The Top 10 Apps for People with a Hearing Loss
Recently, an article was published on the Top 10 Apps for People with a Disability’ which offered help on various subjects including parking mobility, physiotherapy and medical information.
However, this post is specifically for people with a hearing loss. According to Action on Hearing Loss, formerly known as The Royal National Institute for Deaf People, one in six people in the UK have some sort of hearing loss and more than 800,000 are severely or profoundly deaf.
But this figure is set to rise tremendously due to an aging population and it has been predicted that by 2031, around 14.5 million people will have a hearing loss.
So with hearing impairment becoming so widespread, Your Hearing have put together a list of the top 10 apps to help you understand the condition and become more informed on the support that is available.
– SoundAMP R£2.99
Developed by Ginger Labs, this app reportedly amplifies the sounds around you. You can listen through headphones in real time as well as record and replay. It’s recommended for taking notes during a presentation but it can also be used to hear the TV and normal conversations.
– Hearing CheckFree
Developed by Action on Hearing Loss, this app is an extremely useful tool to help you check your hearing. It is a quick and simple way to check your ears without even leaving the house or seeing a medical professional. Please note that it won’t pick up any problems with conductive hearing losses, only sensorineural ones (age/noise exposure related).
Alternatively, uHear is also a hearing loss screening test which allows you to test your hearing.
– Tap Tap£1.99
This app is incredibly useful in that vibrates your phone and flashes to alert you to nearby sounds. It helps people that are deaf or impaired to respond to their audio environment be it shouting, honking or crashing. This is ideal for those who need more than a hearing aid. Developed by David Vondracek.
– British Sign Language Finger SpellingFree
Developed by Duchy Software, this app encourages and enables people to learn and practice British Sign Language (BSL). It is extremely useful for beginners as the cartoon images of hands are really easy to imitate. Alternatively, the app MobileSign is also helpful if you want to learn sign language.
– Dragon Dictation Free
Developed by Nuance Communications, this is a voice recognition app. It transcribes your speech into email messages or texts and it can even update your social networking profiles just by using your voice. If you are hard of hearing, this can transcribe someone’s words for you to read; and it supports various languages.
– Play It Down Free
This app has three music and audio tools in one. You can play songs at the right decibels and measure the volume level around you to see if it is damaging your hearing. Determine what’s too loud and what’s safe and manage the volume levels in the vicinity. Developed by Red Deluxe.
– LouderTV $9.99
Developed by Pieezo Hearsay Pte Ltd, this app aims to make watching television easier for those with a hearing loss. It amplifies the TV using headphones so the whole family can watch TV together, without anyone moaning that it is too loud or too quiet.
– Coping with Hearing Loss$0.99
Developed by AppWarrior, this application has been designed to help people who refuse to admit that they have a hearing problem. Learn everything you need to know from how the ear works, causes/symptoms of hearing loss, treatments, types of hearing devices and more. Get advice on hearing loss and your job, tinnitus and how it affects a person psychologically, socially and emotionally.
Have you used any of these apps before We’d love to hear your thoughts and recommendations.
This article was written by Jenny Harrison from www.yourhearing.co.uk, the go-to-experts to improve your hearing and lifestyle.