Are you chatting less frequently on the phone because you can’t hear so well. Over time, you can feel isolated as a result of your hearing loss. You don’t need to give up using your phone. There are ways to work it out so you can stay in touch with your loved ones.
It’s All About Communication
They say communication is the essential thing with any relationship, and that is indeed true with your phone. Can anything be done to enhance the situation?
- Have you had a hearing test? Your hearing loss might not be permanent so it’s essential to get a proper diagnosis. Simple things including earwax buildup or an ear infection will cause temporary hearing loss.
- Do the voices sound too quiet? Perhaps the volume needs to be turned up.
- Bluetooth or headphones might be options if you’ve already turned the volume up. It’s a relatively inexpensive way to improve the sound quality on the phone, and that might be all you need.
Once you eliminate some of the more obvious issues, you can have a look at other solutions that will get you back on the phone.
There’s an App For That
There are really quite a few potential apps. 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 don’t all work perfectly but they can be very helpful. Brands to look up include:
- Live Caption
- Hamilton Mobile Cap Tel
- Note, Listen for Deaf
Most voice to text apps are affordably priced though not all of them are free.
There is a Phone For That
If you are looking for a landline solution, you can find phones for your home that do the same thing as an app. They make it much easier to hear by amplifying the voice on the other end. They also work to equalize the tone, so high pitched sounds that frequently drop off become clearer.
You also have the alternative of getting a captioning phone. The captioning service requires a unique phone that has a screen. If you have 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. You will require the internet to use a captioning service.
Text-to-Voice Teletype (TTY) is an old-school phone system that is still around and works in a similar way to the captioning phone. You will need a TTY device that sits near the phone to show the text, though.
Getting Hearing Aids is Your Best Option
The days when you would hear ear piercing feedback whenever your hearing aids got near a phone are over. You can get hearing aid compatible phones which remove background noise and other interference to improve sound quality. Modern hearing aid technology is compatible with these phones. Even when you are not on the phone these wireless hearing aids still work.
A sophisticated program which enables it to be compatible with both smart-phones and landlines is a stand out feature of modern hearing aids. The technology functions by holding the hearing device up to the phone and streaming the sound from the one to the other.
Bluetooth compatibility is also a standard feature of today’s hearing aid tech. You pair the phone up with the hearing aids just like you would with wireless headphones or earbuds. When the phone rings, the sound is sent directly to your hearing aids.
There’s no reason to allow hearing loss damage a perfectly good relationship. Get back on your phone whatever it takes so you can start talking again. You can check out the newest hearing aid technology by making an appointment with a hearing care specialist.