hearing assistive technology 101
TRANSCRIPT
Hearing Assistive Technology 101
Ellen Perkins
Agenda
O Introduction
O Listening Needs & Situations
O Overview of HAT
O All About Apps
O Non-Technology Solutions
O Questions
Who Am I?
Listening Needs & Situations
TYPES of Listening Situations
Face-to-Face
Media
Telecommunications
Alerting
WHERE does the listening take place?
Home
Work
Community
Other
Identify Problem Situations
O Use the table to fill in the blanks
O Do the problem situations occur in:
O Quiet locations
O Noisy locations
O Both?
O Do the problem situations happen when you are communicating:
O One-to-one
O In a small group (2-4 people)
O A large group (5+ people)
O Under all three circumstances
Listening Needs & Situations Assessment
Face-to-Face
Communication
Media Telecom-
munications
Alerting
Home
Work
Community
Other
EXAMPLE: Listening Needs & Situations Assessment
Face-to-Face
Communication
Media Telecom-
munications
Alerting
Home Family dinners with
a lot of people and
“cross-talk”
Doorbell
Fire
CO
Work Conference calls
Large group
meetings
Phone Desk faces
wall – don’t
know people
behind me
Community Church
Other YouTube
“auto”
captions
Fill out your own Listening Needs &
Situations Assessment
Prioritize
O Review the table
O Which situations are most important to you?
O Rate them (most to least important)
Why Aren’t My Hearing Aids/Cochlear Implants
Enough?
1) Background Noise
2) Reverberation
3) Distance
O How loud the sound is compared to ambient noise
and how far away it is from you.
O Hearing Aids and Cochlear Implants work best in a
6-8 foot range.
Examine Solutions
O HAT = Hearing Assistive Technology
O Non-technology solutions
Hearing Assistive Technology
HAT
What is a T-coil?
Headphones, Silhouettes, Neckloops
Assistive Listening Devices (ALD’s)
O Personal devices
O Input from microphone or devices (TV, phone, computer)
O May use Bluetooth, streaming, FM, infrared, induction loop or direct connection
O Large area devices
O Transmission from central sound source (theater, church, conference)
O May use FM, infrared, induction loop or direct connection
Personal FM Systems
Large Area Loop System
Induction Loop Systems (1:1): Counter loop
Large Area Infrared Listening System
Source: https://soundinduction.co.uk/pages/infrared-hearing-systems/
TV/Stereo Listening Systems
Feeling Overwhelmed?
Amplified Phones
Cell Phones
O Hearing Aid Compatibility Act of 1988 requires
telephones to be compatible with hearing aids or
cochlear implant (CI)
O 2003: the act was expanded to include wireless
phones
O FIRST STEP: What are your hearing aids/CI
compatible with?
Cell Phones (continued…)
O Look for hearing-aid-compatible (HAC) phones
O Will you listen to the phone:
O Acoustically (M) = microphone mode
O Telecoil (T) = telecoil mode
O M and T ratings
O "M3", "M4", "T3" or "T4“ = HAC compliant
O Personal choice
O Try before you buy
Source: http://www.betterhearing.org/hearingpedia/hearing-aid-
compatible-cell-phones
Captioned Telephones
How Caption Telephones work
Wireless Caption Services
Captioned Telephone Options
Landline VOIP Mobile Web Browser
CapTel® √ √
(some
models)
√
• iPhone
• Android
(Hamilton CapTel®)
√
• PC/Mac
(Hamilton
CapTel® or Sprint
CapTel®)
CaptionCall® √ √ √
• iPad only
Х
ClearCaptions √ √ √
• iPad/iPod/iPhon
e
• Android
√
• PC/Mac
InnoCaption
Х
Х √
• iPhone
• Android
Х
CART Communication Access
Realtime Translation
Video Communications
Environmental Alerting Systems
O Wakeup/alarm clock
O Doorbell/door knock
O Telephone/Videophone/Cell Phone alert
O Fire/Smoke/CO alarm
O Burglar alarm
O Child monitoring
O Timers (appliances, test)
O Window/Door opening
O Doormats and Bedmats
All Alerting Devices have Three Components:
O Pickup Mode
O Microphone
O Direct electrical connection
O Transmission Mode
O Hardwired
O Wireless (FM airborne vs. line carrier, VHF, IR)
O Stimulus
O Light (strobe or incandescent)
O Vibration
O Kinesthetic (fan)
O Enhanced auditory signal
Alarm Clocks
Fire/Smoke & CO Alarms
Doorbells/Door Knocker
Baby Crier/Monitoring
Telephone/Videophone/ Cell Phone Alerts
Combination Systems
“Smart Home” Technology
O Amazon Alexa/Echo
O GOOGLE Home/Home Max/Mini
O Apple Home Kit
All About Apps
FAQ’s
O What are they?
