Is your loss of hearing causing you to chat less frequently on the phone? As time passes, you may feel isolated because of your hearing loss. It’s not necessary to give up chatting on the phone. It is possible to remain in touch with friends and loved ones.
It’s All About Communication
With any relationship, communication is an essential aspect and the same goes for your phone. The question is what can be done to make things better.
- Have you had an ear exam? Your hearing loss may not be permanent so it’s essential to get a proper diagnosis. It might be something as basic as earwax buildup or an ear infection.
- If the volume is already cranked up, have you experimented with an accessory like headphones or a Bluetooth? Perhaps that’s all you need to make your phone sound better and it doesn’t cost that much.
- Do the voices sound too quiet? Check to make sure the volume is all the way up on the phone.
If you look at the obvious problems and have ruled them out, it’s time to consider more in depth solutions.
There’s an App For That
Actually, there’s more than one app. There are some pretty cool apps that will get you comfortable being back on your phone.
What the other person says can be turned to text with some of these apps. These apps are far from perfect, but you should be able to work with them. Brands to look up include:
You can’t get all voice to text apps for free but most won’t cost very much.
There is a Phone For That
Some phones do the same thing as an app if you are looking for a landline option. They can amplify the voice on the other end, making it much easier to hear. High pitched sounds on the other end become clearer because they can equalize the sound.
A captioning phone is yet another solution. To take advantage of the captioning service, you need to have a unique phone that has a screen. With this service, the words are repeated or typed into software by a third party operator and are then displayed on the screen of the phone. Also, the internet is required for the majority of captioning devices.
a traditional phone system that is still around which works similarly to a captioning service is Text-to-Voice Teletype (TTY). A separate device to display the text is necessary, however.
Hearing Aids Are The Best Choice
Newer hearing aids don’t feedback whenever they come close to a phone like the old ones did. There are hearing aid compatible phones that get rid of background noise and other interference to enhance sound quality. Modern hearing aid technology is compatible with these phones. The best thing is these wireless hearing aids still work even when you’re not using your phone.
Modern, high quality hearing aids can also have a more advanced program that permits them to be compatible with almost any phone whether it’s a landline or smartphone. You simply hold the phone up to the hearing aid and allow the technology to work its magic by streaming the sound from one device to the other.
Lots of digital hearing aids are also Bluetooth compatible. Pairing your hearing aid up with your smart-phone is exactly the same as pairing your phone with any other Bluetooth device. The sound goes directly to your hearing aids when it rings.
Don’t allow hearing loss to ruin your friendships and other relationships. Do what you must to get back on your phone, and start talking again. It’s time to schedule an appointment with a hearing specialist to check out the newest hearing aid technology.