These days, the cellular phone network is a great deal more dependable (and there’s a lot less static involved). But sometimes, it will still be challenging to hear what the person on the other end is saying. And for people who have hearing loss, it can be particularly challenging.
There must be a simple fix for that, right? Why not use a pair of hearing aids to make your phone conversations a bit clearer? Actually, it doesn’t work exactly that way. In reality, while hearing aids can make face-to-face conversations a great deal easier to handle, there are some challenges related to phone-based conversations. But there are definitely some things you can do to make your phone calls more effective.
Why phone calls and hearing aids don’t always get along
Hearing loss usually progresses slowly. Your hearing normally doesn’t just go. You have a tendency to lose bits and pieces over time. This can make it hard 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 info is gone. There’s no extra information for your brain to fill in. There’s only a really muffled voice and you only make out bits and pieces of the spectrum of the other individual’s voice.
Hearing aids can help – here’s how
Hearing aids can help with this. They’ll especially help your ears fill in a lot of those missing pieces. But there are some unique accessibility and communication challenges that happen from using hearing aids while talking on the phone.
For example, putting your hearing aids next to a phone speaker can produce some harsh speaker-to-speaker interference. This can result in some uncomfortable gaps in conversation because you can’t hear that well.
Tips to enhance the phone call experience
So what steps can be taken to help make your hearing aids function better with a phone? Most hearing specialists will recommend a few tips:
- Try using speakerphone to conduct the majority of your phone conversations: Most feedback can be avoided this way. Your phone calls might not be very private, but even though there still might be a little distortion, you should be able to better understand the voice on the other end. Knowing how to hold the phone better with hearing aids (that is, away from your ears) is essential, and speakerphone is how you achieve this!
- You can utilize your Bluetooth function on your hearing aid to connect to your phone. Yes, contemporary hearing aids can stream to your cellphone using Bluetooth! 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.
- Use other assistive hearing devices: 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).
- Don’t hide your hearing trouble from the individual you’re talking to: If phone calls are hard for you, it’s okay to admit that! You may simply need to be a little extra patient, or you may want to think about switching to text, email, or video chat.
- Try to take your phone calls in a quiet location. The less noise near you, the easier it will be to pick out the voice of the person you’re speaking with. If you control background noise during phone conversations your hearing aids will work so much better.
- Utilize video apps: Face-timing somebody or hopping onto a video chat can be a very good way to help you hear better. The sound won’t be louder or clearer, but at least you will have that visual information back. And this can help you put context to what’s being talked about.
Finding the best set of solutions will depend on what you use the phone for, how frequently you’re on the phone, and what your general communication requirements are like. Your ability to once more enjoy phone conversations will be made possible with the correct approach.
Call us for some help and guidance on how to best use your phone and hearing aids at the same time.