Loop your Living Room!

In addition to large area inductive loop systems, there are also smaller loops for use in the home.  They are great for watching television.  If you loop your living room, you can listen to TV with your t-coils.   With your hearing aid microphone off, background noise will be muted and you can adjust the TV volume using the volume control on your hearing aids.  Other people in the room can listen to the TV at a comfortable volume and no more getting yelled at to “Turn down the TV!”

Now Hear This!

Still not convinced about t-coils and hearing loops?

Well, now hear this>>>

Person with hearing loss sitting in church with NO hearing loop installed.

And now hear this>>>

Person with hearing loss sitting in church with hearing loop installed.

Thanks to LeRoy “Max” Maxfield and Juliette Sterkens of http://www.loopwisconsin.com for this audio demonstration.

🙂

Get in the Loop!

When shopping for a new hearing aid, you may be told that you do not need a t-coil.  I respectfully disagree! Please note, I am not an audiologist, but many people have told me that the new hearing aids come with wireless technology, so t-coils aren’t needed.  Yes, hearing aids by Oticon, Phonak, Siemens, Resound (and maybe more) can wirelessly connect with TV’s, cell phones, land lines and more!  All this technology is fabulous!  BUT, when you walk into a theater, church, or auditorium with an inductive loop system installed, you need a t-coil!  Inductive loops (or “hearing loops”) will transmit sound wireless into your hearing aids if you have a t-coil.  You don’t need to use headphones.  So, it is great to get connected with all the latest hearing aid technology, but don’t be left out of the “loop”.

The Hearing Loss Association and the American Academy of Audiology (AAA) have teamed up to help people “Get in the Hearing Loop”.  They are working together to spread the word about  hearing loops.  You can learn more about hearing loops from the AAA Fact Sheet on Hearing Loops and check out the excellent Hearingloop.org website.

Super Hearing

OK.  So now you are an expert in t-coils.  So what?  Well, think about this.  If you wear hearing aids, you have to remove them to use headphones or earbuds.  But, if you have t-coils in your hearing aids you don’t have to do that.  You can wear a neckloop that will wirelessly transmit sound into your hearing aids.  Not only that, but you can turn off the microphone on your aids which will quiet everything except what you really want to hear…..AND that sound that is coming into your t-coils will be adjusted according your personal hearing loss!  Wow!  It is almost like…Super Hearing!

 

Follow Your Dreams!

Dream

Just had to share this fabulous video.  Hey, we ain’t over the hill yet!  Follow your dreams!

T-coil? What’s a t-coil?

The first thing I ask someone who comes to me for an assisted listening device is, “Do you wear hearing aids and do you have a t-coil?” The most likely response is “Yes, I wear hearing aids. What’s a t-coil?” This saddens me as t-coils are so important and most people don’t know if they have them and don’t know how to turn them on if they do. So, the first step in improving your hearing in those challenging environments is to learn about t-coils.

A t-coil (or telecoil) is a small, copper, coiled wire inside your hearing aid that can make your hearing aids work like tiny in-your-ear receivers. They wirelessly receive sound from an inductive loop and amplify it according to your particular hearing loss. They can bridge distance, eliminate background noise, and help you hear much better than your hearing aids’ microphones might do in difficult situations such as in meetings, churches, cars, or noisy restaurants.  For more information about t-coils:   American Academy of Audiology (AAA) Fact Sheet on T-coils

Welcome to my Hear Gear Blog!

Welcome to my blog!  I will be posting information about hearing loss and the latest developments in technology to help you hear.  This will include information about hearing aids and assisted listening devices, links to interesting articles, and other related topics.  I hope you will find this helpful and would appreciate receiving your comments and any information you would like to share.

I am a member of the Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA) and our local San Diego Chapter (HLAA-SD).  I have a hearing loss and found great support in attending the HLAA-SD monthly meetings.  The meetings are both educational and social and this is where I began to learn about assisted listening devices.   As I learned more about the many different devices available to enhance hearing, I decided to start my own business, “Hear Gear”.  Through Hear Gear, I sell personal listening devices and large area listening systems.  I also present educational programs to organizations about “Hearing Loss Solutions”.  So, if you want to learn about “gear” to help you “hear”, this blog is for you!