{"id":25083,"date":"2020-05-15T15:33:33","date_gmt":"2020-05-15T22:33:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/?p=25083"},"modified":"2020-05-18T15:31:29","modified_gmt":"2020-05-18T22:31:29","slug":"hard-to-hear-hearable-saves-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/hard-to-hear-hearable-saves-day\/","title":{"rendered":"Hard to Hear? New Hearable Saves the Day!"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Do you or someone you love have trouble hearing? The new hearable is a hearing amplification device for those with mild-moderate hearing loss.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

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Hearing loss is a growing concern among seniors.  According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH<\/a>), 1 in 3 people between ages 65-74 experience hearing loss and nearly half of those over 75 do as well.<\/p>\n

As hearing loss is a gradual process, many people might not even know its happening. <\/p>\n

Going straight to hearing aids is a costly endeavor as it involves getting a hearing test with an audiologist to see if they are a candidate. <\/p>\n

If approved, purchasing hearing aids can cost well over $4,000 and they will need to be adjusted by a professional every once in a while.<\/p>\n

Oftentimes, hearing aids are not needed as a first step.  People with mild-to-moderate hearing loss can start with a hearable<\/a>, a new category of hearing devices encouraged by the FTC<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A hearable is similar to Bluetooth headphones that can play music and amplify calls, but it also includes similar sound processing, similar to hearing aids.<\/p>\n

Hearables amplify sound, people talking, music, TV, and phone calls.  They are do not require a medical professional and can be purchased just like any consumer device.<\/p>\n

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BeHear NOW Bluetooth Sound Amplification Headset<\/span><\/h2>\n

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The BeHear NOW Bluetooth Stereo Headset<\/a> is a hearable (a play on words instead of wearable).  It’s a handy device that looks similar to lightweight headphones\/earbuds that hand around your neck.<\/p>\n

BeHear NOW is a personable hearing amplifier that combines an advanced digital hearing aid with assistive listening and a Bluetooth stereo headset.<\/p>\n

Similar to hearing aids, the BeHear NOW hearable allows the adjustment and control of how sounds are heard for each year. <\/p>\n

Only, the adjustment and control can be made in real-time by the user instead of a technician, using their free app.<\/p>\n

In fact, users can use the app to adjust settings to hear better during live concerts, indoors, outdoors, or while in crowds.<\/p>\n

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To set up BeHear NOW, users take a hearing test in both ears to decipher the sound levels of common frequencies and how they like to hear them.<\/p>\n

For example, high pitched frequencies might be preferred to have their volume lower and low pitched frequencies heard at a higher level.  And this can be different for each ear.<\/p>\n

Once a user sets their preferences, based on the auditory test, the app remembers and serves them up to the BeHear NOW headset.<\/p>\n

This setting is remembered in the headphones, even when his\/her phone is not with him\/her.<\/p>\n

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Because BeHear NOW is Bluetooth-enabled, users will be able to hear phone calls.  In fact, a phone conversation can be slowed down so callers are more understandable.<\/p>\n

If videos, movies, and music are not streamed from their phone, users can get an Assistive Listening Transmitter called HearLink<\/a> for their TV so they can watch live TV with little latency.  <\/p>\n

This gives them more control over the volume of the TV and other audio sources.<\/p>\n

Or they can use a typical 3.5mm lead cord or audio out cord to attach to their BeHear NOW headphones to watch TV.<\/p>\n

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Does This Hearable Really Work?<\/span><\/h2>\n

I tried the BeHear NOW hearable to see how well I could hear things.  My hearing is not impaired so I found I had “super” hearing. <\/p>\n

I could hear things said in a room down the hall, although not completely clear.<\/p>\n

I wasn’t sure if the BeHear NOW hearable would work with my mother-in-law.  She already has hearing aids and yet we still struggle in our attempts for her to hear us.<\/p>\n

As BeHear NOW is designed for those with mild-to-moderate hearing, I had my doubts.  But I thought, if perhaps this bearable could work, it would be a blessing for both her and my family!<\/p>\n

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I’ll never forget the day I put BeHear NOW in her ears.  She immediately liked them.  She could hear me clearly and the headset was so comfortable in her ears.<\/p>\n

Next, we fine-tuned beHear NOW to her hearing preferences, using the free app.  The hearing test tests both ears and shows a graph of what her hearing looks like.<\/p>\n

We were then ready for the “coffee” test.  You see, every week my mother-in-law spends the night. <\/p>\n

In the morning we have coffee, only we are sitting 10 feet away from each other. <\/p>\n

Sometimes it’s only 4 feet.  Either way, it’s like a shouting match.  My son has commented that he has heard us from upstairs in the mornings! <\/p>\n

You can imagine, our family doesn’t talk as much as we would if she could hear us. <\/p>\n

Since it’s the morning, she hasn’t put in her hearing aids yet, and quite frankly, often doesn’t put them in as she hates the hassle.<\/p>\n

If you have ever talked with someone who is hard of hearing, you are familiar with the strange “shouting” match you tend to have.<\/p>\n

Conversations certainly get stifled.  <\/p>\n

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Helen Keller once said,<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

“Blindness cuts us off things but deafness cuts us off people.”<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

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Helen Keller is so right.  It is really hard to have a lengthy conversation when someone can’t hear well.<\/p>\n

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Can You Hear Me?<\/span><\/h3>\n

But this changed the day my mother-in-law put on the BeHear Now hearable Bluetooth headset.  She could hear…and she could well!<\/p>\n

I sat 10 feet away from her and we actually chatted during coffee.  She could hear what my kids were saying in the kitchen.  <\/p>\n

It was like a whole new world opened up to her.<\/p>\n

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My daughter is nearly 4 feet away and my MIL can hear her just fine.<\/p>\n

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Later that day, my mother-in-law and I sat at the table, looking at old photos from my Google Photos<\/a> account.  We sat and talked for 2 hours!<\/p>\n

Even when I was facing the computer instead of her, she could hear me!  It was truly amazing.<\/p>\n

And with the convenience factor built into BeHear Now, she can wear the headset around her neck to have the earpieces close by. <\/p>\n

If she’s at home, she doesn’t need them in her ears, but she can easily tuck the earpieces in her hears when the phone rings or when she goes outside and sees her neighbors.<\/p>\n

It’s a convenience she’s never had before because she doesn’t do this with her $4,000 hearing aids that most often sit in their case. <\/p>\n

Her hearing aids are uncomfortable, so she doesn’t wear them much.  And sometimes, she’ll only wear one.<\/p>\n

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BeHear Now Hearing Amplification Headset<\/span><\/h2>\n

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Features:<\/h3>\n