Got my mom a Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact with 4.6" HD Display. It’s running Android 9. She’s transitioning from a flip phone and wanted a small smartphone.
I setup a Samsung tablet for her last year. She uses the tablet daily and learned the basics about Android.
She hasn’t used the Android phone App yet. She really wants to move from her flip phone.
We’re worried because of her hearing impairment. She has new hearing aids (bought in March) but rarely uses them. That’s a common issue with the elderly.
She barely can hear calls on her flip phone in speaker phone mode. This Sony doesn’t get as loud in speakerphone mode. I have my Simm card in it and have been running system updates and installing Apps.
A phone is a vital lifeline for mom. Talking with the doctor offices, her pacemaker monitor, and family. She wears a emergency pendant in case of falls. But she may try to call 911 anyhow. She has to be able to communicate on her phone. It could be a medical emergency.
Seems like there should be Apps for the hearing impaired. Specifically for using the phone. I’ve looked in the play store and haven’t found anything specific for phone calls. Amplified music seems to be the main purpose for the apps I found.
I Need recommendations for hearing impaired (phone calls) Android Apps.
I wish she could have a transition period where her flip phone and smartphone both worked. I talked with Consumer Cellular and that’s not allowed.
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Once they send a Simm card and it’s activated, mom’s flip phone stops working. Sink or swim. Her ability to communicate will be her Smartphone.
We could get another telephone number. That doubles the bill and would be temporary. We wouldn’t give that number out to mom’s doctors and other important contacts. The phone would rarely ring and she wouldn’t get any practice with the phone App
Most hearing aids these days can receive a signal directly from a phone, a theater’s sound system, or home theater/stereo. They do this using a telecoil. This works differently from simply amplifying the sounds moving through the air.
And here are some different folks who also have telecoil hearing aids for sale:
I hope this helps. I have moderate-to-severe hearing loss and I wear hearing aids. Mine are mid-level in terms of price/quality/features but they do not have a telecoil, which really bums me out. I especially could use one for playing and listening to music. Right now with the ones I have music sounds like a maddening cacophony of dissonant cat-screeches.
I’ll check and see what brand/model hearing aids my mom bought. She just bought a new set in March. They should be the latest and greatest tech.
I’ll Google after finding out what brand they are. See the capabilities.
I discovered the App I installed is just adjusting the in-call volume slider in the Phone, settings, sounds menu. I set the App to 1 and the slider went all the way down. App to 8 and the slider is maxed out.
It’s probably a limitation in Android Studio. Developers often can’t do anything beyond what a screen setting can do.
Just as a reminder when you do research… all the companies have their own lingo for all the POW! ZoOm! NEAT-O! things you can get only from their brand and no one else!!! But a telecoil is just a simple metal coil. A hearing aid either has one, or it doesnt.
The aid companies will have a zillion other technologies they will try to sell you on but the T-coil is independent of all that blather. By itself a T-coil will likely do far more than any “magic” $8,000 hearing aid could do without one*. The gadgetry and promises and big $$$ are all in the signal processing that happens after the telecoil (or the microphone) picks up the signal in the first place.
That being said, a telecoil will do absolutely nothing to help (or hurt) your mother’s “through air” hearing (e.g. normal conversation). A T-coil is simply an alternative to a microphone for picking up sounds in situations where that would be beneficial. Like phone calls.
*only in cases using certain electronic devices like a cell phone or a movie theater’s sound system
I very rarely use my smartphone for voice calls, preferring text, due to hearing loss and poor phone-hearing aid performance. For voicemail, Apple has a great speech-to-text app, does Android offer that?
When I register with a doctor, for example, I’ll mention my hearing loss and ask if contact can be via text or email. The one time someone said it wasn’t an option, I stopped the registration process right there and kept looking for a provider.
First, you really need to encourage her to wear her hearing aids all the time (except when she’s sleeping, of course). It makes a huge difference in how effective they are.
Second, do her hearing aids have BT capability? If they do, you can probably get a small unit that uses BT from the cell phone and transmits the sound to her aids. The units have microphones and you clip them to your clothes or hang them from a lanyard. They work very well.
That’s a common issue with the elderly.