How to Manage Hearing Loss with Your Smartphone

How to Manage Hearing Loss with Your Smartphone

There is a considerable probability that you or a close family member will experience hearing loss during your lifetime. The National Center for Health Statistics estimates that 13% of US individuals have some hearing loss, and this issue is spreading globally. By 2050, the World Health Organization expects that 1 in 4 people will have hearing loss of some kind.

You probably carry a gadget in your pocket that can be useful if you frequently find yourself turning up the TV level, having trouble hearing the doorbell or following discussions in busy settings, or any other issue. Although many of us could benefit, accessibility features are frequently thought of as being for people with severe hearing loss.

I've compiled a list of many smartphone functions below that I evaluated with the assistance of family members who suffer from various degrees of hearing loss. To learn more about these features in iPhones and Android, I also chatted with Apple and Google. Both businesses assert that they collaborate with deaf and hard-of-hearing groups to solicit feedback and fresh concepts.

How to Avoid Hearing Loss

Although there are many factors that can lead to hearing loss, persistent exposure to loud noise is one that we can all take steps to prevent (85 decibels or higher). It is crucial to safeguard your hearing in loud situations because hearing loss is sometimes irreversible and hearing damage can lead to chronic diseases like tinnitus (which is typically felt as a ringing in the ears).

It can be challenging for us to determine volume levels precisely, so why not let your phone or smartwatch handle it? Set a maximum volume limit on your phone to begin. For both Android and iPhone devices, we offer instructions here on how to do this.

There are a few built-in tools from Apple that can help you keep track of volume. Go to Settings > Control Center > Hearing on your iPhone or iPad if you have headphones or earbuds connected. The decibel level may be seen by opening the Control Center, tapping the ear symbol, and then connecting your headphones and playing audio. You can use Live Listen to detect the ambient noise level if your headphones feature a microphone.

possess an Apple Watch? On your iPhone, launch the Apple Watch app, select My Watch from the menu, and then select Noise > Noise Threshold. You can specify a decibel level so that your Apple Watch warns you when the average sound level reaches or surpasses that threshold for three minutes after viewing the WHO exposure guidelines. On your iPhone, go to the Health app's Hearing section under the Browse tab to review the headphone audio and ambient sound levels for the last year.

Although Android doesn't have a built-in volume metre, you can download a free app like Sound Meter to monitor the noise level in decibels (although the accuracy will depend on the quality of microphones in your device).

Wearing hearing protection can help lower your risk in loud settings like concerts. For additional inspiration, look out our guide to the Best Earplugs.

How to Use Your Phone's Real-Time Captions

Without a Wi-Fi or cellular connection, Google's Live Caption function can instantly and automatically caption videos and spoken audio on your smartphone (everything happens on-device). Go to Settings > Accessibility > Live Caption on any Android 10 or later-running device to use it. Go to Settings > About phone > Android version to find out what version of Android you are on.

In Google's Chrome browser, Live Caption is also an option. Turn on Live Caption by selecting More (three vertical dots) > Settings > Accessibility.

You can utilise Live Caption for Calls if you have a Pixel 2 or newer Pixel phone, albeit it currently only supports English. When Live Caption is toggled on, you'll be asked if you want to use it each time you make or receive a call. However, you may toggle it off by going to Settings > Accessibility > Live Caption > Caption calls.

If you go to Settings > Accessibility > Live Caption > Type responses during calls on a Pixel 6 or Pixel 6 Pro (9/10, WIRED Recommends), you'll see an additional option. This enables you to type responses that your caller can hear read aloud. The voice you want to use for these typed responses can also be chosen.

Apple does not currently have a live captioning system, but it has stated that it will be adding a new Live Captions feature to the iPhone, iPad, and Mac later this year. It will function with video conferencing software, FaceTime calls, streaming video, and even in-person interactions. When you install iOS 16, it will work with iPhone 11 and later models, iPad models with the A12 Bionic and later models, Macs with Apple hardware, although it will initially only support English. You can enable Closed Captions + SDH till then by going to Settings > Accessibility > Subtitles & Captioning (subtitles for the deaf or hard of hearing).

How to Use Mobile Live Transcriptions

The Live Transcribe & notification app for Android, which was released in 2019, supports more than 80 languages and instantly transforms audio to text on your phone's screen. You can type responses using it as well. The programme can be downloaded and used on any phone running Android 6.0 or higher, but Google's Pixel phones include built-in capabilities that can be accessed by going to Settings > Accessibility > Live Transcribe. A shortcut can be activated for easy access.

