Contemporary cell phones have become a lot clearer and more dependable nowadays. But sometimes, it will still be hard 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 an easy fix for that, right? Can’t you use some hearing aids to help you hear phone conversations more clearly? Well, that isn’t… exactly… the way it works. Even though hearing aids can help with conversations, with phone conversations it can be a little more challenging. But there are certainly a few things you can do to make your phone calls more effective.
Why phone calls and hearing aids don’t always play nice
Hearing loss typically develops gradually. It isn’t like somebody simply turns down the general volume on your ears. You tend to lose bits and pieces at a 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 context clues and other visual information.
So when you get on a phone, all of that contextual data disappears. There’s no added information for your brain to work with. There’s only a really muffled voice and you only make out bits and pieces of the range of the other individual’s voice.
How hearing aids can be helpful
Hearing aids can help with this. Many of those missing pieces can be filled in with hearing aids. But talking on the phone while wearing hearing aids can introduce some accessibility issues.
Feedback can occur when your hearing aids come near a phone, for instance. This can lead to some awkward gaps in conversation because you can’t hear that well.
Bettering your ability to hear phone conversations
So what steps can be taken to help make your hearing aids function better with a phone? Well, there are a few tips that most hearing specialists will advocate:
- Connect your phone to your hearing aid via Bluetooth. Yes, contemporary hearing aids can connect to your smartphone via Bluetooth! This means you’ll be capable of streaming phone calls right to your hearing aids (if your hearing aids are Bluetooth capable). This can eliminate feedback and make your phone calls a bit more private, so it’s a good place to start if you’re having trouble on your phone.
- Put your phone in speaker mode as frequently as you can: Most feedback can be averted this way. Your phone calls might not be particularly private, but even though there still may be a little distortion, you should be able to better understand the voice on the other end. The best way to keep your phone and your hearing aid apart is by switching to speakerphone.
- Be honest with the individual you’re talking to on the phone: It’s okay to admit if you’re having trouble! Many people will be fine transferring the discussion to text message or email or video calls (or simply being a little extra patient).
- Make use of video apps: Face-timing somebody or jumping onto a video chat can be a great way to help you hear better. The sound won’t be louder or clearer, but at least you’ll have that visual information back. And once more, this kind of contextual information will be considerably helpful.
- 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 (and this includes many text-to-type services).
- Try to take your phone calls in a quiet spot. It will be much easier to hear the voice on the other end if there’s less noise. Your hearing aids will be much more efficient by reducing background noise.
Depending on your general hearing needs, how often 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.
If you need more advice on how to use hearing aids with your phone, give us a call, we can help.