Mobile Phones Compatible with Hearing Aids

When you experience hearing loss, staying in communication with loved ones and friends is so much easier with a mobile phone that is compatible with your hearing aid. However, choosing the right type of mobile phone for your needs can be a little confusing. The good news is you can read all about mobile phone compatibility in this article.

What to Consider When Choosing a Mobile Phone to Work with Your Hearing Aid

There are several things that you must be aware of when you choose a mobile phone to work with your hearing aid. The first is whether you are experiencing a severe level of hearing loss, or a moderate to mild level of impairment. This is because while all mobile phones are hearing aid compatible, you may wish to make use of different features depending on the level of hearing impairment you are experiencing, a topic that will be explained in more detail below.

All Mobile Phones Are Hearing Aid Compatible

The good news is that no matter what mobile phone you choose you can be safe in the knowledge that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) demands every single one to be hearing aid compatible. However, there are better and worse choices to make based on hearing aid compatibility and telecoil compatibility.

Choosing a Mobile for Mild to Moderate Hearing Loss

When people with mild-to-moderate hearing loss are searching for a mobile phone, it is best to use the M rating. The M rating spans levels 1 to 4 with 4 being the highest and most compatible with hearing aid technology. That means if you choose a mobile phone rating as a 4 you can be very confident that it will give you the best performance when teamed with your hearing aid.

The best performance, in this case, means a minimum of feedback noise and distraction. Unfortunately, the issue of background noise can be a difficult one to solve, because of the way that mobile phones for mild-to-moderate hearing loss work. They work by a process known as acoustic coupling which means you don’t have to use any additional equipment to be able to hear the sound coming from your phone. This is very convenient because your hearing aid microphone will automatically pick up the sound as you use the phone.

However, the way that acoustic coupling works, means it can be vulnerable to feedback and that is something you will need to watch out for when making your choice. Of course, by trying out your phone with your hearing aid before you buy you can test for these issues. You will even be able to compare the performance of phones at different M ratings to see which gives you the best result with your specific mobile hearing aid.

Choosing a Mobile for Severe Hearing Loss

If you are experiencing more severe hearing loss, then acoustic coupling may not be suitable for your needs. Instead, making use of a feature inside of your hearing aid known as a telecoil can be the most useful approach.

Telecoils are particularly useful when using mobile phones because they eliminate the need to use your hearing aids microphone. This means that you can achieve a better signal with a lower amount of background noise and feedback.

Of course, to be able to access these benefits you will need to know how to turn the telecoil in your hearing aid on. Some will turn on automatically, but for others, you will have to switch them manually to the on position. If you aren’t sure how to do this just speak to your hearing instrument specialist, and they will be able to advise you.

In a similar way to how the M rating signals levels of hearing aid capacity, mobile phones that work with telecoils are assessed on a T rating. Once again, the levels are 1 to 4, with four being the highest and best. The good news is that many modern cell phones are rated T4 which makes them an excellent choice if you are looking for the clear signal that telecoil compatibility can offer. Although testing different options is always advisable before you make your purchase.

Searching for the Right Mobile Phone for Your Hearing Aid

Now you know more about how mobile phones work with hearing aids, you will be in a better position to make the right choice. You can find information on the best phones for hearing aids offered on your service on their website.

Another great place to go to get advice on choosing the right mobile phone for your hearing aid is the Armand’s Hearing Center. Call us at Bradenton: 941-748-9800 or Sun City: 813-938-1148 with all your mobile phones compatible with hearing aids, today.