Beltone Change

Instructions for use

Digital Behind-the-Ear hearing instrument

CHG75 and CHG75D

CHG75 Open and CHG75D Open

CHG85 and CHG85D

A new Beltone hearing instrument

Congratulations on your choice of a Beltone hearing instrument!

This is an important step towards clearer hearing and better understanding. We have used all our experience with hearing instruments to help you communicate, lead an enjoyable social life and listen to the world around you.

Your hearing instrument is a very advanced device. Your hearing care practitioner has tuned it to your individual needs. With a little devotion and patience you will become familiar with it.

This booklet is a short guide to assist you in getting acquainted with your hearing instrument. Read it carefully and use it as a guideline.

We wish you happiness and pleasant listening with your new instrument.

Beltone

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This booklet & your instrument

In this booklet you will find instructions for inserting and controlling your new hearing instrument. You will find explanations on controlling your instrument, on daily handling and on its use. Furthermore, you can read what to do if things do not live up to your expectations. We will give a few practical steps towards better hearing.

Contents

Warning to hearing care professional

Your Hearing Instrument

Switching on and off

Changing batteries

Inserting and removing the instrument

Recognising left and right instrument

Setting the volume

Program button

Dual microphone system

T-program

Using the telephone

Hearing through an induction loop

Audio input

Maintenance and cleaning

General warnings

Eight steps towards better hearing

General precautions

Technical specifications

Troubleshooting guide

International warranty

Your selected model

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12

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14

6

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Warning to hearing care professional

A hearing care professional should advise a prospective user to consult promptly with a licensed physician (preferably an ear specialist) before setting the instrument if the hearing care professional determines through inquiry, actual observation, or review of any other available information concerning the prospective user that the prospective user has any of the following conditions:

(i) visible congenital or traumatic deformity of the ear;

(ii) history of active drainage from the ear within the previous 90 days;

(iii) history of sudden or rapidly progressive hearing loss within the previous 90 days;

(iv) acute or chronic dizziness;

(v) unilateral hearing loss of sudden or recent onset within the previous 90 days;

(vi) audiometric air-bone gap equal to or greater than 15dB at 500

Hz (hertz), 1000 Hz, and 2000 Hz;

(vii) visible evidence of significant cerumen accumulation or a foreign body in the ear canal;

(viii) pain or discomfort in the ear.

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Your Hearing Instrument

Tone tube

Plastic tube

Earmold

Microphone

Microphone behind cover

Volume wheel

Program button

Battery door

CHG75 / CHG75D / CHG85 / CHG85D

Tone tube

Microphone

Microphone behind cover

Volume wheel

Plastic tube

Program button

Mini dome

Battery door

CHG75 Open / CHG75D Open

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Switching on and off

Switch your hearing instrument on by closing the battery door.

Switch your instrument off by a small movement of the battery door till you feel a click.

After switching on, your hearing instrument will always start in program 1. Read more on the program button on page 14.

On page 16 you will read more on the T-program.

on

• Switch your instrument off if you are not using it. This will increase the battery life.

• At night, switch off your instrument and open the battery door completely. It allows moisture in your instrument to evaporate and

off

will increase the instrument’s life span.

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Changing batteries

When the hearing instrument generates a warning signal it’s advisable to change your battery as soon as possible. The signal will continue as long as the battery is not changed or unless it does not run out of power, and therefore it is advisable to keep an extra battery at hand.

Remove ‘dead’ battery

Open the battery door by placing your fingernail or a pencil on the edge of the battery door and gently pull it down. When opened, remove the dead battery by sliding it out as shown in the drawing.

The replacement battery has to be of type: 13 zinc-air. Remove the protective seal from the fresh battery and insert it in the battery door, with the plus side facing down. You will recognize the plus side of the battery because marked with a +. Check whether the + symbols on the battery and on the battery door are on the same side. Close the battery door. This should go smoothly, so never force it as this could damage your instrument.

CHG 75 / 75D / CHG 75 Open / 75D Open / CHG85 / 85D

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Warnings

• Keep batteries away from children and mentally challenged persons.

• Batteries can be harmful if swallowed. If you do, seek medical attention immediately.

• Do not attempt to recharge batteries (Zinc Air) which are not specifically designated rechargeable as they may leak or explode.

• Do not burn the batteries, as they could explode.

• Replace spent batteries and do not leave them in the instrument for a prolonged period.

• Used batteries are harmful to the environment. Please dispose of them according to local regulations or return them to your hearing care practitioner.

