Modern cell phones have become a lot clearer and more dependable nowadays. But sometimes, it will still be hard to hear what the individual on the other end is saying. In fact, there’s one group for whom using a phone isn’t always a reliable experience: those who have hearing loss.
There must be an easy fix for that, right? Can’t you make use of some hearing aids to help you understand phone conversations more clearly? Well, that isn’t… exactly… the way it works. It turns out that, while hearing aids can make face-to-face conversations a lot easier to manage, there are some difficulties associated with phone-based conversations. But there are a few tips for phone calls with hearing aids that can help you get a bit more from your next conversation.
Phone calls and hearing aids don’t always work well together – here’s why
Hearing loss typically advances slowly. Your hearing typically doesn’t just go. It tends to go in bits and pieces. This can make it difficult to even detect when you have hearing loss, particularly because your brain tries very hard to fill in the gaps with contextual clues and other visual information.
So when you get on the phone, all of that contextual data disappears. Your Brain lacks the info it requires to fill in the blanks. You only hear parts and pieces of the other person’s voice which sounds muffled and distorted.
How hearing aids can help
Hearing aids can help with this. They’ll particularly help your ears fill in many of those missing pieces. But talking on the phone with hearing aids can present some accessibility issues.
For instance, putting your hearing aids near a phone speaker can create some harsh speaker-to-speaker interference. This can make things hard to hear and uncomfortable.
Bettering your ability to hear phone conversations
So what measures can be taken to help make your hearing aids function better with a phone? Well, there are several tips that most hearing specialists will endorse:
- Download a video call app: Face-timing somebody or hopping onto a video chat can be a great way to help you hear better. It isn’t that the sound quality is magically better, it’s that your brain has use of all of that amazing visual information again. And this can help you add context to what’s being said.
- Find a quiet place to carry out your phone calls. The less noise near you, the easier it will be to pick out the voice of the individual you’re speaking with. If you control background noise during phone calls your hearing aids will work so much better.
- You can utilize your Bluetooth function on your hearing aid to stream to your phone. Hold on, can hearing aids connect to smartphones? Yes, they can! This means that if your hearing aids are Bluetooth capable, phone calls can be streamed directly to your phone. If you’re having trouble using your phone with your hearing aid, a good place to begin reducing feedback would be switching to Bluetooth.
- Hearing aids aren’t the only assistive hearing device you can get: There are other assistive devices and services that can help you hear better when you’re having a phone conversation (including numerous text-to-type services).
- Put your phone in speaker mode as often as you can: Most feedback can be avoided this way. Your phone calls might not be very private, but even though there still may be a little distortion, you should be able to better make out the voice on the other end. Knowing how to hold the phone better with hearing aids (that is, away from your ears) is crucial, and speakerphone is how you achieve this!
- Don’t hide your hearing problems from the person you’re speaking with: It’s all right to admit if you’re having difficulties! Many individuals will be fine transferring the conversation to text message or email or video calls (or just being a little extra patient).
Depending on your overall hearing needs, how frequently you use the phone, and what you use your phone for, the appropriate set of solutions will be available. Your ability to once again enjoy phone conversations will be made possible with the right approach.
Call us for some help and advice on how to best utilize your phone and hearing aids at the same time.