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A Different Approach in Digital Hearing Aids: BlameySaunders’ “Facett” by Ross Tester Having worn three different types of their hearing aids since 2011 when BlameySaunders first entered the market, I was intrigued to find they were once again launching a completely new model, with a slogan “Hear Like Never Before”. What could be so different – after all, it’s only been 12 months or so since they introduced their brilliant Opus96 digital models? T he first thing you notice when you open the Facett Hearing Aids packaging is that the contents look quite different from previous models. For a start, they don’t come with the bulky “Sound-N-Dry” storage container with tiny beads that go everywhere when the bag splits! Instead, they have what they call a “Pod”, a portable storage case/drier which houses the hearing aids themselves. But is much more than a storage case and drier. 70 Silicon Chip For a start, it has a power socket on the side – that’s used by the inbuilt battery recharger. Battery recharger? Well, that’s certainly different – the Facett uses rechargeable battery modules. That on its own is a very welcome change. Each of the charged cell modules will give up to 36 hours continuous use. Anyone who has used hearing aids for a while will tell you that continuCelebrating 30 Years ally buying replacement batteries is more an inconvenience than a huge cost – but a cost nevertheless. For the common “312” size zinc-air cells to suit the Opus96 (or the “13” size to suit the Symphony), for a box containing 60 cells I usually paid about $25 for relatively unknown brands and up to about $50 or so for brand names, so somewhere between 40c and $1.00 each. But every now and then (eg, when I forgot to take a battery pack with me on holidays!) I had to buy a pack from siliconchip.com.au Woolies or Coles to get me through – and these could be as much as $10-$12 for a 6-pack! $2 each? Ouch! Incidentally, you can get really caught out buying hearing aid batteries on-line if you don’t read the “fine print”: I found a pack of 18 batteries for $7.57 on ebay – plus $90.14 postage! (That’s only about $5.40 EACH! Ouch2!). Zinc-air batteries start discharging as soon as you remove their sticker, which allows air to enter and “activate” them. Then they only last a few days. Perhaps even worse, the tiny disposable batteries act like a magnet to toddlers – straight into the mouth! While zinc-air batteries are not supposed to be as dangerous as lithium cells (which have caused severe injuries and even deaths when swallowed) I still wouldn’t like to take the chance of zinc-airs being swallowed. But back to the Facett: it uses tiny silver-zinc rechargeable cell modules which instantly attach, magnetically, to the hearing aid “core”. This also causes the tiny contacts on the cell to mate with the contacts on the core. And being magnetic, they will only attach one way (if you try to put them on back-to-front they will instantly “flip” to the right way – driven, of course, by the strong magnetic field). You only have to get the cell module close to the core – say 10mm – and they instantly snap into place. That same magnet-based connection is used when charging the cells in the pod. When inserted, LEDs in the pod flash green as the cells are being charged, switch to solid green to show they are charged, or turn red if there is a problem (eg, cells won’t take a charge). There are four charging “ports” in the pod as well as two “idle ports” –they (magnetically, again) hold the cell modules without charging them – so you can have two charged modules ready for use while charging up to four modules. It takes around eight hours to charge a cell module from flat so overnight is the go, much like my mobile phone (or even my electric car!). The pod is powered, via a portal in the end, from a 5V source – either a USB outlet on a PC, tablet or laptop, or the 5V mains adaptor (supplied). To connect, a standard USB-to-micro siliconchip.com.au Three of the battery modules are shown in charging positions; the left-hand one is in the “idle port” (for storage). The “core” modules are the hearing aids themselves – the Red speaker is for the right ear, the bLue speaker for the left. USB cable is also supplied. As we mentioned earlier, the pod also stores, and keeps dry, the two hearing aid cores themselves, also held in position magnetically. To keep the hearing aids dry, a replaceable desiccant clips into the top of the pod. As with all desiccants, it warns you not to eat it . . . Emergency batteries Having extolled the virtues of the rechargeable cell modules, what if you are out the back of Woop Woop for a few weeks and have no access to power? Admittedly, that would be pretty rare these days, especially with most cars having 5V USB sockets, or solar chargers for mobile phones and the like (which would obviously charge the Facett hearing aid modules) but it is possible. BlameySaunders have foreseen this situation and will soon have an optional cell module which does accept traditional (size 13) hearing aid batteries. Celebrating 30 Years But we have to say this is something that we wouldn’t be concerned about. Bluetooth link Also on the drawing board and due to go on sale later this year will be a wireless (Bluetooth) link which, among other things, transmits audio from a mobile phone, media player, etc, direct to the Facett hearing aids. It will also help