O Software “applications” for your smart phone or tablet
O Types of Apps?
O Desktop, Mobile, Web
O Where do I get them?
O Google Play Store for Android
O App Store for Apple
O What will it cost me?
O Free
O One time vs. Monthly use charge
Apps for the deaf and hard of hearing
O There are many!
O Hearing aids themselves may have an app (control volume, programs, etc.)
O Caption services for phones
O Speech-to-text
O Measuring sounds around you
O TV
O Environmental alerts
O Live theater
O Hearing loss simulator
Speech to Text Apps Dragon Dictation Live Caption AVA
• iPhone
• iPad
• Android
• iPhone
• iPad
• Android
• iPhone
• Android
• Pair with Bluetooth
devices
• Pair with Bluetooth
devices
• Stream the app to a
TV (for larger
groups)
• Free: talk with 1 or
more friends up to 5
hours/month
• $29.99/month: no
monthly limit
Decibel X
O iOS and Android
O Pre-calibrated, accurate and easily portable sound
level meter
O Standard measurement range from 30 to 130 dB
O FREE
SoundMeter
O Follows OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) guidelines
O Gauges the level of sound around you and provides visible alerts when the decibel reaches a dangerous level or when your exposure has gone on too long
O Safety screening tests for home appliances and kids’ toys, as well as a calibration feature for your home theater or speaker system
O $19.99, requires iOS 5.0 or later for iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch
TV Louder
O Uses the iPhone microphone to listen to TV sounds, enhances and amplifies sound and plays back loudly through headphones or earbuds
O Intended for entertainment and shouldn't be used in place of a hearing device
O Help you your television without having to constantly adjust the volume or make others watching with you uncomfortable
O Free (requires iOS 7 or later for iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch)
Tunity
O Audio from any live TV program streamed right to your phone
O Must be connected to Wi-Fi or a cellular network (3G, 4G LTE, etc.)
O Requires your location (iOS Location Services)
O Currently the app supports 100 channels
O Use the app’s camera function to take a picture of the show you’re watching, and the audio will sync to your phone automatically
O Listen through headphones (or stream it directly to your hearing aids with smartphone-compatible models)
O Free (Apple and Android)
Sound Alert
O Technology by Braci
O Alerts user to ringing phone, doorbell, beeping of
the microwave, smoke alarms, baby crying, and
honking cars, etc.
O Your phone will flash or vibrate when it hears
noises that you specify
O Free (Apple and Android)
Galapro
O “Galaprompter”
O Captions LIVE theater shows
O Subtitles
O Closed captioning
O Dubbing (another language)
O Audio describe
O Amplification
O Requires Wi-Fi connection
O Free (iPhone, iPad)
Hearing Loss Simulator
O Enter your specific type of hearing loss and play
back to family/friends how you perceive their
speech
O Helpful tool to share your what’s it like to live with
hearing loss!
O $1.99 (Requires iOS 4.2 or later for iPad)
Non-Technology Solutions
Friend and Enemies of Effective Communication
Friends Enemies
Round tables Long rectangular tables
Carpets and low ceilings Rooms with all hard
surfaces
Good lighting Glare behind speakers
Mouths that move, good
elocution
Mustaches and beards
Ability to control the space Background noise,
especially conversations
Resources
O Massachusetts Commission for the Deaf and Hard
of Hearing (MCDHH)
O www.mass.gov/eohhs/gov/departments/mcdhh/
O Association of Late-Deafened Adults (ALDA)
O www.aldaboston.org
O Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA)
O www.hearingloss.org