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The Sony WH-1000XM1, XM2, and XM3 noise-cancelling headphones allow you simply to cup the hearcup with your hand in order to talk to someone.   Bose doesn't seem to like touch controls, preferring physical switches.  ... View more

Whoa. I had no idea about these! When are they supposed to become available? ... View more

Excuse me, but nowhere did I suggest that a hearing aid can replace natural hearing.  ... View more

Let me get this straight: you discredit audiologists because after configuring hearing aids to a person's hearing curve, they usually don't retest the person's hearing to make sure that it is properly corrected, yet in the case of Hearphones, you're content to "adjust until it sounds better"?! And how does one do this effectively (and accurately), given that there's only one control for BOTH bass and treble?   "And from what I've noticed with my friends, they don't really improve hearing all that much. Maybe they went to wrong audiologist?"   This may not be the fault of the hearing aids or audiologists. My guess is that in many cases, people wait too long to get hearing aids. I was told by my ENT that what happens in the case of people with severe hearing loss is that the auditory cortex stops receiving stimulation from certain parts of the audio spectrum and atrophies accordingly; if they wait 10 years to get hearing aids, those atrophied parts of their brain will be much less sensitive to the amplified sounds and the hearing aids will make less of a difference. ... View more

Oh, so that's what you meant! I think it's true -- audiologists configure the hearing aid to fit the curve, but then do not perform another hearing test to make sure that the correction is near-perfect. Would that be covered by insurance? ;-) I'm sure it's far better than not configuring the hearing aid.   But how can the Hearphones be adjusted to fit one's personal hearing curve? Now that would be important to know! ... View more

I do wear them, but I confess they make me feel self-conscious. And they're not so good as to overcome the resistance.   I don't know when you last used hearing aids, but the behind-the-ear ones are much less obtrusive -- they really can't be seen unless you're behind a person and staring at their ear lobes.   Your point about " the huge majority of those who sell hearing aids never test to confirm that the purchased hearing aids actually match the curve of your hearing loss" is a bit strange (and surely wrong), given that the Bose can't be tailored at all to one's hearing loss. Does that make the Hearphones better because they can't be misconfigured in that way?   The moderator would be the first to tell you that the Hearphones are not for people with significant hearing loss.   The Hearphones are good for what they are, and are obviously much less expensive than a really good pair of hearing aids, but I'd like to see evidence that they're as good or almost as good as the latter.     ... View more

From the Wirecutter review:   " We like the Bose Hearphones , but we don’t think they’re practical for everyday hearing assistance. They sound better than much of the competition and feel comfortable. They’re reasonably priced for a pair, the accompanying app is easy to use, and their battery life is fair (10 hours). However, they look like clunky wireless headphones, and we couldn’t see ourselves using these for listening to people out in the real world." ... View more

" That's all related to how you use the Bose Hear app. If you start it up, use it and close it down, then you'll experience the wait every time.  If you leave the app running in the background, it is ready much faster."   What do you mean by "close it down"? (I think you may be more familiar with Android than iOS) I never force quit apps, but iOS automatically terminates certain processes under conditions that it alone determines. The Bose Hear app is always in the background, but I still frequently encounter the delays which, when all the stages are added together, can amount to 20-30 seconds. What matters, I think, is not whether the app is in the foreground or background, but whether the Hearphones have been off and disconnected from the app.   My opinion: this delay is annoying and unacceptable. ... View more

I've figured out the problem. One of the earbuds (the left one, specifically) reports that it's in my ear when it isn't! I've checked both the wing tips and the earbuds themselves for wax build up, but there is none, and the left one reports that it's in my ear even when the wing tip is removed.   I can get the left earbud to register momentarily that it's not in my ear, but then it reverts to showing that it is!   Conclusion: I’m exchanging the old Hearphones for new ones. ... View more

It's an iPhone 6S. 2GB of RAM, 64 GB of storage (of which only 18 GB are used).   I think you may be confusing launch time, which is affected by RAM and storage issues, with the delays I'm noticing, most of which occurs after the message "Getting Things Ready …"   No, restarting the phone has no effect. Just now, the connection was instantaneous, but after I restarted the phone, I saw the usual delay.   Are you implying that the app makes a near-instant connection to your Earphones every time you launch it? ... View more

I just wanted to follow up by seconding this request. Nuheara's just-released Boost (completely wireless) actually administers a built-in hearing test which it uses to customize the sound. Bragi's "Hear" project is apparently being designed to do the same.   If this is impossible in the Hearphones, then perhaps this could be implemented in their successor, which hopefully will dispense with the neckband. ... View more

iOS.   Is it possible that there could have been a "silent" update to version 1.6.4 of the firmware? (i.e. the firmware was updated, but the version number was not?) ... View more

Yes, I use my Hearphones less often because of 1) embarrassment, 2) disappointing efficacy, 3) the inconvenience of removing them from their case, putting them around my neck, and so forth. ... View more

By the way, I open the Bose Hear app frequently, but it never suggested that there was a firmware update until I saw this post and followed the directions for updating firmware via my computer using btu.bose.com! ... View more

Every audiologist I've seen has offered to let me try hearing aids for at least 2 weeks at no charge. ... View more

I adjust world volume (upward) if I use the Hearphones when I'm watching TV. I have a preset for -50 for maximum noise cancellation when I'm working in a café. I set it at 30-40 if I'm trying to hear better in a "noisy environment."   This is a bit off topic, but after several months of use, I find the Hearphones to be underwhelming in their ability to help me hear in classrooms and conferences. They seemed amazing in the Bose store, but their efficacy in real life is another matter. They don't just amplify soft sounds; they amplify *all* sounds to some extent.    The other problem is the form factor. Not only are they obtrusive compared to truly wireless ear buds (don't believe just me: the Wirecutter observes, "… they look like clunky wireless headphones, and we couldn’t see ourselves using these for listening to people out in the real world) , but they're much less convenient to put and take off.    I really don't think they're worth $200 more than the QuietControl 30. ... View more

Have you tried hearing aids from Widex? I found them much better for music than the Oticons: in fact, they're known as "musician's hearing aids." ... View more

I appreciate the firmware updates, no matter how subtle. Thanks for continuing to improve the product. ... View more

It's a widget that appears on the lock screen of all fairly recent iPhones including yours. Unlock your phone, swipe left, scroll to the bottom, press "edit", and press the "+" sign next to "Batteries" under "More Widgets." ... View more

#3: actually, if you enable the Battery extension on your iPhone (for the lock screen), it will display the remaining charge in % for your Hearphones. ... View more

I agree, but have you tried hearing aids from Widex? They're actually really good with music. ... View more

Yes, indeed! ... View more

Frankly, I don't know why it isn't there already. It's extremely annoying (and disruptive) to have the Hearphones turn off when one is using them, just because streaming isn't taking place. ... View more