Hearing aids and cellular phones have not always gotten along as well as they do now. The complex electronics in both products often triggered static, dropped words or screeching interference noises. Thankfully, improvements in technology and new government regulations have made the question “Will this phone work together with my hearing aid?” simpler to answer. To help consumers shop for the right hearing aid compatible mobile phone, the new regulations include a standard rating system and labeling requirement.
The first thing you need to understand is that hearing aids operate in two different modes – microphone or “M” mode, and telecoil or “T” mode. In M mode, the hearing aid uses the internal microphone to detect sounds and amplify them. In T mode, the hearing aid uses telecoil technology instead. The hearing aid is able to pick up the electromagnetic signals from inside the phone directly. Currently, approximately 60% of hearing aids sold in the US have a telecoil or T mode.
Under the new regulations, these two modes of operation have ratings that range from 1 (the lowest sensitivity) to 4 (the highest sensitivity). To be labeled as hearing aid compatible (HAC) a cell phone must carry a minimum rating of M3 or T3.
Hearing aids themselves also carry M and T ratings to indicate their sensitivity and ability to block interference in each mode. When shopping for a phone, to determine its compatibility with your hearing aid, simply add its M and T ratings together with those of the phone to create a combined rating. If you get a combined total of 6 or more, that is thought of as excellent, a combination of hearing aid and phone that will be highly usable. A combined rating of 5 is thought of as normal, and suitable for most people. If the combined rating is 4, this is thought of as acceptable but not very usable if you make a lot of extended phone calls.
Since being introduced, the new rating system has made it much easier to shop for a mobile phone online and determine its compatibility with your hearing aid in advance. In the end, nothing beats a real world test so you may want to wear your hearing aid to the mobile phone shop and test out a few different phone in real conditions.
The post How to Find a Compatible Hearing Aid / Cellular Phone Combination appeared first on Audiology Today.