in carrying out a conversation in background noise and even let you change some of the Facett parameters (volume, for instance) from a smartphone or similar device. But as we said, this is in the future. Physically . . . The Facett hearing aid, with attached battery, is slightly larger and heavier than the Opus96: 23 x 7mm and 2.4g for the Opus96, 31 x 8mm and 4.0g for the Facett. While this might sound significant (particularly the weight), in both cases, I forget that I’m wearing them within a few minutes. In fact, that can be a trap April 2018  71 Straight outa the box . . . or in this case, only the Pod, complete with the Facett charging dock with hearing aid “cores”, the battery modules (4), the dessicant (it slots into the circular retainer in the lid) and instructions. for young players – a few times I’ve nearly dived into the pool or jumped under the shower wearing my hearing aids – fortunately, nearly! I trialled the gold-coloured Facetts; they are also available in silver, grey and charcoal colours. Obviously, the Facett gets its name from the multifacetted case design. There is only one control as such on the Facett but it serves a dual purpose. It is an up/down volume control when pressed briefly; hold the toggle button in and it switches between the normal (“Everyday”) program and programs which you enter yourself, such as in a crowd, or watching sport, or watching TV, for example. (We’ll look at programming the Facett shortly). The control reverts to volume when the Facett is turned off (ie, the battery is disconnected – there is no on/off switch as such). Inside the hearing aid According to BlameySaunders, the electronics in the hearing aid are not overly different to the Opus 96 models released last year. Those hearing aids were highly innovative – digital processing (of course!) with 96 channels, multi-channel adaptive directional microphone and so on. I remember saying at the time they 72 Silicon Chip were a noticeable improvement over the previous models, which I reviewed in March 2013. The main innovation in the new Facett hearing aids is in the construction and battery connection, and that IS highly innovative, as mentioned earlier. BlameySaunders engineers told me that given the short window of opportunity, they’ve used that time to “up-spec” and tweak the circuitry and components in the Facetts, making them the best that (current) technology allows. So the improvements they’ve made earn the Facetts the title of “flagship” in the BlameySaunders fleet. Virtually invisible One of the advantages of “behind the ear” hearing aids, with their “speaker in ear” (SIE), is that they are for all intents and purposes invisible – especially for ladies with longer hair which may cover the ears (and therefore hearing aid). Wearing hearing aids is sometimes equated with “getting old” and many people are reluctant to admit that, despite what the calendar says! (The alternative is also true . . . continually saying “eh?” or “waddya say?” is also a sure sign of deteriorating hearing/ageing!) From the hearing aid itself, there is Celebrating 30 Years a tiny (~1mm) clear tube which goes from behind the ear to the front and follows the contour of the ear, with the miniature (~11mm long x 3mm diameter) speaker at the end. Some users prefer to simply place this inside the ear canal; others prefer to use one of the (supplied) ear tips which simply slide over the end of the SIE and lodge the speaker a little more firmly in the canal. Personally, I find this has both disadvantages and advantages: I find the ear tips take a little getting used to, making me continually think that there is something in my ear (which, of course, there is!). The advantage is that external sound, which hasn’t been processed or tailored by the hearing aid, is to some extent blocked. This can be a real boon in a noisy environment/crowd/etc, especially if you set up a program to tailor the sound appropriately. Apart from the half dozen or so spare tips, in various sizes, supplied to suit the Facett, different size tips are available from BlameySaunders. They recommend fresh ear tips every 4-6 weeks. Some of the ear tips have holes in them which allows some “natural” sound to enter as well as that from the hearing aids, while other tips are solid, blocking any sound/noise not processed by the hearing aid. The “Everyday” program Even if you have no intention of buying hearing aids, you can check your hearing without obligation using BlameySaunders’ “Speech Perception Test”. See the panel “On-line Speech Perception Test”. You might be surprised to find that your “perfect” hearing ain’t necessarily so! If you do go ahead and purchase BlameySaunders hearing aids, they use the results of the Speech Perception Test to program them with the “Everyday” program your hearing aids starts with when they are turned on (you actually hear them say “Everyday”). Therefore, every “Everyday” program is unique, tailored to your hearing loss. No two people will have exactly the same losses or requirements. Hearing Loop By the way, there is a second “prosiliconchip.com.au gram” automatically loaded into the Facetts, selected by holding down the up/down button. That accesses the “Hearing Loop” or “Telecoil” function. We covered Hearing Loops in detail in a DIY series published in September and October 2010 (siliconchip.com. au/Series/11) but in a nutshell, a Hearing Loop is a large coil of wire placed around a meeting