Assistive Listening Devices in Sherman Oaks, CA

What Are Assistive Listening Devices?

The terms assistive device or assistive technology can refer to any device that helps a person with hearing loss or a voice, speech, or language disorder to communicate. These terms often refer to devices that help a person to hear and understand what is being said more clearly or to express thoughts more easily. With the development of digital and wireless technologies, more and more devices are becoming available to help people with voice, speech, listening, and language disorders communicate more meaningfully and participate more fully in their daily lives.

What Types of Assistive Devices Are Available?

Several types of ALDs are available to improve sound transmission for people with hearing loss or auditory processing difficulties:

• Assistive listening devices (ALDs) help amplify the sounds you want to hear, especially where there’s a lot of background noise. ALDs can be used with a hearing aid or cochlear implant to help a wearer hear certain sounds better.
• Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) devices help people with communication disorders to express themselves. These devices can range from a simple picture board to a computer program that synthesizes speech from text.
• Alerting devices connect to a doorbell, telephone, or alarm that emits a loud sound or blinking light to let someone with hearing loss know that an event is taking place.

What Types of Assistive Listening Devices Are Available?

Several types of ALDs are available to improve sound transmission for people with hearing loss. Some are designed for large facilities such as classrooms, theaters, places of worship, and airports. Other types are intended for personal use in small settings and for one-on-one conversations. All can be used with or without hearing aids or a cochlear implant. ALD systems for large facilities include hearing loop systems, frequency-modulated (FM) systems, and infrared systems.

“I was amazed at how Dr. Cohen helped me. The hearing aids she fitted me with improved my hearing. But the hearing exercises she led me on improved my hearing more than I ever expected. I ‘ve enjoyed a dramatic improvement.”

– Don S.

What Types of Augmentative and Alternative Communication Devices are Available for Communicating Face-to-Face?

The simplest AAC device is a picture board or touch screen that uses pictures or symbols of typical items and activities that make up a person’s daily life. For example, a person might touch the image of a glass to ask for a drink. Many picture boards can be customized and expanded based on a person’s age, education, occupation, and interests.

Keyboards, touch screens, and sometimes a person’s limited speech may be used to communicate desired words. Some devices employ a text display. The display panel typically faces outward so that two people can exchange information while facing each other. Spelling and word prediction software can make it faster and easier to enter information.

Speech-generating devices go one step further by translating words or pictures into speech. Some models allow users to choose from several different voices, such as male or female, child or adult, and even some regional accents. Some devices employ a vocabulary of prerecorded words while others have an unlimited vocabulary, synthesizing speech as words are typed in. Software programs that convert personal computers into speaking devices are also available.

What Types of Alerting Devices Are Available?

Alerting or alarm devices use sound, light, vibrations, or a combination of these techniques to let someone know when a particular event is occurring. Clocks and wake-up alarm systems allow a person to choose to wake up to flashing lights, horns, or a gentle shaking.

Visual alert signalers monitor a variety of household devices and other sounds, such as doorbells and telephones. When the phone rings, the visual alert signaler will be activated and will vibrate or flash a light to let people know. In addition, remote receivers placed around the house can alert a person from any room. Portable vibrating pagers can let parents and caretakers know when a baby is crying. Some baby monitoring devices analyze a baby’s cry and light up a picture to indicate if the baby sounds hungry, bored, or sleepy.

What Research is Being Conducted on Assistive Listening Technology?

The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) funds research into several areas of assistive technology, such as those described below.

• Improved listening devices for people with hearing loss
• NIDCD-funded researchers are developing devices that help people with varying degrees of hearing loss communicate with others. One team has developed a portable device in which two or more users type messages to each other that can be displayed simultaneously in real time. Another team is designing an ALD that amplifies and enhances speech for a group of individuals who are conversing in a noisy environment.

Improved devices for non-speaking people:

• More natural synthesized speech: NIDCD-sponsored scientists are also developing a personalized text-to-speech synthesis system that synthesizes speech that is more intelligible and natural sounding to be incorporated into speech-generating devices. Individuals who are at risk of losing their speaking ability can pre-record their own speech, which is then converted into their personal synthetic voice.
• Brain-computer interface research: A relatively new and exciting area of study is called brain-computer interface research. NIDCD-funded scientists are studying how neural signals in a person’s brain can be translated by a computer to help someone communicate. For example, people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease) or brainstem stroke lose their ability to move their arms, legs, or body. They can also become locked-in, where they are not able to express words, even though they are able to think and reason normally. By implanting electrodes on the brain’s motor cortex, some researchers are studying how a person who is locked-in can control communication software and type out words simply by imagining the movement of his or her hand. Other researchers are attempting to develop a prosthetic device that will be able to translate a person’s thoughts into synthesized words and sentences. Another group is developing a wireless device that monitors brain activity that is triggered by visual stimulation. In this way, people who are locked-in can call for help during an emergency by staring at a designated spot on the device

Learn More About Assistive Listening Devices in Sherman Oaks, CA

To learn more about assistive listening devices, schedule your Hearing Loss Solutions Consultation today by calling our friendly office at 818-989-9001 or by clicking here to use our convenient online form. Your appointment includes a review of your medical history, a discussion of your concerns and goals, and an explanation of our process.

During your new patient appointment, we will make sure all of your questions are thoroughly answered about our office, our treatments, our flexible payment options, and anything else that you would like to know about us. Call today – we can’t wait to help restore sound to your world!

As one of the premier hearing centers in Sherman Oaks, CA, our Audiologist and team at Hearing Loss Solutions also provide 5-star-rated hearing care to patients from Encino, Beverly Hills, Studio City & Calabasas, CA, and surrounding areas.