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(Rockville, MD–August 26, 2009) Although matters have reportedly improved, hearing aid users can still experience audio interference when they use a cell phone.
The problem can be far-reaching. According to the Hearing Industries Association, 6 million people wear hearing aids, and statistics from the National Health Survey show that approximately 36 million people could benefit from wearing a hearing aid. In addition, 55 million people have some form of hearing loss, according to doctors from Johns Hopkins University.
Featuring Brenda Battat, Executive Director of the Hearing Loss Association of America, and Tim Creagan, Senior Accessibility Specialist with the U.S. Access Board, the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association's (ASHA) new podcast has information for consumers to help ensure that they don’t encounter problems in the area of hearing aid–cell phone compatibility.
Among the consumer tips that Battat and Creagan offer:
- Look on the box of the cell phone for the highest ratings of "M" (microphone) and "T" (telephone switch). The higher the rating the better—"at least a three or four," says Battat.
- "Try before you buy." The FCC requires company owned stores to allow people with hearing loss to try out a phone before it’s purchased.
- A "flip phone" moves interference further away from the hearing aid and thus may be a better choice for hearing aid users.
Read the transcript of and listen to the podcast at http://podcast.asha.org. Find an audiologist and speech language pathologist in your area at www.asha.org/findpro/.
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About the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association
ASHA is the national professional, scientific, and credentialing association for more than 135,000 audiologists, speech-language pathologists, and speech, language, and hearing scientists. Audiologists specialize in preventing and assessing hearing and balance disorders as well as providing audiologic treatment including hearing aids. Speech-language pathologists identify, assess, and treat speech and language problems including swallowing disorders.
View all ASHA press releases at www.asha.org/about/news.
Hear all ASHA podcasts at http://podcast.asha.org.
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