room/auditorium/ theatre/church/etc, fed by a relatively high-powered amplifier. These loops are designed to allow the program, service, etc which others are listening to via a PA system to be directly induced into hearing aids fitted with the appropriate firmware. Hearing Loops are now installed in many, if not most public buildings and this trend is expected to continue for the vast majority of new public buildings in the future. Most hearing loops are installed in a building hidden in walls, under floors, etc and where they are present you will see a blue and white hearing loop logo. Often, signs inside the building will tell you exactly where the hearing loop is situated – you have to sit inside the loop for it to work with your hearing aids. The Telecoil part is slightly different but works much the same way – this refers to special telephones designed to amplify incoming calls and This shot gives you the relative sizes of the hearing aid “core” (the right one in this case with its red speaker) and its battery module. This was about as close as I could get them without them magnetically “snapping” together. induce the signal direct to hearing aids. Again, they are intended for the hearing impaired. IHearYou/Incus-M As we mentioned, the Everyday program relies on the words you recognised in the on-line test – and while it’s much better than a tone-based test, it’s not entirely foolproof. For example, you might be distracted while listening and miss a word or two, or your speaker/headphone setup might not be quite up to scratch. You only get one bite at the cherry – or in this case, one listen. And if you miss it . . . The analysis software used by BlameySaunders may well treat this as a hearing deficiency and adjust the program parameters accordingly. In this case, you’ll want to adjust the Everyday program. Or you might want to add your own programs to suit your particular requirements, as we mentioned earlier. You can add up to three more programs. You do this by means of BlameySaunders’ “IHearYou” software (a free download) in conjunction with the Incus-M programmer, supplied with your hearing aids. IHearYou is available for Windows, Android and Mac platforms and suits PC, tablets or smartphones. The Incus-M is slightly different from the earlier Incus programmer – the earlier models have a flexible flat cable (FFC) which must be inserted the right way around into the hearing aids. To be honest, I found this rather fiddly and despite instructions, managed to insert them back-to-front on more than one occasion. The Incus-M has the same magnetic “instant connection” as the battery modules making instant, positive connection. Now you just bring the Incus-M cable ends close to the core modules and they snap into place (red for right hearing aid, blue for left, just like everything else). When you’ve done that, you can set the balance between ears (that’s where my Everyday program was most deficient) overall volume levels and so on. Incidentally, we looked at the Incus programmer in some detail in our September 2014 issue (siliconchip. com.au/Article/8005). There are a few updates but overall operation is very similar. A few teething problems – or is it the nut on the keyboard? The Incus-M programmer with its core connection cables, the USB power cable above and 230V USB adaptor at right. The Bluetooth module worked perfectly with my Android phone but so far, steadfastly refuses to talk to my PC! siliconchip.com.au Celebrating 30 Years Even having gone through this procedure last year with the Opus96 hearing aids, I had a lot of difficulty getting my PC to recognise the Bluetooth “dongle” supplied by BlameySaunders. Despite spending considerable time April 2018  73 with Sophie from BlameySaunders and, indeed, one of their techs actually taking control of my computer remotely from Melbourne (with TeamViewer software), the problem is as yet unresolved. I am fairly certain the problem is at my end, something my computer doesn’t want to do – even if I sit and yell at it! No problem, though, when we tried the alternative: using my (Android) mobile phone. It found the Bluetooth hardware immediately, loaded their “IHearYou” software and then allowed me to program the hearing aids easily, using the Incus-M. The range of adjustments is quite extensive, ranging from setting the overall volume (using five tones) by sliding control bars on the phone screen, setting the balance between those tones in a similar way, adjusting the sensitivity for minimal feedback, changing the parameters so that certain sounds wouldn’t be too loud or too soft, and so on. This is all quite self-explanatory once you’re in the software – we’ve shown a few screen grabs to give you some idea of what is happening. Okay, what’s the verdict? Every time I’ve road-tested a new model hearing aid from BlameySaunders, I’ve been impressed with the improvement. Sure, in some cases it’s only little improvements between models but those little steps add up to quite a The home screen on my Android phone which gives access to all the other programming functions. 