Learn about the technology and make the most of your hearing experience.
Hearing aids are usually the top all-around treatment solution for individuals with hearing loss. But several other specialized hearing assistive technologies can come in handy in a variety of different environments and circumstances. Assistive technologies for the hearing impaired include items known as assistive listening devices (ALDs) as well as other more generalized solutions. Learn about hearing assistive technology and how it can help you to make the most of any listening environment.
An FM system uses the same frequency-modulated radio technology you use to tune into your favorite radio stations. The main difference, however, is that FM systems used as assistive listening devices are low powered by comparison and tuned to a frequency band designated for personal use.
The two main parts of an FM system are the transmitter microphone and the receivers, both of which can be configured in many ways. Essentially, sound is processed through the microphone transmitter and sent over radio waves directly to the receivers. The radio waves are then picked up through a variety of means by the listener.
Receivers can be a physical component that attaches to hearing aids or implants, an induction loop worn around the neck or a body-worn receiver that pushes the sound through traditional headphones. This process cuts out distracting background noise, improves sound clarity, reduces listening fatigue, and allows hearing from a distance. FM systems are used in settings including classrooms, movie theaters, auditoriums, lecture halls, and more.
Telecoils, sometimes called t-coils, are a hearing aid feature designed to be used in conjunction with devices that produce electromagnetic signals. Telecoils have been around for years and are a common hearing aid feature. They were first designed to help listeners better understand sound transmitted through landline telephones. Today, their most common use is with induction loops in public spaces, sometimes called hearing loops.
Induction loops are essentially electromagnetic transmitters that can beam clear sound directly to a hearing aid that has a telecoil. Localized induction loops can cover a small area such as a service counter, or they can surround entire rooms like a live theater or lecture hall. Most often you can engage the telecoil feature on your hearing aids with just the push of a button.
Newer Bluetooth®-compatible hearing aids allow users to stream audio from Bluetooth-enabled devices, like smartphones and televisions, directly to their hearing aids. However, this feature may not be available in older or smaller hearing aids.
Many Miracle-Ear hearing aids can still take advantage of the Miracle-Ear TV Streamer, even without built-in Bluetooth compatibility. This small coupling accessory takes the audio input from your television set and streams it to your hearing aids, helping everyone in the room have an enjoyable listening experience.
Similarly, the Audio Clip allows you to stream Bluetooth-enabled devices to your hearing aids, and it also doubles as a remote microphone. This allows you to get extra amplification from specific audio sources, like a friend in a busy restaurant, when you need it most.
Several household and electronic devices have been adapted to provide hearing assistive solutions for hard of hearing and deaf communities. These alerting technologies are available in a wide range of products such as alarm clocks, smoke and carbon dioxide detectors, doorbells, phones, baby monitors, weather alert, and more.
They use different signal types to appeal to the user’s senses outside of conventional hearing. For example, an alerting device might use visual alerts, such as a flashing light, or vibrotactile alerts, meaning there is a vibrating component. They may also use enhanced auditory alerts, such as increased sound amplification or lower frequency sounds.
Captioning is text displayed on a screen such as a television, mobile device or movie screen that provides the audio portion of a program in written form. This service is vital for the deaf community and can also aid hard of hearing individuals by providing context to speech or sound effects. Captions are helpful because hearing is affected, much like vision, by our expectations. Having certain expectations for spoken words or sounds within a piece a media primes the brain to hear those sounds more clearly.
The two main types of captioning are open captioning and closed captioning. Open captioning means captions cannot be turned off and always remain on the screen. Closed captioning, conversely, is captioning that can be turned on or off through the settings of a TV or streaming service.
Government regulations ensure that most broadcasts and modern TVs have captioning capabilities, and the use of this hearing assistive technology is increasing. Recently, video conference captioning has entered the market and smartphone apps continue to provide additional captioning and hearing assistive solutions.
Speech-to-text services, sometimes known as real-time transcriptions, are like captioning in that it involves on-screen text that relates to the programing at hand. However, speech-to-text services occur live and in real time. A stenographer uses specialized computer equipment to transcribe programming such as a church service or a lecture as it occurs. The computer equipment then transmits the accompanying text to screens like a large projector for a crowd to read or a laptop or mobile device for an individual.
The main three speech to text systems are CART (Communication Access Realtime Translation), C-Print and TypeWell. Though each system varies slightly, CART is a word-for-word speech-to-text service, whereas C-Print and TypeWell are meaning-for-meaning services. While CART text will include everything said including verbal pauses, C-Print and TypeWell provide condensed texts that highlight main themes and pertinent information.
The market for hearing assistive technology is one that is constantly growing and evolving. However, this overview should give you a good idea of some of the main solutions available to you. Empower yourself today with hearing assistive technology to help get the most out of your experiences.
