A hearing aid feature that our hearing specialists at Hearing Associates of Las Vegas love to highlight is the telecoil. The telecoil—also called the t-coil—allows you to cut through background noise and listen in on what you really want to hear.
So, how does the t-coil manage to improve your hearing aids’ functionality that way? We’re glad you asked!
What Is A Telecoil?
A telecoil is a small coiled up copper wire which is placed in your hearing aids. The t-coil acts as a little, invisible wireless antenna inside of your hearing aids. You can switch the telecoil on, and it can act as a receiver in specific circumstances where you want background sounds completely cut off.
Some t-coils can be programmed by a hearing specialist to automatically turn on when a corresponding telecoil system is nearby, so you can always enjoy superior listening experiences.
Not all hearing aids are big enough to have a telecoil, like the Invisible-In-Canal and Completely-In-Canal hearing aid styles. And while many of the larger hearing aids offer a t-coil as a standard feature, it is not a given. So, if you are interested in one, be sure to ask our hearing specialists about it when you discuss potential new hearing aids for you.
If you aren’t sure how you could use a telecoil in your everyday life, here are some common situations where it can be helpful.
Use Your T-Coil For Better Phone Calls
Many hearing aid users have concerns about how they will use the phone with their hearing aids, which is why it’s so great that t-coils work with many types of phones.
When you turn on the telecoil to use your phone, the t-coil turns off the microphone in your hearing aids and connects to the t-coil in your phone. Without the microphone on in your hearing aids, you won’t be distracted by background sounds as you are trying to talk on the phone. Also, the conversation will be filtered directly into your hearing aids, rather than trying to maneuver your phone so that the mic of your hearing aids picks up the sound.
Depending on whether you want a landline with a telecoil or a smartphone with a telecoil, there are different things to look for as you shop.
Landlines and Telecoil
With landlines, you will need to look for a sign to indicate compatibility. Usually, it will depict an ear with something to indicate sound and a small T in the corner.
There isn’t a particular rating system that indicates which of these landline phones are better at working with hearing aids, but mobile phones do have a rating system you can check before buying.
Mobile phones and Telecoil
When it comes to finding a mobile phone that works well with your hearing aids, you will want to look for two things—the T-rating and the M-rating. The T-rating stands for how well the cell phone or smartphone works with the telecoil and the M-rating stands for how well the microphone works with either a cellphone or smartphone.
An easy way to tell if a phone you are considering will work well with your hearing aid telecoil is to check their M and T rating, which will look like this, “M3/T4” or something similar. If you can add up the M and T rating and equal 6 or more, than the phone in question should work very well with your hearing aids.
Make TV Watching Clearer Using Telecoil
If you find you experience feedback and other annoying sounds when you try to sit down and enjoy watching TV, you can switch to the telecoil setting.
The magnetic field put out by your television will be detected by the t-coil, and it will act as a receiver, funneling the sound your TV outputs into your hearing aids for amplification and transmission to your ears.
Enjoy Concerts, Worship Services, And Theaters
Another major bonus to using a telecoil is when you are in a large building outfitted with a loop system, as these buildings can represent an acoustic nightmare for someone with hearing aids.
For instance, say you go to see a movie in the theater. As your hearing aids are designed to capture all sound, you may end up hearing someone crinkle their snacks as much as you hear the movie. But a loop system paired with your t-coil can help you cut through these distracting noises.
A building that has a loop system can allow you to tune into the microphoned performances once your telecoil is switched on. So, instead of hearing all the echoes a large building can produce and other ambient sounds, you can clearly listen to what you came to hear.
Find T-Coil Hearing Aids At Hearing Associates Of Las Vegas
If having a telecoil in your hearing aids is important, contact us to work with our hearing instrument specialist. Some types of hearing aids can be retrofitted with a t-coil.
Even if yours can’t be, our hearing specialists can help you find hearing aids with a telecoil built-in, so you can enjoy all the benefits that come with using a telecoil.
info@hearingassociateslv.com
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