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Inserting and removing the instrument

(standard earmould)

Inserting the instrument

• With the battery door opened in the off position take the earmould between thumb and index finger and position its ‘point’ in your ear canal. Now, slide the earmould all the way into your ear with a gentle, twisting movement.

Insertion can be easier if you

gently pull your auricle backwards with your other hand.

• Turn the top-part of the earmould gently backwards and forwards

so that it fits behind the fold of skin above your ear canal.

• Place the hearing instrument behind your ear. Move the earmould up and down and press gently to ensure it is positioned correctly in the ear. Opening and closing your mouth can ease insertion. You will feel when the earmould is positioned correctly.

• When correctly positioned switch on your instrument by closing the battery door.

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• You can as well insert the hearing instrument while in the on position. However you might experience some feedback

(whistling) during the operation. This feedback can be prevented by enabling ”Delayed Activation”. Ask your hearing care practitioner about this feature.

Removing your instrument

• Switch off the instrument by pressing the battery door to the

‘off ’ position.

• Lift the hearing instrument from behind the ear. For a moment, let it hang beside your ear.

• Using your thumb and index finger, gently pull the earmould

(not the instrument or the tubing) loose from the ear.

• Remove the earmould completely by gently twisting it.

Take some time at home to practice how to insert and remove your instrument. Work conveniently positioning your elbows on a table and maybe using a mirror.

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Inserting and removing the instrument

(ThinTube)

Inserting the instrument

• Hang the instrument over the top of the ear.

• Grasp the sound tube where it bends. The dome should be placed far enough into the ear that the sound tube lies flush with your head. When the dome is placed appropriately, you should not see the sound tube sticking out when you look directly into a mirror.

• If the device whistles, the most likely reason is that the dome is not placed correctly in the ear canal.

Other reasons can be buildup of earwax in the ear canal, or that the sound tube connection to the instrument has become loose, in which case the sound tube must be changed. It is also possible that the instrument settings are not optimal. If you have ruled out other reasons for the instrument squealing, it is recommended to contact your hearing care professional.

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Recognising left and right instrument

If you have two hearing instruments, they may be tuned differently.

One for your left ear, the other for your right. Do not swap them.

Please pay attention to this when cleaning, storing and inserting the instruments.

CHG 75 / 75D / CHG85 / 85D left

CHG 75 Open / 75D Open right

12 left right

• You might want to ask your hearing care practitioner to mark your instruments with a coloured Left and Right indication:

Left is blue and Right is red.

indication

CHG 75 / 75D / 75 Open / 75D Open /

CHG 85 / 85D

Setting the volume – BTE and Power BTE

Your instrument has a volume control which allows you to set and control the volume manually.

During the fitting of the hearing instrument, your hearing care practitioner will have chosen an optimal volume setting for you.

Please note the setting of that particular level.

Your volume control has numbers on it to indicate the sound level.

• If you prefer not to use the volume wheel your hearing care

practitioner can switch the wheel off.

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Program button

Your hearing instrument has a push button allowing you to use up to three different listening programs, each of them suitable for certain situations.

After pressing the program button, the instrument will switch program.

If it was in program 1 it will switch to program 2, if it was in program 2 it will switch to program 3 etc. If program 2 or 3 are not activated, nothing will happen. Your instrument will give an audible signal after pressing the program button.

A little later, the instrument will give:

• one single beep if set in program 1

• two beeps if set in program 2

• three beeps if set in program 3

When you close the battery door and switch the instrument on it will start in program 1, confirmed by one single beep.

Press the program button if you want to move to a different listening program.

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Let your hearing care practitioner fill out the following table:

Program number

1

2

3

Type of program

Intended for listening situations

Directional microphone

BTE and Power BTE can have a directional microphone function.

If you want to listen to a person in a noisy environment, the microphone in these hearing instruments can help you to concentrate on the speech. If the microphones are in the directional mode the background noise will be suppressed. In this mode the sounds in front of you will be enhanced, so you can hear better the speech of the person you look at. Your hearing care practitioner can program the device in the required modes.

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T-program

Your hearing instrument has a built in function, the telecoil, enabling in many cases an improved use of the telephone and better hearing in those churches or halls where an induction loop system is installed.

In order to activate this function, the telecoil program has to be selected (often available in program 2). In this program you will hear no sounds from the microphone, therefore most environmental sounds will be lost. If you wish, your hearing care practitioner can change the setting in such a way that you hear the microphone and the telecoil simultaneously.

Using the telephone

• Switch your instrument to the telecoil program.

• Hold your telephone handset behind your ear, close to the hearing instrument (2-3 cm.) and slightly tilt the receiver outwards.