74 Silicon Chip significant upgrade – an upgrade well worth making. On the Facetts, the first thing I noticed was the feedback (or more to the point, the lack thereof). I’m not sure what the engineers have done to make such an improvement in this area, but it was really noticeable. The second was the ease-of-use. I’ve already covered the battery connection and charging, and also the single up/ down control – these two things alone make for a real improvement. Third is that “pod” – yes, it is the recharger but it’s also well thought out for hearing aid storage and drying as well as recharging. And the fourth was simply the clarity: they just seemed to make sound clearer. I’ve commented in the past that television program voices, particularly female voices and more particularly on UK-originated shows, have always sounded somewhat muffled to me. The Facetts have largely overcome that problem. As far as the improvement of the Facetts over the Opus96, I’m sure there was a marginal improvement in the new model. Maybe, in the normal course of events, it might not be enough to convince me to upgrade. After all, even at the prices BlameySaunders sell their hearing aids for, hearing aids are certainly not cheap! But even if it was ONLY that new rechargeable and so easy-to-use battery system – and the amount of money I would save by not forever buying Selecting Balance Loudness reveals these five tone bars – simply slide them along until they all sound level. throw-away batteries – I’d upgrade to the Facett hearing aids in a heartbeat! It really is that much of a breakthrough! And they look pretty fancy, too . . . What’s in the box? When you receive your Facett kit, you’ll not only find the two hearing aid cores, four rechargeable battery modules and the charger/storage Pod, but the Incus-M programmer will also be included (elsewhere, if such a device is offered at all, it can be several hundred dollars extra). Along with this, there is a selection of ear tips, wax-stop plugs and cleaning equipment plus, of course, instructions. And speaking of instructions, if there is anything that’s not overly clear, I have to report that the phone assistance is outstanding! They patiently took me through some of the less obvious features (eg, how to virtually eliminate feedback or how to minimise sudden, sharp sounds). They were also the ones that told me about the Telecoil function which I’d missed completely. If you go on-line (www.blameysaunders.com.au) in working hours, the chances are very high that someone will pop up in a chat window and ask if you need any help (and they do – help, that is!). If you’re not sure which hearing aids you need, they’ll help you with that decision without applying the sort of pressure you’d get in a shop-front hearing aid store to “upsize”, as the There are some quite specialised controls under “Fine Tuning” such as this “Quieten Sharp Sounds”. Celebrating 30 Years Switching programs allows you to set up (and tailor) individual programs to suit your particular needs. siliconchip.com.au fast food retailers like to say. If you just want to browse, or view information, just ignore the chat. How much, where from: If you’ve priced hearing aids lately, you’ll know that many shop-front hearing “specialists” (and they seem to be popping up everywhere!) can quote you around $12,000 per pair for good digital models – and often more. The Facett hearing aid package from BlameySaunders will cost you exactly half that amount – $5990 per pair – a not inconsiderable amount of money, to be sure, but that is for one of the most advanced hearing aids on the market. BlameySaunders still have all three of the hearing aid packages available which we’ve reviewed over the years in SILICON CHIP – the “Symphony” 32 Channel, entry level hearing aid at $1415 each/$2830 per pair (reviewed in July 2011 [siliconchip.com.au/ Article/1066]); the SIE-Plus 64 Channel mid-range at $2770 each/$5440 per pair (March 2013 [siliconchip. com.au/Article/3299]); or the (until now!) top-of-the-line 96 Channel Opus-96 at $2635 each or $5270 per pair (May 2017 [siliconchip.com.au/ Article/10653]). And yes, you can buy individual hearing aids if (a) you don’t need two – but BlameySaunders will tell you that if you need one, the odds are you do need two! Or (b) you’ve managed to misplace one – or, as I mentioned when I reviewed the Opus 96 hearing aids, our schnauzer decided one looked like a little bone and . . . Don’t forget, too, that private health insurance funds usually offer rebates on hearing aids – the better funds about $1200; others can be quite miserly! Checking Your Hearing Online BlameySaunders maintain that there are five key indicators that your hearing is not all it should be (or once was!). (1): You find it hard to follow a conversation in a crowded room or restaurant. (2): You feel that people are always mumbling. (3): People complain about the volume you set the TV or radio to. (4): You find it easier to understand men’s voices than those of women and children. (5): You often experience ringing or whistling in your ears. If you recognise any (all?!!!) of these, maybe it’s time your hearing was professionally checked. You can go to a shop-front hearing aid retailer who will, most likely, put you through a series of tones asking you to push a button when you can either hear, or not hear, the tones. From this, they produce an “audiogram” which graphs the levels you can hear at various frequencies. The problem with this is it is very subjective: eg,“did I really hear that?” And then follows, of course, the pressure to purchase hearing aids that are often way overpriced! Everyone in audiology and hearing science is aware of the inadequacies of the pure tone audiogram. All that tells you is how softly you can hear beep sounds. From