Did you know that there are a number of Apps available for Hearing Aids? Doorbells, washing machines, refrigerators, and sound systems have smartphone apps these days. So it should come as no surprise that many hearing aids also have apps associated with them.
In an article in Healthy Hearing, Madeleine Burry shares information about Hearing Aid Apps.
“Apps are how we live our lives now,” says Shannon Basham, AuD, senior director of audiology and education at Phonak, which makes hearing aid solutions, including a hearing aid app.
Apps can make something strange and new—wearing hearing aids—feel familiar, she says. They offer a wide range of useful features, and perhaps most importantly, hearing aid apps help people who wear the devices to personalize their experience, which can be deeply empowering, Basham says.
“Every single person who needs a hearing aid, their hearing loss and their communication needs are so individualized,” Basham says. Apps allow people to tailor their listening experience, instead of trying to fit into a cookie-cutter situation, she says.
What features are available through apps?
Different apps offer different features, of course. But some of the features you can expect to see on many hearing aid apps include the following:
You can adjust the hearing aid: “Hearing aids are remarkable in that they can read the soundscenes and automatically adjust to the noise levels in the room,” Basham says. But if you want the flexibility to adjust the volume, treble, bass, and so on even further, apps allow you to do so through your smartphone—which can be incredibly discrete—rather than reaching up to your ear to manually push buttons. Doing this, Basham says, is analogous to adjusting your stereo settings.
You can create and save personalized hearing programs: For instance, if you often find hearing in a particular cafe particularly challenging, you can adjust the levels to suit your hearing, and then save it so that you can use it again the next time you’re in that environment. Some hearing aids may come with baked-in programs from your hearing care provider, as well as ones designed to mask tinnitus.
You can check the device’s status: Apps often allow you to check on the battery life of your hearing aids—that way, you’ll know when they need to be recharged or replaced. Many apps also offer a “find my hearing aid” type feature to locate the device. Apps often provide statistics—so you can see, for instance, how many hours you’ve had the hearing aids on per day/week/month.
Your hearing aids can connect directly to audio: With apps, you can connect directly to audio sources, so you can stream music and TV, along with phone calls, straight to your hearing aids.
You can connect to the Internet of Things: So many daily tasks travel together. For instance, in the morning, people turn on their hearing aids, make coffee, take a shower. At night, they turn off hearing aids, turn off lights, set the alarm. You can use smart technology and IFTTT (“if this, then that”) services to trigger certain events to occur when you turn your hearing aids on and off.
You can review instructions and the manual: If you’re new to your hearing aids, the apps can help steer you through basic functionality—handy if you happen to need to look up how to change the batteries when you’re far from home.
Read the full article by CLICKING HERE.
We are here to help if you or a family member is having any difficulties with hearing, hearing aids, hearing aid apps or Tinnitus please give us a call at 727-323-2471 and set up an appointment.
We can help you.
Susan E. Terry, Au.D., F-AAA, F-NAP
Doctor of Audiology
Board Certified
P.S. We are here to help if you have any questions about your hearing, feel free to give us a call at 727-323-2471