The outbreak of the pandemic in the past few years moved millions of jobs from offices to homes. Working from home has its own perks, but it was and still is tricky for people with hearing difficulties who use hearing aids.
Headphones are widely being used in teleconferencing to hear better and reduce the destruction from the background noises in the house (kids, TV, washing machines, etc.).
Most of the prescribed hearing aids in the market are behind the ear, including the popular RIC hearing aids so putting a headphone over them is not ideal. Depending on the severity of the hearing loss you might get moderate to strong feedback. The larger headphones that cover the pinna could provide a better result but still, the sound quality might be reduced. If the hearing aid is fitted open then the headphones could be placed right over the entrance of the ear canal, but then the microphones amplify the background noise and just reduce the effective communication, hence better removing the hearing aids altogether.
That's why it is not uncommon to see people with hearing loss just remove their hearing aids and put the headphones on for teleconferencing. A patient of mine was a 40-year-old lady who worked as customer support from home in Crystal Palace. She had moderate to severe hearing loss (since childhood). She was looking for a solution to be able to keep her hearing aids which were custom ITE AND be able to handle some 30-50 phone calls every day. You can imagine if your work is customer support over the phone all day and you need to put on and off your hearing aids several times.
How can I keep my hearing aids on during Zoom meetings or remote calls?
If you have hearing loss and use hearing aids all the time and you need to take part in many phone conversations, teleconferencing and Zoom meetings then the best solution is to use a Bluetooth streaming accessory such as ReSound Phone Clip + (see below image, also in our shop).
What does ReSound Phone Clip+ do?
The ReSound Phone Clip+ lets you stream phone calls and audio straight to your hearing aids from any Bluetooth-enabled mobile phone or smartphone. So you – and the person you’re talking to – can enjoy comfortable conversations, even if one of you is located in a noisy environment.
The ReSound Phone Clip+ provides a hands-free experience. It clips easily onto your clothes and works with all Bluetooth-enabled phones, allowing your wireless hearing aids to connect to two separate Bluetooth devices at the same time. This makes it easy to stay connected, for example to your Bluetooth-enabled private and work phones simultaneously. When the ReSound Phone Clip+ is used in conjunction with the ReSound TV Streamer 2, your phone’s ringtone will override the audio streamed from the TV and allow you to decide whether to answer or decline a phone call.
See the following videos to learn how the ReSound GN Phone Clip+ works.
What is your experience in teleconferencing with hearing aids?
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