Revolutionary apps for people with hearing loss
Living with hearing loss is difficult, annoying and sometimes embarrassing. However, we are lucky to be alive at a time when technology is growing every day and improving to be the best it’s ever been, including in the medical world.
In the era of smart phones, those hard of hearing now have an helpful, “on hand” resource to assist with everyday hearing difficulties. Listed below are apps for iPhones and iPads that help those who are deaf or hard of hearing to better communicate, organise and enjoy everyday life.
BioAid
BioAid aims to regulate loudness both by making quiet sounds louder and loud sounds quieter. It may seem strange that the app makes things quitter, however a loss of hearing is usually loss of sensitivity to some but not all frequencies. The different settings in BioAid amplify different frequencies by different amounts. You can also turn certain noises down to make many situations more endurable for those with an intolerance to noisy environments.
TapTap
TapTap is designed to assist the deaf and hearing impaired by alerting the user when a loud noise has been made near them. Simply launch the TapTap app and it will vibrate and flash to notify you that there's been a loud noise or if someone speaks in your vicinity. You can adjust the sensitivity to suit your environment and personal comfort level.
uHear
uHear is a screening tool which allows you to test your hearing to determine if it is within normal range, or if you have a potential hearing loss. uHear allows you to assess your hearing in less than 5 minutes via three different tests.
MobileSign
MobileSign is a free British Sign Language lexicon app with over 4000 signs accessed using a predictive search engine. You can use MobileSign to create and manage your own lists of signs and MobileSign will automatically keep a list of your recently viewed signs for repeat access later.
Dragon Dictation
This truly is the app of the future. Although it can often make mistakes, it is fairly successful in its voice recognition technology. Dragon is usually used for sending text messages by speaking but can be used to dictate what someone else’s speech if you are having trouble hearing them (especially in a crowded place).
Pedius
Pedius is a communication system that allows deaf people to make telephone calls using the technologies of speech recognition and synthesis. When a call is made using the app, the user types a message on the screen. This is translated to speech in real time, so the recipient can hear the request or conversation. Their spoken response is then immediately translated into text.
Related links:
Childhood illnesses linked to hearing loss later in life
Questions everyone should ask an audiologist