The accelerometer automatically switches to omni when placed on a flat surface.
In addition to the features above, it also allows for manual adjustment of the microphone sensitivity from omni-directional to ultra-narrow.
The MyPAL Pro is, in my experience, one of the best values in hearing assistive technology (HAT). The MyPAL Micro has a directional microphone and accelerometer that senses if the microphone is dropped and mutes it before the “clunk” of the floor happens. These remote microphones use the same hardware as the ReSound MultiMic and Mini Mic, and they operate very similarly with a few differences. The official range is 80 feet, but realistically, I’ve found that depending on certain environmental factors, they are very reliable up to 60 feet. The sound streams directly into your hearing aid.
This small portable microphone allows you to hear what people are saying when they speak into it. This is a very robust and long-range (about 60 feet in most buildings) way to overcome some of the additional challenges of distance, reverberation, and background noise. Like their sister products, the Beltone line uses a 2.4GHz wireless system to connect to accessories. The Beltone Amaze is suitable for those ranging from very mild “first-timers” to those with up to a severe loss in a very attractive, discreet package.īeltone also has several accessories and apps to go along with their hearing aids. Because they offer both sophisticated automatic processing and the ability to create manual programs for particular situations, they are appropriate for people with a wide range of hearing loss.
I've fit a lot of the ReSound version and find them a very flexible and well-built hearing aid. Beltone Amazeīuilt on the very successful ReSound Lynx platform, the Amaze is equivalent to the ReSound Lynx Quattro. So again, if your hearing loss fits into the target niche, I would expect at least a perceived improvement in listening comfort and effort in noise. The demo recordings on ReSound's website for the equivalent product (the ReSound One) creates a few decibels of signal-to-noise improvement. This is the Image's target user, so I expect people who opt for this premium device will do very well. Still, based on the “bench science,” I can certainly see that this will be at least as effective as traditional receiver-in-canal (RIC) hearing aids for people with mild to moderate hearing loss and decent speech understanding in noise. I haven't seen any peer-reviewed data on this approach. I'll talk about each one separately, but in general, these are all well-built hearing aids with world-class technology. The folks at Beltone were friendly enough to send me some hearing aids to inspect.
In my experience, the franchises often have a bit more “personalized” feel, as the owners are usually members of the communities they serve like my old pal Barry in the ’90s.īeltone has won several awards in recent years for its products, including an Edison Award in 2017 for its smartphone apps 1 and a Big Innovation Award in 2020 for its Android streaming technology. Some are corporate-owned and some are franchises. This move allowed Beltone to take advantage of GN’s research and development and release Beltone products that are essentially private-labeled ReSound hearing aids.ĭespite this partnership with a “Big Six” manufacturer, Beltone retains its vertical sales channel through its single-brand locations. In 2000, Beltone was acquired by the Great Nordic (GN) group that had previously purchased ReSound, another provider I’ve reviewed.
They were the leaders in using television advertising and provided a good range of products from some of the first in-the-ear devices to very powerful behind-the-ear instruments for people with profound hearing loss. I had the opportunity to meet and become friends with the owner of the Beltone franchise near us which gave me a good perspective on that model as well as their products.īack then Beltone developed and manufactured their own hearing aids out of their Chicago headquarters. There were, at that time, two proprietary chains selling in our market: Miracle-Ear and Beltone. We were a “multi-line” office, meaning that we represented all major manufacturers. My first job in audiology in 1992 was for a small independent private practice.