• Listen to the dialing tone and move the handset a little to find the position that gives the best reception.

• If needed, turn the volume up or down.

• After completing the phone call, switch your instrument back to the microphone program.

If the phone used has poor telecoil signal, use the microphone program. Do not hold the handset too tightly against your ear since this might cause ’whistling’.

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Hearing through an induction loop

More and more public places, churches, theatres and cinemas, have induction loops systems. In these particular rooms, they transmit, wirelessly, the sound of the presenter or show. At home, radio or television can be connected to an induction loop system.

Sound quality through induction loop is often better because noises from the environment are not transmitted.

• Switch your instrument to the telecoil program.

• Choose a good spot. Reception is not clear in all locations; it depends on the position of the induction loop. Watch for signs or try a different seat yourself.

• If needed, adjust the volume up or down.

• After the service or show, switch your instrument back to the microphone program. You will now hear through the microphone again.

• If the sound of your hearing instrument in the telecoil program is very soft all the time, ask your hearing care practitioner to make an adjustment.

• Your hearing care practitioner will gladly provide you with advice regarding an induction loop system at home. Ask for it.

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Audio input

Your hearing instrument is equipped with a direct audio input facility. Direct audio input allows direct connection of sound sources, a radio, television or even school equipment, to your hearing instrument. Often, this will improve sound quality.

• The sound source is connected to your instrument with a cable or a wireless FM system to an audio shoe.

• The audio shoe attaches with a

’click’. When attached, the instrument will automatically switch to

Direct Audio Input program. When in the is program and the audio shoe is removed, it will automatically switch to Program 1. You can manually switch away from this program by pushing the Program Button.

• In this program you will hear no sounds from the microphone, therefore most environmental sounds will be lost. If you wish, your hearing care practitioner can change the setting in such a way that you hear the microphone and the direct audio input simultaneously.

Safety regulations

External equipment, connected to the mains and to the audio input must comply with these safety regulations: IEC-65, IEC-601 or comparable.

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Maintenance and cleaning

Earwax (cerumen) can accumulate in and on the earmould during use. Therefore, clean your earmould regularly. Failure to do so can lead to an accumulation of earwax, impairing sound quality.

Keep your hearing instrument clean and dry. Wipe the case with a soft cloth or tissue after use to remove grease or moisture. You should avoid exposing your instrument directly to moisture such as rain or water from the shower. If your instrument does get wet or if it has been exposed to high humidity or perspiration, it should be left to dry out overnight with the battery out and the battery compartment open. It is also a good idea to put them in a sealed container together with a drying agent (dessicator) overnight. Consult your hearing care professional as to which drying agent to use.

Storing your instrument

When you are not using your instrument, keep or transport it in the box supplied. Leave the battery door open. Keep your instrument in a dry place, not in a bathroom or other humid place. Alternatively, you could store the instrument in a dessicator available from your hearing care practitioner.

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Cleaning the earmold

• First, remove the tubing and earmold from the hearing instrument.

Keep left and right instrument separated.

• Remove earwax with the cleaning brush and a soft cloth. If needed, use a mild solution of soft soap and water or a special cleaning solution. Ask your hearing care practitioner for detailed instructions.

• Rinse the earmold with water.

Note: Do not use water or other liquid on the hearing instrument itself.

• Dry the earmold with a cloth.

• Blow possible water drops from tubing and earmold. A special device is available for this from your hearing care practitioner.

• Ensure that the earmold and tubing are completely dry before attaching them to the hearing instrument. Take care with left and right instruments, check the figures on page 12.

Replacing the tube

Ask your hearing care practitioner to replace the tubing from the instrument to the earmould if it turns stiff or changes colour.

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Cleaning the sound tube and dome

The ThinTube

The ThinTube feeds the amplified sound from the hearing instrument into the ear. It is important that the ThinTube and the dome fit correctly into your ear. If the ThinTube or the dome irritate your ear in any way and prevent you from wearing your hearing instrument, please contact your hearing care professional. You should never attempt to modify the shape of the ThinTube yourself.

The ThinTube and the dome should be cleaned regularly. Remove the

ThinTube from the instrument before cleaning by unscrewing it. Use a damp cloth to clean the ThinTube and dome on the outside and use the black cleaning rod to “push” any debris out of the sound tube. The cleaning rod should be inserted where the ThinTube attaches to the instrument and pushed all the way through the ThinTube and out through the dome. It is not recommended to submerge or rinse the

ThinTube and dome with water, as there is a risk that a water drop may become lodged in the ThinTube. If this should occur, it will prevent sound coming through the ThinTube, and may be harmful for the instrument’s electronics.

