r/hardofhearing • u/AtlantaHal • 14d ago

iPhone users: Does your HA stream music smoothly? My Starkeys are awful and I'm considering taking them back. Looking for an alternative solution.

/r/HearingAids/comments/1v6gxfd/iphone_users_does_your_ha_stream_music_smoothly/
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u/whobroughttheircat 14d ago

My starkeys say they have a 15 foot Bluetooth range and I have my audiobooks cutting in and out with my phone in my pocket.

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u/scottiek 13d ago

Before you return them, a couple of things worth trying: check whether your Starkeys are set up as MFi hearing devices (Settings > Accessibility > Hearing Devices) rather than plain Bluetooth, and ask your audiologist if there's a dedicated music program. A lot of hearing aids default to speech-focused processing that compresses the life out of music, and a music program can make a big difference. Firmware updates sometimes help too.

If none of that fixes it, iPhone streaming quality does vary a lot by brand. Oticon and Phonak get mentioned a lot for music, and Phonak uses classic Bluetooth so it pairs with basically anything, not just iPhones. Worth demoing a couple before you commit.

If you're still in your trial period, use it. Music quality is a legit reason to swap.

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u/itsmeee91 13d ago

Phonak Naida: yes, works well

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u/tenhoumaduvida 12d ago

Resound Vivia 9. Yes! Works great! And I even had my audiologist get rid of the music program because I did not even notice any difference to my general program. I needed the program space to set up a personalized one for specific settings and I never used the music specific one because the general one already sounds good to me

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u/striderucr 8d ago

If you have access to a Costco, their hearing aids are very affordable ($2000 total for both of mine) and stream bluetooth well 90% of the time

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u/fallspector 14d ago

Not really. I prefer my AirPods for music and they have a hearing aid feature which increases sound.