For those with hearing impairments, the joy of using amateur radio is
diminished if you can’t hear or understand the sounds coming from your radio.
If you buy or have hearing aids with T-coils (telephone coils) you already have
part of the solution. Hearing aid T-coils normally are used to inductively
couple with the coil in the telephone handset, bypassing the hearing aid
microphone. In many hearing aids the T-coil program has a separate profile
since normal telephone audio frequencies are from 300 to 3000 Hz with a 6 dB
per octave rising response providing equal loudness.
With open hearing aids which have a small opening which allows some sounds to
pass unamplified to the eardrum, the use of a headset allows the sounds from
the headset to mix with any sounds produced within the headset as the result of
the T-coil and inductive coupling with the headset. I’ve found this to not work
well for me.
I found J-hooks
(http://www.hearinglosshelp.com/products/earlinks.htm#musicliks) which provide
NO external sound, but do inductively couple to the T-coils of my hearing aids
to produce sounds inside my hearing aides to be the best solution. I can now
copy CW, chase DX, or participate in an AM net (I can even be net control).
I have NO relationship or interest with
http://www.hearinglosshelp.com/products/earlinks.htm#musicliks except as a
satisfied customer.
Having been through the disappointment as the result of not being able to hear
in a hobby where “you can’t work them if you can’t hear them”, I’m trying to
get the word out to others with problems hearing their radio. If you know
someone with hearing problems, please pass this on to them.
73 ES DX,
Gary -- AB9M
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