Hearing Aid Compatible Cell Phones
How is a consumer to know which cell phones work best with their hearing aids? The terminology and rating system of hearing aids and cell phones can be a bit confusing. Hopefully this article will help to clarify the issue. I make no promises though.
Hearing aids and cell phones have an “M” and a “T” rating. The M rating represents the microphone interference potential, and the T rating represents the telecoil coupling capability. Without getting too technical, a telecoil is basically a part in many hearing aids that allows them to switch to a phone mode when a telephone comes near.
The M rating can be M1, M2, M3, or M4 with M1 being the least compatible and an M4 being the most. Likewise a T1 rating is the least telecoil coupling compatibility rating and a T4 the most. The rule of thumb is you add the M ratings of the cell phone and the hearing aids together. Similarly, you add the T ratings of the cell phone and the hearing aids together. In general, if the sum of the M and T ratings is M5 and T5 or better, then you have a good likelihood of success.
Now you are probably asking, “How in the world would I know the M and T ratings of my hearing aids.” In short, we can help with that. Just give us a call to set up an appointment with one of our staff members for a free assessment of your hearing aid M and T statistics.
In addition, below are two links. The first is a list of over 100 cell phones which are known to have the highest hearing aid compatibility rating available. The second is a link for “How to Buy a Cell Phone when You Have a Hearing Loss”
http://www.betterhearing.org/hearing_loss_treatment/cellphones.cfm
http://www.betterhearing.org/hearing_loss_treatment/hearing_aids/Cell_phones_and_hearing_aids.pdf