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amplifiers for hearing loss – make it louder!

By Andrea Kaneb
woman yelling into megaphone as an example of amplifiers for hearing loss
Photo by Andrea Piacquadio, pexels.com

Amplifiers for hearing loss that make sounds louder so you can hear more. Ensuring that sounds are loud enough is the first and most important step to hearing well. Above all, the best amplifier for you depends on your degree of hearing loss and your needs.

Examples of amplifiers:

  • Traditional prescription hearing aids
  • OTC (Over-The-Counter) hearing aids
  • handheld personal amplifiers
  • Personal Sound Amplification products
  • mobile phone amplification apps
  • landline phone amplifiers

Most important, people with significant hearing loss need a device customized for their hearing needs. This is typically a hearing aid(s). People with even more hearing difficulties should consider a cochlear implant. Hearing aids should provide enough power to last all day. There are rechargeable or battery powered models. In addition, they also need to be comfortable.

Other factors to consider when choosing an amplifier:

  • lifestyle
  • sound quality
  • a comfortable fit
  • styling
  • insurance coverage and budget
  • dexterity issues
  • battery life

Above all, it’s important to remember that exposure to loud noise can damage your hearing.

Traditional Prescription Hearing aids

Traditional prescription hearing aids are excellent for amplification, because they are programmed for your specifics needs by an audiologist of hearing instrument specialist. After administering various hearing tests, these aids are programmed to amplify sounds in specific intensities and frequency ranges based on your unique hearing loss. They also feature many algorithms to process sound for comfort and different environments. Rechargeable hearing aids help people with dexterity issues and newer models can even alert others if you fall. No one should be denied a hearing aid due to costs. Efforts continue to get Medicare coverage for hearing aids, because they cost $2300 for one on average, mainly for services. Be sure to check your insurance. The VA, some non-profits and foundations provide assistance as well. Costco is well known for their value and a dispenser who “unbundles” services is likely to reduce costs for experienced users. People with severe to profound hearing loss usually benefit tremendously from a cochlear implant.

 

 Over-the-Counter (OTC) Hearing Aids

Over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids are a new category of hearing aids. OTC hearing aids are for adults with mild-to-moderate hearing loss. They are available for purchase online or in stores without visiting a hearing care professional. For more information, visit the FDA’s website.

 

handheld personal amplifiers

Handheld amplifiers are a simple, wired, relatively inexpensive way to make nearby sounds louder, often for brief conversation.  They consist of a microphone, volume control and a headphone jack for wired headphones or ear buds. They amplify all sounds across all frequencies the same amount, although some have a tone control that narrows it a bit. The two examples here are the Pocketalker 2.0, which is quite popular due to its user friendliness, telecoil, and tone control and the SuperEar, which is popular in hospitals due to its low cost and simplicity.

You can find amplifiers like these online and at vendors that specialize in hearing assistive technology.

 

 

Personal Sound Amplification Products (PSAPs), hearables and direct-to-consumer hearing aids

PSAPs and hearables are amplifiers worn on the ear, in some cases appearing very similar to hearing aids. They are not considered medical devices by the FDA and therefore not marketable to people with hearing loss. There are also companies that sell hearing aids directly to consumers after submitting an audiogram, sometimes mistakenly called OTC. It’s a confusing situation. Learn more from this NY Times review

 

mobile phone amplification apps

Smartphones can also be used as amplifiers using apps that work with wired headphones/earbuds and sometimes wirelessly. You need to grant access to the microphone. Some examples are Sound Amplifier (Android only), EarMachine (iOS only) , Jacoti Listen app (iOS only) and Petralex , to name a few. The Live Listen feature on iPhones also works with made-for-iPhone (MFi) hearing aids.

 

landline phone amplifiers

 

Some landline phones have extra amplifiers built-in. There are also very basic and user friendly amplifiers you can attach in line to your landline phone and battery-operated versions that attach onto the phone handset that are great for travel.

You can find off-the-shelf amplified phone and add-on amplifiers online and at vendors that specialize in hearing assistive technology.

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