Technological Advances In Hearing Loss

Technological Advances In Hearing LossThere are lots of things that occur in our environment today that we may give little to no thought to – fire alarms going off, doorbells ringing, babies crying. Typically, all that’s needed is an auditory alert to know how to react to these things. However, if you find yourself suffering from hearing loss you may miss out on these alerts. This is why there are a lot of other types of alerting methods available for use today.

Turn Up the Alert’s Volume

When you find that your hearing loss is preventing you from hearing an alert you may simply need to make the alert louder. This is something that can be done with most items. In fact, you may be able to amplify these alerts to as much as 100 dB (decibels). For instance, when it comes to making your telephone louder, there are several telephone manufacturers that can be of significant help with extra loud ringtones.

Visualize the Alert

Something else to consider are visual alerts for the hearing impaired. These are normally flashing lights that works well for telephones, alarm clocks, and even doorbells. Many of these items may already have a visual alert option already built into them so that both the audio and the visual alert can be activated at the same time.

If you own an iPhone there’s a feature that’s already built into your smartphone for this. It’s under the Audio/Visual Hearing category under Accessibility. Here you’ll be able to turn on the LED flash for alerts. Some Android phones also have this feature in their notifications settings.

Make the Alert Tactile

When you’re concerned that you might sleep through an important auditory or visual alert you may need to use a tactile alert. For instance, you may want to place a vibrating pad underneath your mattress or pillow so that you’re shaken awake if an important alarm (e.g. baby monitor, fire alarm) should go off. It’s also possible to set up a tactile alert from your smartphone if you have either a smartwatch or an exercise tracker. By linking these together you won’t have to worry that your hearing loss is causing you to miss out on something important.

User Your Smartphone for Alerts

Smartphone technology is improving to the point that it’ll soon be able to alert those who are suffering from hearing loss to ambient sounds. In fact, with Apple’s latest iOS you’re able to receive alerts when your smartphone detects a sound that you’ve chosen to monitor.

Many Android phones include a sound notifications feature now within their settings. There are also apps available for those that don’t already have this feature.

When you get an alerting device it’ll provide you with visual, tactile, or sound-based cues to keep you safe as you maintain your independence while living with hearing loss. Talk to Countryside Hearing Aids Services in Clearwater and Pinellas County to see what they recommend for your specific challenges.

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