The Ongoing Evolution of Bluetooth in Hearing Care
By Yanz, Jerry L., PhD; Roberts, Randall; Colburn, Tom; Hearing Review, Vol. 13, No. 9, pp. 60-63Publication Date: August 2006
Article focuses on developments in Bluetooth technology as applied to hearing devices, and discusses a number of Bluetooth devices from Starkey Labs. The following devices are pictured and highlighted: (1) the Ear Level Instrument (ELI), (2) SoundPort II, (3) the BluPAL miniature digital assistive listening device, and (4) BluPAL Headphones. The ELI was primarily designed for cellular phone communication, as it attaches to the direct audio input shoe of a listeners behind-the-ear hearing aid or to an adapted neck loop. The device eliminates the electromagnetic interference that used to haunt cellular phone users with hearing aids. The SoundPort II has either a directional or boom microphone, both of which are designed to improve the quality of the outbound voice of the user. Improvements to the latest version are meant to improve the voice of the incoming caller. The BluPAL is an assistive listening device with both omnidirectional and directional microphones. The device is particularly useful in scenarios where signal to noise ratio is especially challenging, such as restaurants and parties. BluPAL Headphones are described as high-quality, wireless, lightweight, stereo transducers that receive streaming audio from BluPAL or other Bluetooth sources. The headphones can provide a much richer listening experience than if the user would connect to a television or other audio device.
Published by: Ascend Media LLC (Website:http://www.ascendmedia.com)
Link to text: http://www.hearingreview.com/article.php?s=HR/2006/08&p=9
