Hearing aids are amazing tools that adequately improve hearing for the vast majority of people dealing with hearing loss. But in some situations, they need a little extra power or specificity, which is when assistive listening devices (ALDs) are handy. How can you turn your hearing aids up to 11?
Several unique, adaptive technologies are increasingly commonplace:
- Induction Loop Systems: These harness the properties of electromagnetic fields to amplify sound. They are being incorporated into the design of modern public spaces like museums, churches, concert halls, and schools. Surprisingly simple, they’re based on a loop of wire surrounding a space that establishes a magnetic field that a receiver (such as a hearing aid or handheld device) can tap into. This allows sound that is being routed through an amplifier or transmitted for an audience—like a speaker, musicians, or audio tour—to be more prominent for a listener using a hearing aid than the ambient background noise that might otherwise make listening more difficult.
- Localized FM Transmitters: Creating a very contained FM field—in other words, a radio station for a specific place—works on the same principle. Hearing aids or other devices can then be tuned into the proper frequency to hear the augmented sound (though interference from the crowded surrounding radio spectrum can be more of an issue). Oticon’s Amigo system is a good example of an FM transmitter for classroom hearing solutions.
- Infrared ALD: This sounds complicated, but these systems use light waves to transmit sound by communicating with receivers via an infrared signal. Not suitable for outdoor use, since sunlight interferes with them, these systems are most often found in theaters and depend on specific receivers, not directly on hearing aids.
- Personal Amplifiers: Popular for one-to-one communication. Basically, one person clips a microphone attached to an amplifier that allows the hard of hearing person to more easily hear. Oticon’s ConnectClip works well.
If your hearing aid can’t do it all, remember to speak to an audiologist to see what options you have.