Nowadays, the mobile phone network is much more dependable (and there’s a lot less static involved). But that doesn’t mean everyone can hear you all the time. In fact, there’s one population for whom phone conversations aren’t always a reliable experience: those with hearing loss.
Now, you might be thinking: there’s a simple fix for that, right? Can’t you use some hearing aids to help you understand phone conversations more clearly? Actually, it doesn’t work precisely like that. In reality, while hearing aids can make face-to-face conversations a great deal easier to manage, there are some challenges associated with phone-based conversations. But there are certainly a few things you can do to make your phone conversations more successful.
Phone calls and hearing aids don’t always work effectively together – here’s why
Hearing loss usually advances gradually. It’s not like someone simply turns down the overall volume on your ears. You tend to lose bits and pieces over time. It’s likely that you won’t even notice you have hearing loss and your brain will try to use contextual and visual clues to compensate.
When you have phone conversations, you no longer have these visual clues. Your Brain doesn’t have the info it requires to fill in the blanks. There’s only a very distorted voice and you only make out bits and pieces of the range of the other individual’s voice.
How hearing aids can help
This can be helped by wearing hearing aids. Lots of those missing pieces can be filled in with hearing aids. But there are a few distinctive accessibility and communication challenges that arise from wearing hearing aids while talking on the phone.
Feedback can occur when your hearing aids come near a phone, for instance. This can make things difficult to hear and uncomfortable.
Tips to augment the phone call experience
So what steps can be taken to help make your hearing aids work better with a phone? the majority of hearing specialists will endorse several tips:
- Stream your phone to your hearing aid using Bluetooth. Wait, can hearing aids stream to smartphones? Yes, they can! This means that if your hearing aids are Bluetooth enabled, phone calls can be streamed right to your phone. If you’re having trouble using your phone with your hearing aid, a good place to begin getting rid of feedback would be switching to Bluetooth.
- Don’t hide your hearing problems from the individual you’re speaking with: If phone calls are hard for you, it’s fine to admit that! Many people will be fine moving the discussion to text message or email or video calls (or simply being a little extra patient).
- Download a video call app: You might have an easier time distinguishing phone conversations on a video call. The sound won’t be louder or more clear, but at least you will have that visual information back. And once more, this kind of contextual information will be greatly helpful.
- Hearing aids aren’t the only assistive hearing device you can get: Devices, including numerous text-to-type services, are available to help you hear better when you’re having phone conversations.
- Try to take your phone calls in a quiet area. The less noise near you, the easier it will be to make out the voice of the person you’re speaking with. Your hearing aids will be much more effective by decreasing background noise.
- Put your phone in speaker mode as frequently as you can: Most feedback can be averted this way. Your phone conversations may not be particularly private, but even though there still might be a little distortion, you should be able to better understand the voice on the other end. The best way to keep your phone and your hearing aid away from each other is by switching to speakerphone.
Depending on your general hearing needs, how often you use the phone, and what you use your phone for, the appropriate set of solutions will be accessible. With the right approach, you’ll have the resources you need to begin enjoying those phone conversations once again.
Contact us for some help and guidance on how to best utilize your phone and hearing aids together.