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Hearing posts

SoundAMP hearing aid app for iPhone unleashed on our delicate ears

by Laura June posted Jul 9th 2009 @ 10:29AM

We've just caught wind of a new app for the iPhone / iPod touch... should you be either a little hard of hearing or a little nosy. SoundAMP works a lot like those Sonic Earz you see on the infomercials -- you run the app with your earbuds plugged in, and then sit back and enjoy listening to the sweet sounds of whatever's going on around you -- only louder. The app allows you to control volume and tone, and you can also replay the last 30 seconds of what you've been hearing -- in case you missed something particularly juicy. Now, personally, we put in the earbuds and crank up the tunes to shut out the outside world, but if this is your kind of thing -- it's available in the iTunes store right now for $9.99. [Warning: read link takes you to the iTunes store]

[Via CNET]

Sprint WebCapTel On the Go brings call transcription to the mobile

by Darren Murph posted Oct 21st 2008 @ 9:29AM

Sprint has just made its WebCapTel service even better. In an effort to provide greater accessibility to Americans with hearing loss, the carrier has introduced the aforementioned service to allow "hard of hearing customers to read word-for-word captions on Windows Mobile 6 web browsers," and for what it's worth, it's also compatible with Safari 2.0. The free web-based system enables hearing impaired individuals to make a call using two phones -- one of which is used for reading captions while the other is used for listening and speaking. The process seems simple enough; before making a call, the user would log onto www.sprintcaptel.com on one device in order to receive the transcription of the discussion on the other. It's available now for calls made within the US (and its Territories).

[Via RCRWireless]

Cellphones are dangerous/not dangerous, hearing loss edition

by Michael Caputo posted Sep 28th 2007 @ 4:13PM

Apparently, talking on a cellphone for 60 minutes or more per day can result in a partial loss of hearing -- at least that's what some researchers in India are saying. The scientists conducted an experiment to test the correlation of hearing loss to the average use of a cellphone call. The experiment covered 100 participants with cellphone usage ranging from four years and over to just started using a cellphone. The results? Long-time users seemed to suffer some high-frequency hearing loss, usually in their right ears -- the ear most commonly used for chatting on the celly. There also seemed to be some correlation between warm, full, or ringing sensations in the ear, so if you're experiencing any of those, enjoy the stealth ringtone while you still can.

[Via textually.org]

Oticon Epoq binaural Bluetooth headset doubles as hearing aid

by Darren Murph posted May 30th 2007 @ 5:07AM

Oticon's no alien to the niche world of overly useful hearing aids, and while it's been a few years since we've seen anything fresh from the company, its newest offering looks to help those aging ears deal with hearing loss while staying connected to modern technology. The Epoq lineup of "hearing instruments" allows a pair of Bluetooth earpieces to be worn simultaneously, and proprietary binaural high speed wireless technology allows the pair "to communicate at data transfer speeds 100 faster than hearing instruments now on the marker." In essence, the devices transmits "stereophonic auditory information that is in sync with a user's visual experience," and it also tries its hand(s) at being a Bluetooth headset that enables handsfree calling and music streaming when used with the "Streamer" add-on. Oticon will reportedly be rolling out the Epoq W (about $8,000) and Epoq XW (closer to $9,000) early next month.

[Via Slashphone, photo courtesy of Stuff]

Motorola slapped with lawsuit over Bluetooth headsets

by Chris Ziegler posted Oct 23rd 2006 @ 3:01PM

We've personally had more trouble with headsets not being loud enough, but a California man has worked himself into a lather over "injury" allegedly suffered from using a Motorola Bluetooth headset at high volume. A lawsuit has been filed (naturally) against Moto on behalf of the suffering individual, seeking class action status with unspecified damages -- suggesting that many of us are victims of our own stupidity and are hard of hearing as a result. Ultimately, the issue is that the headsets can apparently reach 85-100 decibels, a volume that risks causing gradual hearing loss, and nothing in Motorola's safety documentation makes mention of the danger (someone actually reads that booklet?). Though we think this is a typically silly suit looking to shake the Motorola tree for some free goodies, we'll admittedly be the last to complain if a free H5 comes our way. Sorry, could you speak up a bit?

[Via The Inquirer]