Things That Help People Who Lose Their Hearing

There's no shortage of devices to help people who don't hear well. Ranging from implantable devices to pocket-size devices, technology is making big strides toward helping people who lose their hearing. The type of hearing loss you have and the severity of your loss will determine which device you'll need.

Hearing Aids

• Hearing aids are commonly used by people with hearing loss. Hearing aids are now adaptable to your listening environments. New technology offers you the ability to connect your hearing aids to FM systems--at theaters, schools, concert venues, places of worship and other large conference facilities--or connect to wireless devices such as cell phones, computers, TVs or remote controls.
  Hearing aids are not satisfying or helpful when you have severe hearing loss. For people who experience mild, moderate and moderately severe hearing loss, hearing aids can help.

Implants

• People who experience deafness or partial deafness might benefit from medical treatment. Cochlear implants help adults and children with severe hearing loss and deafness learn to hear again. Cochlear implants replace the damaged nerves of your inner ear and send hearing signals directly to your brain. The signals sent via an implant are different from normal hearing and it takes significant auditory therapy to learn to recognize sound again.
  According to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, the decision to receive an implant should involve discussions with medical specialists, including an experienced cochlear-implant surgeon. Prior to receiving a cochlear implant, you must go through exams to determine candidacy and be able to meet the financial requirements because most private health insurance plans don't cover cochlear implants.

Assitive Listening Devices

• Assistive listening devices (ALD), are designed to aid people with hearing loss in difficult listening situations. ALDs can be used in combination with hearing aids or alone. A basic list of assitive devices for people with hearing loss includes amplified telephones, infrared TV amplifiers, personal frequency modulation (FM) systems and amplified alarms. Understanding the type of technology used in these devices can help you choose which would work best in your life.
  Frequency modulation (FM) systems: A personal FM system allows you to connect yourself to a signal you want to hear better. Working like a mini-radio station, a FM transmitter routes a signal directly from a speaker to a receiver without any outside interference. Personal FM systems can be purchased to use with teachers, friends or family members. The person you want to hear can use a clip-on microphone and you have an ear phone, which allows you to hear the person's voice directly without background noise. You can also set the microphone on the table to hear people speaking around you. Many theaters, places of worship, public meeting places, conference rooms, classrooms and convention centers have built in FM systems. When visiting such a place you can ask to use its FM system via provided headphones or by switching your hearing aid to a built-in FM setting.
  Infrared systems: Often used at home with TV, infrared allows sound to be transferred using light waves. An infrared device can be hooked up to your TV, and when wearing special headphones, you'll be able to hear the TV as loud as you'd like. Everyone else in the room can keep the TV volume at a comfortable level while you adjust the volume via your infrared headset.
  Amplified devices: Phones, alarms and answering machines are amplified via a microphone. By making the sound louder, it becomes easier for the hearing-impaired person to hear. Amplified electronics are sold at most local electronics stores.