The ThinTube and dome should be changed every third month or sooner if the ThinTube becomes stiff or brittle. We recommend that you have your hearing care professional change the dome for you.

If your hearing care professional instructs you to change the domes yourself, make sure that they are securely fastened to the ThinTube before inserting them in your ear. A failure to change the domes in accordance with the instructions could result in injury.

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General warnings

• Do not leave your hearing instrument in the sun, near an open

fire or in a hot, parked car.

• Do not wear your instrument while showering, swimming, in heavy rain or in a moist atmosphere such as steam bath or sauna.

• Should your instrument become moist, put it in a dessicator.

Your hearing care practitioner will be happy to counsel on this.

• Remove your instrument when applying cosmetics, e.g.

perfume, aftershave, hair spray, suntan lotion.

• Hearing instruments should be used only as prescribed by your

hearing care practitioner. Incorrect use may result in sudden

and permanent hearing loss.

• Do not allow others to use your hearing instrument. It may

cause permanent damage.

• Hearing instrument usage by children or mentally challenged

persons should be supervised at any time.

• Do not take your instrument into rooms where you receive

treatment with X-rays or MRI.

• Wearing a hearing instrument might cause an increased production of earwax. In rare cases, the anti-allergenic materials may cause skin irritation. If so, or if in doubt, consult your physician or ENT consultant.

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Eight steps towards better hearing

You need to get used to your new hearing instrument. Sounds seem new and different. That is because you grew accustomed to your diminished hearing. Therefore, familiar sounds seem strange or unnatural at first. Every first-time user of a hearing instrument responds differently to this. Some can wear the new instrument a whole day right from the start while others find it hard to get used to.

After a while, you will notice you appreciate hearing with a hearing instrument and that you will find it quite normal. Below, eight steps are described that will guide you through the initial period. If you are not satisfied or keep experiencing problems, please consult your hearing care practitioner.

1. Get used to familiar sounds at home

Try to get used to the new sounds from a familiar environment.

Listen to the different (background) sounds and try to recognise them. When you are tired from listening, remove your instrument and pause for a while. Talk or read aloud for a while. In that way you will familiarise yourself with the sound of your own voice. Gradually, you will learn to use the instrument for longer and become more comfortable with it.

2. Listen outside - quiet & traffic

Go outside, to a quiet place, e.g., the park or woods. Listen to the environmental sounds. Do you recognise them?

Please, be careful with sounds from heavy traffic at this stage of getting used to your instrument. Sometimes they sound very loud; try not to get frightened.

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3. Have a conversation with a single person

Use your instrument in conversation with one person; a family member or a friend. Move to a quiet spot. Explain that you are now wearing a hearing instrument; ask the other person to talk normally.

Look at your conversation partner. If your instrument is tuned to your requirements you will be able to communicate better than before.

4. Listen to radio or television

Listen to the radio or television. Start with the news, then turn to another program. Ask a ‘normal hearing’ person to set the volume of your radio or television to a comfortable level. If necessary, adjust the volume on your hearing instrument.

If you cannot understand the radio or television, ask your hearing care practitioner to adjust your hearing instrument.

He or she is able to inform you on other facilities such as an induction loop at home for radio or television.

5. Get used to conversation in a group

Following conversations in a group is often difficult because of the background noise. Listen to the different voices. Try to recognise them by timbre or rhythm and link each voice to a person. Focus your attention on the person you want to understand. Practice this regularly. If you did not understand something that was said, please ask for it to be repeated.

Ensure that you can see the face of your conversation partner(s) clearly and that there is sufficient light. This will help you to lipread. Avoid ‘looking into the light,’ position yourself with your back towards the window so that you can see the other person(s) better.

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Ask others to talk slowly and clearly. Talking louder does not help.

If your instrument is equipped with a Dual Microphone System, select the directional listening program. Read more on this on page

15.

6. Visit public buildings

Visit public buildings. Try to sit near the speaker; try to be seated in the front rows in a show. Avoid a seat behind a pillar or in an alcove, you will be in a ‘sound shadow.’

In a restaurant, sit with your back towards the wall. This avoids disturbing noises coming from behind you.

Some public buildings have an inductive loop system. In these buildings use your telecoil program, if activated. However, not every position in the building will have good sound reception. Watch for signs at the location or try a different seat.

7. Use your telephone

Often, you can hear the telephone clearly with your hearing instrument in the microphone program. Hold the telephone handset 1 inch (2-3cm) from your ear and tilt the receiver outwards a little.

