Hearing On The Phone

Even if the other party's voice is loud enough to hear, you might have trouble recognizing the words. This problem is typical of high frequency hearing loss. The National Institutes of Health estimates this is by far the most common type of hearing loss.

Many factors contribute to difficulty hearing on the phone, including the quality of the telephone network/internet connection and the quality of the sound from the phone set.

In addition, Hearing Aid and Cellphone compatibility is an important consideration. A hearing aid's ability to reject radio frequency (RF) noise that may be caused by a cellphone or other sources impacts how clearly speech is heard on a call. Check with the hearing aid manufacturer for specifications.

Also, check the Hearing Aid Compatibility rating of your cellphone on manufacturer's website. A higher rating is better. When shopping for a phone, look for a high HAC rating.

And telecoils have important advantages in other hearing situations, as you will see in other areas on this website. For this and other hearing situations, we strongly recommend OTC hearing aids with a telecoil.

Also, we recommend that even if you eventually decide to buy prescription hearing aids instead of OTCs, check that they have a telecoil because some of the smaller or thinner models might not have room for them.