Thank you all for your help and suggestions
It sounds like you have an iPhone and don’t need the Phone Clip – so that wouldn’t be a good swap. But it is a solid device for Android and a BT transmitter attached to the TV.
If the family thinks the TV is to loud or you have a hard time with some dialog, then you might switch to the TV accessory.
The above is assuming that the right mic doesn’t happen.
I do have an iphone 6 and i am under the impression that i can use that as a remote for some hearing aids including the Cala and KS7. I am not really familiar with the other accessories you are talking about, what they do and how much they cost. Without the hearing aids i hear good with both the land line and wireless by holding the phone to my ear.
I have had several hearing tests performed including one at Costco. The HAS talked about the Cala and the KS7 but he was suggesting that i seriously consider the Cala. He made no offer for me to try any on that day, it was a Saturday and they were busy. I have talked with 2 other hearing aid offices to get an idea of what is available and the cost and to confirm the hearing test at Costco.
I have made an appointment with Costco to discuss the hearing aids they sell and the lady that i talked with on the phone indicated that i could walk around the store with them on to see what i thought. The man that gave me the hearing test said with the Cala i can stream to the hearing aids without any other equipment. of course for that benefit it will cost about $900 more than the KS7. I am not sure if the ability to stream is something i would use regularly and if it really makes a difference in understanding all the dialogue on the TV.
I have a home theater set up and my receiver has blue tooth, i have not checked if it is possible to pair hearing aids with a Denon BT receiver, i have paired my iphone and ipad with the receiver. I also have blue tooth in the car with telephone conversations coming thru the sound system of the car.
I am sure its obvious that i know very little about hearing aids since this is my first experience. While i could swing the Cala financially, i would prefer not having to spend the money if it is not necessary to have a satisfactory improvement in hearing from the hearing aids.
I had a session with a local audiologist and when they told me the prices ranging from $4800 to $7000 (when i woke up, i found someone beating on my chest and giving me mouth to mouth :):)) had i not been a customer of Costco and passed the brochure rack a number of times, i suspect that i would have just gone home and asked people to speak louder and turned up the volume on the TV.
I really do appreciate the advice and suggestions you all have been providing me
You need to do some research… For around $2100 you can get the ks7 with smart connect and tvlink. Hands totally free cell and you own volume on the TV. Plus you can BT whatever you like into the smart connect.
Do you currently have any problems hearing TV? “Problem” would include anybody in your household who complains you play the TV too loud. If no, then TV isn’t really an issue. If yes, then streaming can help. I don’t think your TV will stream directly to the Calas as the Calas work on LE Bluetooth. You’d need a device connected to your TV that would stream in LE bluetooth. The Smart Connect is a device you put around your neck that lets you stream Bluetooth to the KS7s. I think it would let your bluetooth TV stream to your hearing aids. Both the Calas and KS7s are good hearing aids. From what you’ve said, I’d suggest getting the KS7s and see if they’re satisfactory. If not, return them within the trial period (180 days in US) and get the Calas.
Everybody in my family tells me the TV is to loud, my daughter tells me she can hear it in the driveway. I am now doing some research to find out if my Denon AVR-S920W can stream the sound directly to KS7 or Cala without any additional equipment. I am searching in internet, if unsuccessful i will call their customers service area next week. My hunch right now is that the receiver can transmit, dont know if the HA’s have a BT receiver that will accept signal
Yes
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Sounds like your receiver can transmit bluetooth. Issue is getting hearing aids to receive it. Calas can receive LE (low energy) bluetooth. KS7s need SmartConnect to be able to receive bluetooth. Another option that works remarkably well is called TVears. I used it for several years without a problem and have only recently switched to streaming. For me, I can’t say that streaming sounds any better than the TVears.
I would suggest try the Cala first. It will connect directly to your iPhone. As to accessories, the TV unit will also transmit directly to you aids. The mic option is good for students, seminars, talking to one individual in a noisy situation. As mentioned you have a 180 day trial; if they aren’t working out, you can try another aid.
You really don’t have anything to lose. The $2200 cost is fully refundable anytime the trial is still active.
Kenp,
You mentioned the Cala at $2200, i was thinking the Costco HAS mentioned they were $2600, now that was a couple of weeks ago, perhaps i misunderstood him
My understanding is that the price of the Cala is $2600, as you mentioned.
Typo or mental gas…take your pick. 
Hey Kenji why gala first?
Sounds like his family could use volume relief and he could do hands free cell (like required in most states).not to mention any BT device with the ks7s.
Well there are more ways than having your necklace to get hands free. My car does it fine. Lifestyle may also minimize the impact. It is certainly something you are right to point out. Then, he can decide.
I do have hands free in my car which works very well, I can normally hear the sound clearly, so that I don’t have to worry about the vehicle
Well shit fire kenji as always you da man! Well an oz necklace or have an iPhone up your ass all day without 1/2 the functionality frankly i could give a rats ass which way they go but the company I would want squeezing me would not be Apple.
Well, I’m not an Apple fanboy. But they have the phone that works with aids. There is a simple, low-tech way to use it hands-free. It is called a shirt pocket. I suppose one could attach a lanyard to it and hang it around their neck. But then it’d resemble your setup.
How you figure to listen to BT devices PC, tabs, mp3, etc. Any chance Apple might be behind the Android hold up? Tapping my necklace and saying call Kenji with the phone in the console or on my coffee table sure beats the shit out having any cell phone in the shirt pocket… Plus if the TV isn’t to my liking I can go to youtube, prime, xm or even the spectrum app and watch the games.
Well, I do have a Phone Clip but I haven’t used it in months. I got it when I had an Android phone. I tried it with the TV and my sound bar (with a feature called Clear Speech) give the same understanding at 70DB. I don’t stream so the PC+ is mostly worthless.
I don’t think Apple can be blamed for Android being behind. They did buy a company that does the hardware and did it early for the interim spec for BT 5. But the BT5 release certainly eliminate the advantage. What they do have is a mostly closed system. I don’t particularly care for that but the contrast with Android is there. Android provides the base software. Vendors revise it and install their own drivers. It is an unfortunate situation that leads to lowered user satisfaction and infrequent or never updates to the phone owned.
One can tell the iPhone to answer or call Joe Blow. I think that is a double click. I never use it. As to having to have the phone in a shirt pocket – I actually do that most of the time – you don’t have to have it there but can put it there to talk hands-free. Not a biggy.
The thing is that what you or I might think a great feature isn’t for another. So we can’t really say one way is the best way.
Where do you find a pocket protector large enough for a phone and all your pencils?
Funny…barely.
I use a garbage bag. It easily holds the phone, pencils and your posts.