See whether or not the telephone sounds better if you switch your hearing instrument to the telecoil program. Read about this on page

16.

Your hearing instrument meets strict international regulations.

Therefore, it should be possible to use a GSM telephone in most cases. However, in some circumstances, disturbance might be audible through your hearing instrument.

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8. Use your instrument all day

Using your hearing instrument and practising with it is the best way to learn to hear again. Even if you can hear without an instrument in some cases. Try to wear your instrument all day. In that way you will benefit the most.

Of course, a hearing instrument cannot restore natural hearing, but it will help you make the most of your hearing as it is today.

Go beyond these eight steps and discover the world of sound around you. Do the things you enjoy and listen to the sounds from your environment.

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General precautions

• Consult a physician if you find a foreign object in your ear

canal, if you experience skin irritation or if excessive ear wax

accumulates with the use of the hearing instrument.

• Different types of radiation, e.g. from NMR or CT scanners,

may damage the hearing instrument. Therefore, do not wear

the hearing instrument during these or other corresponding

scanning procedures. Other types of radiation (burglary

alarms, room surveillance systems, radio equipment, mobile

telephones, etc) contain less energy and will not damage the

hearing instrument. They could however momentarily affect

the sound quality or create strange sounds from the hearing

instruments.

• Warning: Do not wear the hearing instrument in mines or

other explosive areas, unless those areas are certified for

hearing instrument use.

Warning to hearing care practitioners

Special care should be exercised in selecting and fitting a hearing instrument(s) whose maximum sound pressure level exceeds 132 dB SPL with an IEC 60711: 1981 occluded ear simulator, because there may be a risk of impairing the remaining hearing of the hearing instrument user.

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Technical specifications

Audio signal technology

Digital

Hearing instrument maximum output (IEC 118-0 OES)

model

CHG 85

CHG 85D

CHG 75

CHG 75D

CHG 75 Open

CHG 75D Open

141 dB SPL

141 dB SPL

131 dB SPL

131 dB SPL

122 dB SPL

122 dB SPL

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TROUBLESHOOTING GUIDE

SYMPTOM CAUSE

Feedback, ’whistling’

No sound

Sound is distorted, spluttering or weak

Battery drains very quickly

Is your earmould inserted correctly?

Is the volume very loud?

Is the plastic tube or the earmould clogged or broken?

Are you holding your hand or an object

(e.g. a hat) too close to an instrument?

Is you ear full of wax?

Is the instrument switched on?

Is the instrument switched on the telecoil program?

Is there a battery in the instrument?

Is the battery still good?

Is the plastic tube or the earmould clogged or broken?

Is you ear full of wax?

Is the battery dead?

Is the battery dirty?

Is the plastic tube or the earmold clogged or broken?

Did your instrument get moist?

Did you leave your hearing instrument switched on at night?

Is the battery old?

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POSSIBLE REMEDY

Put it in again

Reduce it

Visit your hearing care practitioner

Move your hand away or create some more space between the instrument and the object

Visit your physician

Switch it on

Switch it to the microphone program

Insert a battery

Replace it with a new one

Visit your hearing care practitioner

Visit your physician

Replace it with a new one

Clean it or use a new one

Visit your hearing care practitioner

Use a dissecator

Always switch off the instrument at night

Check the date on the battery packaging

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International warranty and service

Any digital hearing instrument from Beltone has an international warranty. Read more on this subject on the warranty card you received with your instrument.

Repairs

If your Beltone hearing instrument malfunctions, it must be repaired by a qualified technician. Do not attempt to open the case of the hearing instrument since this would invalidate the warranty. If your

Beltone hearing instrument requires service, please contact your hearing care professional for assistance.

Abroad

Before you leave, obtain from your hearing care practitioner an address list for Beltone services. In case you need support, contact the nearest Beltone Company during your stay abroad.

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Your selected model

Your hearing care professional place a check mark in the below table to identify the model you have received.

Hearing care professional Model received Type

CHG85 BTE

CHG85D BTE

CHG75 BTE

CHG75D BTE

CHG75 Open BTE

CHG75D Open BTE

Serial number Right:

Serial number Left:

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34

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Any issues relating to the EU Medical

Device Directive 93/42/EEC should be directed to Beltone A/S, Denmark

17002600 GB-09.01 Rev. A

Printed in Denmark

© Beltone 2009

Beltone A/S

Lautrupbjerg 9

DK-2750 Ballerup

Denmark

Tel.: +45 45 75 11 11

Fax: +45 45 75 11 19 www.beltone-hearing.com