.
Another competitive difference is the delay of the streamed sound from the source to the hearing aids and to the wearer’s ear canal is below 20 milliseconds. The closest competitor clocks in around 35 milliseconds, which borders the magnitude where the sound has a clear echo. Other competitive products have even longer delays of the streamed sound, which can cause annoying and distracting lip synch issues when watching TV.
Peter says
The features on the Alera were very innnovative for the time they were announced / especially the Unite TV Streamer/. The greatest obstacle is getting this to work on all TV models and brands. It will be interesting who will come up with a really plug and play solution.