Hear Me Out!

Stay in the "Loop"

A recent article in the New York Times on "hearing loops" is sparking significant interest among my patients (and others). Hearing loops are systems that are installed in certain public venues that allow for hearing aid users to pick up a direct, clear transmission of sound. They may be installed in places such as theaters, houses of worship, museums, and train stations. New York City has been slow to adopt this technology, but there are now plans to install hearing loops in a number of subway stations. Loops can also be installed in the home and connected to a television or other audio source. However, there is a catch: in order to pick up the loop transmission, the user's hearing aids must have what is called a "telecoil" (or "t-coil" for short), and not all devices offer this feature. In particular, the small behind-the-ear devices with a thin wire that have become so popular in the past several years often do not have a telecoil, primarily due to space limitations. Likewise, the very small custom-fit aids as well as the Lyric extended-wear aids do not offer telecoils. Hopefully the loop technology will become more prevalent here in NYC. And hopefully the hearing aid manufacturers will follow suit and offer telecoils in more of the mini-BTE hearing aids. Here's a link to the article: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/24/science/24loops.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=hearing%20loop&st=cse

New Hearing App Available

There's an interesting new app for the iPhone called EarTrumpet. It has two functions: it can run a basic hearing test using your earbuds, and it can be used as an amplifier. While I have yet to download it, I would caution against relying on the hearing test function as an objective measure; it's likely to be affected by how quiet the room is and how well your earbuds fit. The amplifier function, called a "hearing enhancer," could certainly prove useful for getting some basic amplification of conversation and television. The app costs $1.99. If you've given it a try, leave a comment with your experiences.

Turn Down Those Commercials!

We've probably all had the jarring experience of watching television and hearing the volume suddenly jump up when the commercials come on. This can be annoying for those with and without hearing aids. Well, good news was recently announced: Congress has passed the CALM Act (that's Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation -- gotta love those acronyms). This new law creates a standard for the voulme level of commercials, and will eliminate the practice of broadcasting advertisements at excessively high levels. Broadcasters will have one year from the adoption of the law to comply, so hang in there.

Captioned Telephone Service

Even with well-fit hearing aids, some people with hearing loss continue to struggle to communicate effectively on the telephone. One reason for this is that we lose the visual component to communication when speaking on the phone, and visual cues can be vitally important for those with hearing impairment. One solution is captioned telephone service, available in a number of states, including New York. Using a special CapTel phone, the caller's words are translated into captions; at the same time, the caller's voice is audible as on any other phone call. Captions can be read on a visual display built into the phone, or on a computer screen. The combination of audio and visual information can make the use of the telephone significantly easier (similar to the way watching TV with captions can enhance the ability to understand the television program). For more information on the New York state service, visit www.nyrelay.com or call 1-800-421-1220.