Smartphones are everywhere nowadays. Everyone has one, and we carry them around with us every place we go. And many new models of hearing aids connect wirelessly to your smartphone so you can stream music, phone calls, and any other audio directly to your hearing aids. You can also control settings, change programs, and more—right from your phone. And something prevalent on every device is smartphone apps.
Even if you don’t have smartphone-compatible hearing aids, your smartphone can still help you navigate the world easier if you have trouble hearing. Here are three of the top smartphone apps to use if you have hearing loss.
Clear Captions
For many people with hearing loss, talking on the phone can be frustrating—even if you already wear hearing aids. The Clear Captions app automatically creates captions for your phone calls, so you can hear and read the captions at the same time. The captions can appear on your smartphone, tablet, or desktop computer. Learn more about Clear Captions here.
Tunity
Even after getting hearing aids, it can still be difficult to hear all the dialogue on the TV—especially if there are other conversations going on or if you’re in a crowded restaurant or airport. With the Tunity app you can get audio from any live TV program streamed right to your phone. You simply use the app’s camera function to take a picture of the show you’re watching, and the audio will sync to your phone automatically! Then you can listen through headphones (or stream it directly to your hearing aids with smartphone-compatible models). Learn more about the Tunity app here.
Sound Alert
It’s hard to understand how important sound is to our everyday lives until hearing becomes difficult. Sounds like a ringing phone, doorbell, beeping of the microwave, smoke alarms, and honking cars let us know what’s going on around us and alert us to danger. The Sound Alert app acts like a second set of ears. It alerts you to these sounds by making your phone flash or vibrate when it hears noises that you specify. Learn more about the Sound Alert app here.
Hearing aids have come a long way. They’re smaller and more powerful with new technology that helps us connect to the world in ways we couldn’t have dreamed of just a few years ago. If you’re looking for other ways to use your smartphone to help you hear better, try these additional apps.