What are Hearing Assistive Technologies?

Technology that lends a helping hand to those who suffer from hearing loss is otherwise called "Hearing Assistive Technology."

Assistive listening devices, such as personal frequency modulation (FM) systems, operate on special frequencies courtesy of the Federal Communications Commission and act like miniature radio stations. Consisting of a transmitter microphone with speaker and a receiver, sound is transmitted to the hearing aid either through direct audio input or through a looped neck cord. Such systems are useful in various situations, such as listening to sales meetings, lectures or conversing in a restaurant. In gatherings or theaters, FM transmitters can be connected to hearing aids.

In an infrared assistive listening device, sound is transmitted using infrared light waves, TV signals are transmitted to a receiver that can be adjusted to the desired volume. Thus, situations like family gatherings are more natural and allow for easier communication.

Induction Loop Systems are the best for large gatherings. Permanently installed and connected to the microphone used by a speaker, an induction loop wire works by sending electromagnetic signals that are picked up by the  ”T” (telecoil/telephone) setting in the hearing aid. Volume is easily adjusted through the hearing aid.

With the one-to-one communicator, private conversations remain private with no shouting involved and when driving, eyes stay on the road.

Assistive listening devices or ALDs are devices that assist in day-to-day communication situations and help overcome the disadvantages of distance, noise in the backdrop and poor acoustics. With greater ease of hearing, stress and fatigue are minimal.

Admirable assistive listening devices and systems include couplers and hearing aid and cochlear implant accessories, alerting devices, telephones that amplify and have tone controls, and in some instances audio output jacks and other telephone accessories.

Other telecommunications-related software and services include TTYs (teletypewriters), VCO (Voice Carry Over) phones, speech-to-text services like CART (Computer Assisted Realtime Transcription), C-Print and CAN (closed caption decoders).

Assistive technologies also include those that facilitate speech reading and sign language or cued speech including videophone, text telephones (where phone conversations are typed and read) and other visual technology to facilitate speech-reading and/or the use of sign language or cued speech. Advanced visual technologies are:

• Text telephones, which allow phone conversations to be typed and read rather than spoken and heard
• Computers that recognize speech and change spoken messages into a Word document
• Closed-captioning TV that allows text display of spoken dialogue.  

Note-taking is a common task used in school.  It is useful not only to deaf students but also for students who are unable to write for themselves. It allows people who are hard of hearing to pay attention to a speaker while a trained individual takes notes for them.

Source: ASHA