Are you chatting less frequently on the phone because you don’t hear very well. Hearing loss, over time, can cause you to feel isolated. You don’t have to give up using your phone. You can certainly discover methods to remain in touch with your friends and family.
Communication is The key
They say communication is the indispensable thing with any relationship, and that is certainly true when it comes to your phone. Can anything be done to enhance the situation?
- Have you had an ear exam? Get a correct diagnosis because not all hearing loss is permanent. Simple things including earwax buildup or an ear infection will cause temporary hearing loss.
- You can consider accessories such as Bluetooth or headphones if the volume is already turned up. Maybe that’s all you need to make your phone sound better and it doesn’t cost very much.
- Are the voices hard to hear? Check the phone to make certain that the volume is turned all the way up.
When you eliminate some of the more obvious problems, you can take a look at other possibilities that will get you back on the phone.
There’s an App For That
There are actually several possible 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. Not all of these apps work perfectly, but they give you some option that could be helpful. Brands to look up include:
Most voice to text apps are reasonably priced though not all of them are free.
Phones Made For The Hard of Hearing
Some phones work the same way as an app for those interested in a landline solution. They make it much easier to hear by amplifying the voice on the other end. High pitched sounds on the other end become clearer because they can equalize the sound.
There is also the option of getting a captioning phone. To take advantage of the captioning service, you need to have a special phone that has a screen. Captioning works with a third party operator that either repeats the spoken words so speech recognition software can translate them into text or types them directly into the system. The words are then displayed on the screen of the phone. You will need to have the internet to use a captioning service.
An old school phone system that is still around which works similarly to a captioning service is Text-to-Voice Teletype (TTY). You will need a TTY device that sits near the phone to display the text, though.
The Best Option Are Hearing Aids
Modern hearing aids won’t feedback every time they get close to a phone like the old ones did. You can get hearing aid compatible phones which remove background noise and other interference to improve sound quality. Today’s hearing aid technology is compatible with these phones. The best thing is these wireless hearing aids still work even when you’re not using your phone.
Modern, high quality hearing aids can also have a more cutting edge program that permits them to be compatible with nearly any phone whether it’s a landline or smartphone. 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 normal feature of today’s hearing aid tech. You simply 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.
Don’t allow hearing loss to ruin your friendships and other relationships. Do what you must to get back on your phone, and start talking again. You can check out the newest hearing aid technology by making an appointment with a hearing care specialist.