there, the tester has to try and explain why you are having trouble hearing. The pure tone audiogram’s role should be only the first part of trying to find out the medical cause of your hearing difficulty – it takes a trained professional to determine the actual cause. Instead of pure tones, BlameySaunders developed a “Speech Perception Test”. You listen to a randomised list of 50 phonemically-balanced English words and type what you hear in the box provided on screen. They measure the words you hear or miss against the speech features that make up each word (eg, phonation, resonance, intonation, pitch, sibilants, vowels, hard and soft consonants etc). This is analysed to give the information needed to set up your hearing aids but also tells you how much difficulty you have with the different sounds of speech. This clinically-proven test enables them to generate an accurate report on the real-world speech sounds you are able to hear. You can do the BlameySaunders Speech Perception Test online, anytime, without obligation. All you need is a relatively quiet room with good speakers or headphones connected to your PC. The test generates a report which will be emailed to you within ten minutes or so. Whether you decide to go ahead and invest in hearing aids after receiving this report is entirely up to you. If you do decide, they’ll guide you all the way. Simply go to the BlameySaunders.com.au website and you’ll be greeted with a “Test Your Hearing” splash screen. From there, follow the prompts. Where to buy You can buy on-line from the same website with a 100% money-back guarantee. Or, if you’re in Melbourne, Sydney or Brisbane, you can book an appointment at any of the BlameySaunders clinics (addresses and even location maps are on the website; all three are in or near the heart of the cities). You can also do the Speech Perception Test at those centres and, of course, have explained to you the different types of hearing aids and their SC features. Acknowledgement: Our thanks to Dr Sophie Brice from BlameySaunders for her assistance. siliconchip.com.au Celebrating 30 Years April 2018  75 Using Cheap Asian Electronic Modules Part 15: by Jim Rowe The ESP-01 WiFi Data Transceiver The ESP-01 is a very popular WiFi transceiver module based on the ESP8266 IC; which is designed to allow almost any microcontroller to connect to a WiFi network. To make this as easy as possible, the chip is programmed to respond to Hayes AT modem text commands. As well, the chip can be re-programmed to perform a variety of different tasks. W iFi networking has been around now for 20 years, after being adopted as a standard protocol in 1999 – the same year the WiFi Alliance was formed. Since then it has grown steadily in popularity, especially in mobile devices. It’s also quite handy for wirelessly connecting computers to routers/modems and peripherals like printers. Responding to this growth in WiFi popularity, in mid-2013, Chinese semiconductor manufacturer Espressif Systems (based in Shanghai) released its ESP8266 chip. This is a complete SOC (system on a chip), combining a 32-bit RISC (reduced instruction set computer) microcontroller with a full TCP/IP (internet protocol) stack and all of the components needed for a WiFi data transceiver. But the ESP8266 didn’t really make an impression in the Western world until 2014, when another Chinese firm, AI-Thinker, released its ESP-01 WiFi transceiver module. This was based on the ESP8266, but what made it particularly popular was its cost at less than $4.00. So the ESP-01 module and the ESP8266 chip are not new; they’ve been around for over three years. In fact, Geoff Graham wrote an article on using the ESP-01 module in the December 2014 issue of Silicon Chip, titled “The $5 WiFi Server”. 76 Silicon Chip The ESP8266 has since been used in: ■ a WiFi Christmas light controller (Circuit Notebook, December 2016, siliconchip.com.au/Article/10486); ■ as a data logger that uploads to the cloud (September 2017, siliconchip. com.au/Article/10804); ■ in the Water Tank Level Meter in the February 2018 issue (siliconchip. com.au/Article/10963); ■ and most recently, the NTP Time Adaptor for GPS Clocks that we just published in this issue. Those projects actually featured different modules based around the ESP8266 chip; there are dozens of different boards, many of them designed to be compatible with the Arduino system. Most of the information in this article regarding the ESP-01 applies equally to those other ESP8266-based modules. We are taking a closer look at the ESP-01 module and ESP8266 chip here since they have numerous WiFi Celebrating 30 Years and “Internet of Things” (IoT) applications. As an aside, Espressif has recently released a follow-up to the ESP8266 chip: the ESP32 series, which incorporate WiFi & dual-mode Bluetooth transceivers and dual-core micros. Although modules using the ESP32 chips have started to appear, their prices are significantly higher than that of the ESP-01 at around $9.00. But the ESP-01 still has some other advantages, such as lower power usage in some situations. This has renewed interest in the ESP-01, especially since it’s the easiest way to get started with WiFi at the lowest cost. About WiFi WiFi is a technology for wireless local area networking, with devices complying with the IEEE 802.11 protocol standards. A large part of this is based on a patent (US5487069) developed at the CSIRO in Australia, by a siliconchip.com.au