What’s a cyborg? If your mind gets swept up in science fiction movies, you probably think of cyborgs as sort of half-human, half machine characters (the human condition is often cleverly portrayed with these characters). You can get some truly fantastic cyborgs in Hollywood.
But actually, someone wearing something as basic as a pair of glasses could be considered a cyborg. After all, biology has been enhanced with technology.
The human condition is usually enhanced with these technologies. Which means, if you’re wearing an assistive listening device, such as a hearing aid, you’re the coolest type of cyborg in the world. And there’s much more technology where that comes from.
Hearing loss negative aspects
Hearing loss undeniably comes with some disadvantages.
It’s difficult to keep up with the plot when you go see a movie. It’s even more challenging to make out what your grandkids are talking about (part of this is because you have no clue what K-pop is, and you never will, but mostly it’s because of hearing loss). And this can impact your life in very profound (often negative) ways.
Left untreated, the world can get pretty quiet. This is where technology comes in.
How can hearing loss be managed with technology?
Generally speaking, technology that helps you hear better is lumped into the category of “assistive listening devices”. That sounds pretty technical, right? The question might arise: exactly what are assistive listening devices? Is there someplace I can go and buy one of these devices? Are there challenges to using assistive listening devices?
These questions are all normal.
Mostly, we’re used to thinking of technology for hearing loss in a rather monolithic way: hearing aids. Because hearing aids are a crucial part of treating hearing loss, that’s reasonable. But hearing aids aren’t the only kind of assistive hearing device. And, used correctly, these hearing devices can help you more completely enjoy the world around you.
What are the different types of assistive listening devices?
Induction loops
Induction loops, also known as hearing loops, use technology that sounds quite complex. Here are the basics: locations with hearing loops are typically well marked with signage and they can help individuals with hearing aids hear more clearly, even in noisy settings.
A speaker will sound clearer due to the magnetic fields in a hearing loop. Here are a few examples of when an induction loop can be helpful:
- Presentations, movies, or other events that rely on amplification.
- Venues that tend to have a lot of echoes or have low-quality acoustics.
- Locations that tend to be loud (including waiting rooms or hotel lobbies).
FM systems
These FM systems are like a walkie-talkie or radio. A transmitter, usually a speaker or microphone, and a receiver, like a hearing aid, are needed for this kind of system to function. FM systems are useful for:
- Whenever it’s hard to hear due to a noisy environment.
- Courtrooms and other government or civil places.
- Anyone who wants to listen to sound systems that use amplification (this includes things like a speaker during a presentation or dialogue during a movie).
- Conferences, classrooms, and other educational activities.
Infrared systems
There are similarities between an infrared system and an FM system. It consists of a receiver and an amplifier. Typically, the receiver is worn around the neck with an IR system. IR hearing assistance systems are great for:
- People with hearing aids or cochlear implants.
- Indoor settings. Bright sunlight can interfere with the signals from an IR system. As a result, inside settings are usually the best ones for this sort of technology.
- When you’re listening to one primary person talking.
Personal amplifiers
Personal amplifiers are a lot like less specialized and less powerful versions of a hearing aid. In general, they consist of a microphone and a speaker. The microphone picks up sounds and amplifies them through a speaker. Personal amplifiers may seem like a tricky option since they come in numerous styles and types.
- You need to be cautious, though, these devices can hasten the decline of your hearing, particularly if you aren’t careful. (You’re essentially putting an extremely loud speaker right inside of your ear, after all.)
- These devices are good for individuals who have very minor hearing loss or only require amplification in specific situations.
- For best outcomes, speak with us before using personal amplifiers of any type.
Amplified phones
Hearing aids and phones sometimes have difficulty with one another. The sound can become garbled or too low in volume and sometimes you can get feedback.
One solution for this is an amplified phone. These devices allow you to have control of the volume of the phone’s speaker, so you can make it as loud or quiet as you want, depending on the situation. These devices are good for:
- When someone has difficulty hearing phone conversations but hears fine in other situations.
- Households where the phone is used by several people.
- People who don’t have their phone connected to their Bluetooth hearing aid (or who don’t have Bluetooth available on either their hearing aids or their principal telephone).
Alerting devices
When something is going on, these devices (sometimes called signalers or notification devices) use loud noises, vibrations, and blinking lights to get your attention. For example, when the doorbell dings, the phone rings, or the microwave bings. So when something around your workplace or home needs your attention, even without your hearing aids, you’ll be conscious of it.
Alerting devices are an excellent solution for:
- People who have total or near total hearing loss.
- When alarm sounds like a smoke detector could create a hazardous situation.
- People who intermittently remove their hearing aids (everyone needs a break now and then).
- Home and office settings.
Telecoils
Once again, we come back to the sometimes frustrating connection between your telephone and your hearing aid. When you hold a speaker up to another speaker, it produces feedback (sometimes painful feedback). This is essentially what happens when you put a phone speaker up to a hearing aid.
A telecoil is a way to get around that connection. It will link up your hearing aid to your phone directly, so you can hear all of your conversations without interference or feedback. They’re great for:
- Those who don’t have access to Bluetooth hearing aids or phones.
- Anybody who frequently talks on the phone.
- Individuals who have hearing aids.
Captioning
Nowadays, it has become fairly commonplace for people to use captions and subtitles to enjoy media. Everybody uses captions! Why? Because they make it a little easier to understand what you’re watching.
For people with hearing loss, captions will help them be able to comprehend what they’re watching even with loud conversations around them and can work in tandem with their hearing aids so they can hear dialog even when it’s mumbled.
What are the benefits of using assistive listening devices?
So where can you get assistive listening devices? That’s a good question because it means you’ve acknowledged how all of these technologies can be worthwhile to people with hearing loss.
Obviously, every individual won’t be benefited by every kind of technology. If you have a cell phone with easy-to-use volume control, you may not need an amplifying phone, for example. If you don’t have the right kind of hearing aid, a telecoil may be useless to you.
But you have choices and that’s really the point. You can customize the kind of incredible cyborg you want to be (and you will be amazing, we promise)–so that you can get the most out of life. So you can more easily hear the dialogue at the movies or the conversation with your grandchildren.
Hearing Assistive Technology can help you hear better in certain situations but not all. If you’re interested in hearing better, call us today!
