Assistive Listening Devices
Although we see plenty of benefits to wearing a hearing aid regularly, there are occasions where you might need a little extra help:- Sounds from far away. Sound fades as we pass away from sound sources, making conversations harder to understand.
- Places with reverb and echo. Tall, open spaces such as those found in a church or a lecture hall are not always conducive to a comfortable atmosphere for listening. Sound waves appear to bounce off hard surfaces, creating fainter speech sounds and reverberation.
- Excessive background noise. Background noise causes distracting sounds, which interferes with your ability to focus on speech. Hearing aid users often resort to raising the volume when they are experiencing trouble in such cases. That, unfortunately, adds to the background noise.
here usually are three components within each ALD: a microphone used to pick up sounds, a transmitter, and an amplifier that raises the volume and sends it to the ear of the user. As people with hearing loss tend to need 15-25 decibels more than the average person to hear clearly, amplification is essential.
Here are some of the assistive listening devices we offer.
Smartphone Amplifier
The least expensive solution if you already own a smartphone. These use your phone’s microphone and earbuds to deliver amplified conversations to you. Just point your phone in the direction you need to hear, and the voice comes right to your ears. You will not have to struggle through conversations in quiet or noisy situations.Hearing Loop Compatibility
Hearing loops consist of a particular amplifier and a secret copper wire, which transmits sound through a magnetic field. The wire allows for coverage of any size setting, from big auditoriums to taxis. The wire sends the magnetic signal to a hearing system inside the vicinity. Inside a hearing aid, a telecoil, or t-coil, is a thin, inexpensive coil of wire that enables it to become a wireless receiver.In public places where distance, ambient noise, and difficult acoustics make it nearly impossible to listen and understand with hearing aids and cochlear implants, hearing loops provide intelligible, distortion-free speech and sound.
Bluetooth Technology
Many of today’s hearing aids are designed to communicate with your smartphone via Bluetooth. To do so, you no longer have to fiddle with wires and dongles. Sound from your smartphone will now transmit information straight to your hearing aids via Bluetooth connectivity so that you can hear much more quickly.Using the power of Bluetooth technology, there are also Smart TVs that make the need to turn up the TV a thing of the past. You can watch your favorite movies and TV shows and have the sound streamed straight to your ears.
Alerting Devices
Alerting devices are designed to help those with hearing loss stay safe and connected, whether during emergencies or even when they need to get out of bed.Alerting devices may use visual signals, such as flashing or strobing lights, vibrations, or alternative auditory signals, such as louder or lower pitch alarms. There are alarm clocks with strobe lights, such as a vibrating pillow inserted to help wake people who cannot hear the usual alarm. There are also assistive device alternatives to our usual alerting devices, such as fire and smoke alarm devices, carbon monoxide detectors, doorbells, and baby monitors.