Are you noticing yourself chatting less often on the phone due to your difficulty hearing? Hearing loss, over time, can cause you to feel isolated. You don’t have to stop using your phone. It is possible to keep in touch with friends and loved ones.
Communication is The key
With any relationship, communication is the key and the same goes for your phone. The question is what can be done to make things better.
- Have you had a hearing test? Your hearing loss may not be permanent so it’s essential to get a proper diagnosis. It might be something as simple as earwax buildup or an ear infection.
- If the volume is already cranked up, have you tried out an accessory like headphones or a Bluetooth? It will make your phone sound better and it could be an inexpensive way to get what you need.
- Are the voices hard to hear? Check the phone to make certain that the volume is turned all the way up.
If you look at the obvious problems and have ruled them out, it’s time to think about more in depth solutions.
There’s an App For That
You will really have a choice between several apps. There are many apps you can download that work to get you, and your phone back on the same page, some of which are pretty cool.
Some apps turn what the other person says to text you can read. These apps don’t all work perfectly but they can be very helpful. Brands to look up include:
- Hamilton Mobile Cap Tel
- Live Caption
- Note, Listen for Deaf
Most voice to text apps are affordably priced even though not all are free.
There is a Phone For That
If you want to find a landline solution, you can get phones for your home that do the same thing as an app. By amplifying the voice an the other end, they make it less difficult to hear. High pitched sounds on the other end become clearer because they can equalize the sound.
There is also the option of getting a captioning phone. In order to use the captioning service, you need to have a unique phone with a screen. Captioning works with an operator that either repeats the spoken words so speech recognition software can translate them into text or types them directly into the system. From there the words are displayed on the screen of the phone. The majority of captioning devices need to have internet service, as well.
Text-to-Voice Teletype (TTY) is an old-school phone system that is still available and works in a similar way to the captioning phone. A separate device to display the text is needed, however.
The Best Option Are Hearing Aids
It used to be, every time a hearing aid was near a phone, you would get ear piercing feedback, but new hearing aids don’t usually do that. The current technology can work with a hearing aid compatible phone to enhance the sound and get rid of interference like background noise. The best thing is these wireless hearing aids still work even when you’re not using your phone.
Modern, high quality hearing aids can also have a more advanced program that allows them to be compatible with virtually any phone whether it’s a landline or smartphone. You hold the phone up to the hearing aid and allow the technology to work its magic by streaming the sound from one device to the other.
Bluetooth compatibility is also a standard feature of today’s hearing aid tech. Pairing your hearing aid up with your smart-phone is done exactly the same way as pairing your phone with any other Bluetooth device. When the phone rings, the sound goes directly to your hearing aids.
There isn’t any reason to allow hearing loss ruin a perfectly good relationship. Make up with your phone whatever it takes so you can start talking again. It’s time to schedule an appointment with a hearing specialist to look at the newest hearing aid technology.
