Hearing aid compatibility devices.
This article is based on various devices which can help people who wear hearing aids communicate and hear evLossen better.
Things to bear in mind before purchasing any product for hearing impairment. Take into consideration the degree of hearing impairment:
• Main Levels of Hearing Loss
• Mild Hearing Loss
• Moderate Hearing Loss
• Severe Hearing Loss
• Profound Hearing Loss
• Styles of hearing aids
• BTE – Behind the Ear
• ITE – In the Ear
• ITC – In the Canal
• Compatibility and Features
• Works well with your device.
• Hearing aid compatibility
• Captioning
• Sound adjustment, volume, bass, treble etc.
• Comfort
• Sound
• Viewing
• Can be heard with or without hearing aid.
• Price
– Features available with price tag
– Not a burden for your pocket
– Deals available
Also take into consideration what will be the main use of your device. For instance, listening to music, movies, etcetera
Now that we have gone through a brief overview of factors to keep in mind when purchasing your devices. I have taken the pleasure of also including a list of some of the most useful and promising media assistive devices for the hard of hearing.
Headphones
First of all, just stating, earbuds are a bad choice and in my opinion should not be considered, because of the hearing aid placement within the ear.
Over the ear on the ear or bone conducting headphones are better recommended for the hearing impaired, with or without the use of hearing aids.
The most and highly rated headphones for hearing impaired are:
Sennheiser RS175 RF
wireless headphone system.
These are over the ear headphones which are most suitable for severe hearing loss. The device comes with bass boost and surround sound which sends the sound directly one’s ear without having tk increase the volume, ensuring you won’t disturb anyone around you. This OTE( over the ear) headphone has many features including:
wide ear pad with closed back design and cushions against the skull, thus helping to reduce background noises.
• Wireless Audio transmissions.
• Rechargeable port with a charged battery lasts 18 hours.
• Operating range of 330 feet.
• Digital analog port.
Aftershokz Trekz
Bone Conduction Headphones
These headphones may only be suitable for people with Conductive and not Sensorineural hearing loss. This is because these headphones rely greatly on vibrations from the skull and cheekbone (bone conduction) which by pass both the outer and middle ear sending sound straight to the inner ear. Aftershokz is a creator of mainly sports headphones. These headphones consists features such as:
• Bone Conduction Technology
• Suitable for sporting and exercise using titanium headbands which keeps it in
place, repels dirt and sweat also being lightweight and comfortable.
• Built-in Bluetooth compatibility.
• Works great for people who can still hear outside sounds.
• 6 hour battery life on full charge.
• Rich bass sound
Astro A50 wireless Headset and Base.
Bone Conduction Headphones
These ear coupling headphones are specifically designed for gamers, with large comfortable ear cups which are suitable for hours of long wear. Main features of these ear phones include:
• Inclusive of base charging station
• Suitable for people who suffer from severe hearing impairment.
• Works with PC, Macs and Playstations 4 and 5.
• Comes with microphone, Dolby audio and flip to mute built-in features.
• Best work with Canal, In-the-ear and Behind-the-ear hearing aids.
• Battery life of 20 months standby.
• Wireless range of up to 49feet.
• Voice isolating microphone with noise cancelling features.
N.B. Not compatible with Xbox Series XJS, which can be quite a disappointment to gamers.