Beyond Hearing Aids: Assistive Listening Devices That Make a Difference

Hearing aids are the foundation of hearing loss management. They work well in most everyday situations: conversations, television, phone calls, and quiet environments. But there are situations where even the best hearing aids struggle.

Noisy restaurants. Large lecture halls. Conference rooms with poor acoustics. Worship services in echoey buildings. Watching a movie in a theatre. These are environments where the distance between you and the speaker, the background noise, or the room acoustics make it physically difficult for a hearing aid to deliver clean speech.

Assistive listening devices are designed to close that gap. They work alongside hearing aids, not as replacements, to deliver sound more directly in challenging situations.

FM systems

An FM system is a wireless microphone that the speaker wears or places near the sound source. It transmits the signal directly to a receiver connected to your hearing aids, bypassing room noise and distance.

FM systems are widely used in classrooms. A teacher wears a small microphone, and the student’s hearing aids receive the teacher’s voice at a consistent, clear level regardless of where the teacher is in the room. The student still hears classmates and environmental sounds through the hearing aid microphones, but the teacher’s voice is prioritized.

FM systems are not just for schools. They work well in meetings, lectures, religious services, and any situation where one person is speaking to a group. Some people use portable FM systems at restaurants by placing the microphone near their dining companion.

Modern FM systems are small and discreet. The transmitter clips to a collar or lanyard. The receiver connects to hearing aids via a small boot or through the hearing aid’s built-in telecoil.

Roger systems

Roger is a newer wireless technology from Phonak that uses adaptive digital signal processing instead of traditional FM radio. It automatically adjusts the transmission based on the noise level in the room, delivering a stronger signal in noisier environments.

Roger microphones come in several forms: a clip-on mic for a single speaker, a pen-shaped mic that can be placed on a table for group conversations, and a touchscreen tabletop mic that picks up multiple speakers in a meeting.

Roger receivers are compatible with most hearing aid brands, not just Phonak. They attach to the hearing aid or, with some models, are integrated directly into the hearing aid itself.

Roger systems tend to outperform traditional FM in noisy environments. They are more expensive, but for people who regularly encounter difficult listening situations, the improvement in speech clarity can be substantial.

Telecoils and hearing loops

A telecoil, or t-coil, is a small copper coil built into many hearing aids. When activated, it picks up magnetic signals from hearing loop systems installed in public spaces.

A hearing loop is a wire installed around the perimeter of a room, connected to the room’s sound system. It creates a magnetic field that the telecoil in your hearing aid picks up directly. The result is the same as a direct audio feed: you hear the speaker or performance clearly, without background noise or distance degradation.

Hearing loops are common in theatres, concert halls, places of worship, airport gate areas, bank teller windows, and transit information counters. In Edmonton, several public venues and churches have loop systems installed. Look for the blue ear symbol with a T at the entrance.

To use a hearing loop, switch your hearing aid to the telecoil program. Your audiologist can set this up and show you how to switch between programs.

If your hearing aids do not have a telecoil, ask whether your next pair can include one. It is a small addition that opens up a lot of public accessibility.

TV streamers and adapters

Television is one of the most common sources of conflict in households with a hearing aid user. The person with hearing loss turns the volume up. Everyone else finds it too loud. Someone compromises, and nobody is happy.

TV streamers solve this by sending audio from the television directly to your hearing aids via Bluetooth or a proprietary wireless signal. You hear the TV at whatever volume works for you. Everyone else hears it at their preferred volume through the TV speakers.

Most hearing aid manufacturers sell a compatible TV adapter. It connects to the television’s audio output (usually a digital optical port or headphone jack), plugs into power, and pairs with your hearing aids. Setup takes about five minutes.

The audio quality through hearing aids is often better than through TV speakers, because the hearing aids are processing the sound specifically for your hearing loss.

Captioned telephones

Standard phone calls can be difficult with hearing loss, even with Bluetooth hearing aids. Captioned telephones display a real-time text transcription of what the other person is saying while you listen to their voice.

In Canada, several services provide captioned telephone options. Some are standalone devices with a built-in screen. Others work through smartphone apps that display captions during calls.

For people with moderate to severe hearing loss, captioned phones can be the difference between making phone calls independently and avoiding the phone altogether.

Amplified phones and ringers

If you do not need full captioning, amplified phones boost the incoming voice volume beyond what a standard phone offers. Many also have adjustable tone controls that let you emphasize higher frequencies where most speech information lives.

Amplified ringers and flashing-light alerts ensure you do not miss incoming calls. Some systems connect to your doorbell and smoke alarms as well, providing visual or vibrating alerts for important sounds.

Personal amplifiers

A personal amplifier, sometimes called a pocket talker, is a small device with a microphone and headphones or earbuds. It amplifies sound in the immediate environment. They are not hearing aids and they do not process sound the way a hearing aid does, but they can help in specific situations.

Some people use personal amplifiers while waiting for hearing aids to be fitted, during travel, or as a backup device. They are available without a prescription and cost between 30 and 200 dollars depending on the model.

They are not a substitute for properly fitted hearing aids. But in a pinch, they provide basic amplification.

Smartphone apps

Several free and paid apps provide hearing assistance:

Sound amplification apps use the phone’s microphone to amplify nearby speech and route it through earbuds or hearing aids. Google’s Sound Amplifier and Apple’s Live Listen feature are built-in examples.

Speech-to-text apps provide real-time captions for in-person conversations. Google’s Live Transcribe and Apple’s Live Captions work well for one-on-one conversations and small groups.

Sound measurement apps let you check the noise level in your environment. Useful for deciding whether a restaurant or venue will be manageable.

These apps supplement but do not replace hearing aids or professional assistive devices.

Finding the right assistive devices in Edmonton

At Medicine Place Hearing Care, we help patients identify which assistive devices will make the biggest difference in their specific situations. Sometimes the hearing aid itself just needs a program adjustment. Other times, an FM system, TV streamer, or telecoil activation is the missing piece.

We carry assistive devices from major manufacturers and can demonstrate them in clinic so you can experience the difference before purchasing.

Book an assistive listening consultation at Medicine Place Hearing Care in Edmonton.