These days, the mobile phone network is a lot more reliable (and there’s a lot less static involved). But that doesn’t mean everybody can hear you all the time. And for individuals who have hearing loss, it can be especially challenging.
There must be a simple solution for that, right? Why not utilize a pair of hearing aids to make your phone conversations a bit easier? Actually, it doesn’t work exactly that way. In reality, while hearing aids can make in person conversations much easier to handle, there are some difficulties associated with phone-based conversations. But there are definitely some things you can do to make your phone calls more successful.
Phone calls and hearing aids don’t always work effectively together – here’s why
Hearing loss usually advances slowly. Your hearing normally doesn’t just go. It has a tendency to go a little at a time. It’s likely that you won’t even detect you have hearing loss and your brain will attempt to utilize contextual and visual clues to compensate.
So when you get on the phone, all of that contextual data disappears. There’s no extra information for your brain to fill in. You only hear parts and pieces of the other individual’s voice which sounds muffled and distorted.
How hearing aids can be helpful
This can be helped by using hearing aids. Lots of those missing pieces can be filled in with hearing aids. But there are some distinctive accessibility and communication difficulties that happen from using hearing aids while talking on the phone.
Feedback can happen when your hearing aids come close to a phone, for instance. This can make things difficult to hear and uncomfortable.
Bettering your ability to hear phone conversations
So what steps can be taken to help make your hearing aids work better with a phone? Well, there are a few tips that most hearing specialists will recommend:
- Utilize other assistive hearing devices: There are other assistive devices and services that can help you hear better when you’re having a phone conversation (including numerous text-to-type services).
- Use video apps: Face-timing somebody or hopping onto a video chat can be a very good way to help you hear better. It’s not that the sound quality is magically better, it’s that your brain has access to all of that fantastic visual information again. And once more, this type of contextual information will be considerably helpful.
- Stream your phone to your hearing aid using Bluetooth. Wait, can hearing aids stream to smartphones? Yes, they can! This means you’ll be capable of streaming phone calls directly to your hearing aids (if your hearing aids are Bluetooth enabled). This can prevent feedback and make your phone calls a little more private, so it’s a good place to start if you’re having difficulty on your phone.
- Consider utilizing speakerphone to carry out most of your phone calls: Most feedback can be prevented this way. Your phone calls might not be very private, but even though there still may be some distortion, you should be able to better make out the voice on the other end. The best way to keep your phone and your hearing aid apart is by switching to speakerphone.
- Don’t hide your hearing problems from the person you’re talking to: If phone calls are difficult for you, it’s okay to admit that! You might simply need to be a little more patient, or you may want to think about using text, email, or video chat.
- Try to take your phone calls in a quiet location. The less noise near you, the easier it will be to make out the voice of the person you’re on the phone with. Your hearing aids will be much more effective by lowering background noise.
Depending on your overall hearing needs, how often you use the phone, and what you use your phone for, the appropriate set of solutions will be available. With the right approach, you’ll have the resources you require to start enjoying those phone conversations once again.
Call us for some help and advice on how to best utilize your phone and hearing aids together.
