Bill Brannick wrote:
As another confirming moment in my life, next week I will be fitted
for hearing aids.

I have already read articles that suggest that hearing aids and cell
phones do not get along very well together. The so-called telecoil
which is imbedded into the molding of the ear piece (one ear only)
acts as a receptor for picking up audio from a conventional
telephone...... but apparentely it can also pick up the RF from a
cell phone generally resulting in a buzzing sound. The FCC has
mandated that the manufacturers of cell phones must make available
hearing aid compatible cell phones, but they have a couple more years
to get that done. In the mean time, the apparent solution with respect
to cell phones is to use a headset.

So.. if that telecoil can pick up RF from a cell phone, what is the
potential for it picking up RF from my own HF transmissions
here...(probably not all bands, but... )????

I suspect there are some older hams out there with hearing aids, who
have the answers to these questions "right on top"

My wife is deaf in the 200-2000 Hz band in both ears -- can't hear a
tornado siren, doorbell, phone ring, etc. Comes from playing viola in
a symphony orchestra for 15 years, just in front of the brass. But I
digress.

Her cell phone, a Nokia, has a place to plug a headset -- or an
inductive loop to drive the T-coil in her hearing aids. That works
_Very_ _Well_ _Indeed_ for her. The loop she uses also is Nokia,
though other vendors (deVilbiss, for instance) make them.

Hers just goes around her neck, plugs into the phone's headset jack,
and has a switch that she can press to end a conversation. Takes 3
hearing aid batteries if I remember correctly. Cost under $100.

But there _is_ some possibility of RF interference. I suspect it's not
much. I'm _sure_ the impedance of the T-coil in the aid is high enough
that it would be hard to couple much RF into it, but I've been wrong
before. Coupling audio in is a different matter, of course.

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