Siemens Pure and MiniTek Review

The following user review was submitted by Kate Chambers, a reader of our blog who has worn hearing aids for the past 4 years. You can view pricing for the Siemens Pure here. I suspected I had a slight hearing loss for two years before I was first tested in April of 2011. I became more concerned in the months prior because I was having trouble hearing some words or phrases in conversation, and my responses were not appropriate. That was very embarrassing; I didn’t think people at my age commonly had hearing loss.
I scheduled a hearing exam with a local audiologist who a friend referred me to. I was surprised to find out I had a moderate hearing loss in both ears. After discussing a few different options for treatment, my audiologist recommended the Siemens Pure hearing aids based on my lifestyle and degree of hearing loss. They were also small, and not easily seen.
I’ve been using my Pure hearing aids for almost four years and can honestly say they’ve been life-changing. In the workplace, I no longer have to position myself at the center of a conference table in order to hear the speaker, or ask co-workers to repeat something they just said. A year ago my company transitioned to an open environment for all. I didn’t have an office anymore, which presented new challenges. I could no longer close my door and use the speakerphone for hands-free conversation. Use of an over-the-ear device or a full headset would require me to remove my hearing aids – not an option.
My problem was solved when I purchased the miniTek streamer. That combined with my Bluetooth®-enabled office phone (or my cell phone) enabled me to hear the caller and respond, without disturbing my co-workers or being overheard. It was the perfect solution! An unexpected benefit is the quiet beep in my ear that no one else can hear, reminding me of meetings on my calendar, incoming calls, or receipt of a text message on my cell phone. The miniTek keeps me organized and enables me to discreetly engage in an open business environment.
I use my miniTek to stream from my laptop at work. This enables me to stream the audio for online webinars, and also use Office Communicator for meetings with employees in offices overseas. Of course, the fact that it can also stream sound from my television at home adds to my relaxation after a busy day in the office. I only wish I had gotten this 10 years ago! The technology is incredible, and the results immeasurable. It has been worth every penny!
Addressing my hearing loss has been one of the smartest decisions I ever made. Before wearing hearing aids, I missed a great deal in conversations unless they were one-on-one in a quiet environment. When I would miss a few words, I would ask once or twice to have something repeated, but often still didn’t understand, and was embarrassed to ask again. Frequently, I could no longer actively participate in conversations, which is isolating. When watching television, some shows with heavy dialogue were impossible to watch without rewinding several times at higher volume to understand what was being said. And of course, my family hated the standard high volume needed for me to hear any TV shows.
Contact with people both at work, and at home, is required fuel for my soul. My hearing impairment affected my ability to communicate and engage. Problem solved with hearing aids.
If you’d like a free phone consultation with a licensed hearing provider, please feel free to call us at 800-731-6794.
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I too loved my Pure aids and miniTek for years, Now, not so much. When I first had them, they were the best around. Now, other companies have caught up to Siemens with the actual hearing technology and FAR surpass them in the usability of the remote.
Siemens has an app to use on the Android platform, but none for the iPhone, and it doesn’t control all aspects. Starkey allows users to use their iPhone for all controls. When I have my miniTek paired with my iPhone, I am constantly interrupted by silly connections — even locking the iPhone screen, for some reason, causes the miniTek to connect and interrupt my hearing.
Plus, it turns itself off intermittently when plugging into and unplugging from the power cord. And talk about power! The miniTek has a built-in rechargeable battery, but it has such short life that by the end of the day, with a reasonable amount of streaming, I end up tethered to an extension cord while I fix dinner if I want to watch tv or listen to the radio.
And when the rechargeable wears out–which of course they do after a while–you have to send the whole miniTek to the factory to have the battery replaced. Depending on their schedule, that’s 5-7 days without the ability to stream phone calls or entertainment.
Five to ten minutes a day, in one or two-minute sesions, are taken up dinking with my miniTek. That adds up to a lot of frustration every week. I have enough stress in my life without that!
Siemens absolutely refuses to communicate with users except through audiologists. They don’t seem to want our feedback about the poor usability of the miniTek system.
I have a significant investment in this system. However, for the reasons above, I’m saving my money to jump to Starkey. If Siemens were to make an iPhone app that did everything the miniTek does, I’d certainly consider staying with them. But so far, no indication that they will.
Thanks for the update.
I have had the Minitek TV transmitter for about 4 months and have never heard the tv audio thru it. Worked with my audiologist and Siemens tech, but on a 3 yr old Samsung tv I was told that I would need an ANOLOG converter, be real Radio Shack laughed at me but was more than willing to sell me a $39.00 converter and cables. Love my blue tooth to my phone but can’t say a good word about TV transmitter.
I have Siemens impact pro L , I’ve had then about 5 months, I emailed Siemens about try before I buy, my ha are Nhs , they were very helpful and contacted my local hospital, so since the 1 St December I have been trailing it, fantastic, I have no complaints, tv transmitter Bluetooth to my aids, sound so crisp and clear, calls to my phone excellent, my music , it’s true the battery life could be better, but I would not be without it? My partner has purchased it for me, I’m very happy, it’s true for the iPhone 6 which I have the app trulink does not work, iPhone 5 has an app, but I’m still happy
why is there no app for my minitek to put on my iPhone
When Will it be avalilable.
I have a minitek but my Toshiba refuses any bluetooth connexion with it ( althought it can be connected in bluetooth with speakers..)…Do you where this could come from? What could I do ?
Thanks a lot for your help…
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