It's been about six years since I got my current hearing aids, Oticon Synchro 2s. Typically, people who wear hearing aids replace their aids about every five years.

When I was a kid, getting my hearing aids to last five years was a significant challenge. My first hearing aids, Starkey in-the-ear aids, were sent in for repair and/or rebuild several times during the time I had them. My second set of aids, Audiotone behind-the-ears (BTEs), also suffered much abuse as they accompanied me during my early adolescence.

Now that I'm an adult, I guess I take better care of my aids and haven't had to send them in for any kinds of repairs. However, I have taken up running during the last three years and that has affected my aids. My battery compartments sometimes show signs of battery corrosion, likely from my perspiring so much as I train. I try to keep that cleaned out so that it does not become a problem.

My audiologist (also my father-in-law) recommended we check out the GN Resound Alera. These aids are behind-the-ear but the receiver-- the speaker component itself-- goes in the ear canal and is connected to the rest of the aid by a thin cable.

I had impressions made of my ears two weeks ago so that molds could be made for the receivers. Today, I got to try out the Aleras. They're easily a third the size of my Syncro 2s. In addition, they have several features the Syncro 2 does not:

• Much-improved feedback management
• Wireless communication between the aids. Changing a program on one aid may also make the same change on the other.
• Remote control is possible with a wireless remote
• Stream audio wirelessly to the aids from a bluetooth device or a directly connected audio device (TV, Stereo, etc.)

I have been anxious to try out these new aids, but in the end, I was disappointed.

First of all, they don't have an induction coil, or telecoil, inside of them. The induction coil is how most hearing aid wearers use the telephone or listen to music or other audio through headphones, neck loops, or ear hooks. This wouldn't be as much of a problem if GN Resound offered a portable audio streamer accessory to wirelessly stream audio directly to the aids, but the only audio streamer they offer right now is their TV Streamer which requires AC power.

For telephone use, GN Resound has a Phone Clip which connects a Bluetooth mobile phone to the hearing aids. Users of traditional phones, however, don't have any options.

While I do appreciate the wireless options available in these new devices, in order for the aids to be functional for me, I need:

• Connection options to portable audio devices like an MP3 player
• Connection options to traditional phones as well as mobile phones

If wireless connectivity is not available, then I need a telecoil in the aids so I can listen to phone audio, music, etc. the "old fashioned way."

My holy grail of hearing aids appears to be:

• Wireless connectivity (for remote control, simultaneous control of both aids, and possibly audio injection)
• Internal telecoil
• Receiver in the canal
• Enough power to compensate for my moderately severe hearing loss (my loss is around 70db, fairly flat, in both ears)

This seems to be a tall order for hearing aid manufacturers as the telecoil is relatively large. For these new, small aids like the Alera, manufacturers are opting to exclude a telecoil in exchange for wireless audio options.

For those aids that do feature a telecoil, many do not feature an in-the-canal receiver, but instead feature a narrow rubber tube that carries sound from an integrated receiver to a mold in the ear, not much unlike what I have now with my Syncro 2s.

A quick look at offerings from other manufacturers shows that the Starkey S Series 5 RIC AP aid is an option. This is a powerful BTE aid with an in-canal receiver, an integrated telecoil, and wireless streaming options. It doesn't appear that Starkey has a portable streamer (something integrated with the remote control would be ideal), but that's tolerable since the integrated telecoils offer an alternative way to listen to music, telephones.

Phonak has several powerful aids with integrated telecoil and wireless options, but none of the BTE models seem to feature an in-canal receiver.