 The programme was created with input from Gallaudet University and was inspired by Dimitri Kanevsky, a research scientist at Google who has been deaf since he was a little boy. Live Transcribe is a tool that can be altered. You can set up your phone to vibrate when someone says your name or when the discussion picks back up after a lull, store transcriptions for later use, and add unique terms and phrases.

Apple does not currently offer a service that is comparable, but it appears that the upcoming Live Captions will be able to record talks. There are a few iOS apps that iPhone owners may find helpful while they wait for Live Captions, like as Microsoft's Group

Transcribe.

    Using Your Phone to Listen for You

Your smartphone can listen for you if you frequently miss guests at your door because you don't hear the doorbell or a knock, or if you worry that you won't hear a smoke alarm.

You can discover Apple's Sound Recognition feature under Settings > Accessibility. Your iPhone can use it to listen for a variety of sounds (fire or smoke alarms, cats or dogs, doorbells, knocking, glass breaking, a baby crying, and more). To turn on LED Flash for Alerts, navigate to Settings > Accessibility > Audio/Visual.

A comparable function is provided by Google in its Live Transcribe & notification app. On Pixel phones, it is already included, but on the majority of other Android smartphones, you must download and set up the software. Open Sound Notifications by selecting it under Settings > Accessibility > Sound Notifications. You may choose sounds and change your notification preferences (including turning on the phone's flash to alert you) by tapping the Settings cog in the top right corner of the screen.

How to Use Your Headphones to Filter Sounds

You might be able to get your smartphone to assist you in amplifying and filtering sound, whether you use wireless earbuds or wireless headphones.

You may raise high or low frequencies, eliminate noise, and apply various settings to each ear using the Sound Amplifier app for Android. When watching videos or other material on your phone, you can use the feature, which requires headphones.

Use Conversation Mode with headphones if you have a Pixel phone (Pixel 3 or later). You can lessen background noise and focus on your conversation partner more simply by directing your phone's camera at them or flipping the camera and having them hold your phone (this function is for busy settings like cafés where background noise can be an issue).

Anyone who owns an iPhone and has compatible Apple or Beats headphones can enhance the clarity of music, movies, phone calls, and podcasts by adjusting the sound to their hearing needs. Turn on Headphone Accommodations under Settings > Accessibility > Audio/Visual, then select Custom Audio Setup. By placing your iPhone's microphone close to people, you can utilise Live Listen to hear them better if you go to Settings > Control Center and add Hearing.

You can utilise Transparency Mode if you have AirPods Pro or AirPods Max. To select how much ambient noise to allow, go to Settings > Accessibility > Audio/Visual > Headphone Accommodations > Transparency Mode, then turn on Custom Transparency Mode and Ambient Noise Reduction.

You can also use Conversation Boost with the AirPods Pro (8/10, WIRED Recommends), which you can find under Transparency Mode. Wearing your AirPods for in-person chats is required because the feature enhances voices. You may activate it by accessing Control Center and using a set of sliders to adjust the amplification, balance, tone, and ambient noise once you have enabled it and added Hearing to the Control Center via Settings (it will remember your preferences).

Using Hearing Aids with a Phone

 Apple offers a hearing aid programme called Made for iPhone (MFi). Most of the capabilities we listed above for headphones on your hearing aid are available when you connect supported hearing aids to an iPhone via Bluetooth. For instance, you can use your iPhone's microphone by going to Settings > Accessibility, choosing Hearing Devices, and then starting Live Listen to hear people better. Additionally, you can immediately stream podcasts or music to your hearing aids.

Depending on the manufacturer, MFi hearing devices typically offer additional settings that may be controlled through Control Center (with Hearing added) or through the Accessibility shortcut, which can be enabled and customised in Settings > Accessibility > Accessibility Shortcut.

Although additional capabilities differ depending on the phone maker, pairing hearing aids with Android phones is the same as pairing any other Bluetooth device. Check your phone's HAC (Hearing Aid Compatibility) to discover what it can do. The Google Pixel hearing aid compatibility page, for instance, can be found here. It's a good idea to check compatibility before you buy because certain hearing aids can now stream music and podcasts directly to hearing aids from Android phones.

The Reason Why Some Android Accessibility Features Are Built Into Pixels

You might be asking why certain hearing accessibility capabilities are available as separate apps for other Android devices yet built into Google's Pixel phones. This enables the accessibility team to test out new ideas on the Pixel, where Google designs the hardware, according to Angana Ghosh, director of Product Management for Input and Accessibility at Google, especially since some phones might not be able to perform as much on-device processing as others.

By keeping some functions as standalone apps, it is also possible to update them often, allowing other Android phones to take advantage of the most recent advancements without having to wait for firmware updates, which are frequently less frequent on non-Pixel phones.