Hearing Loss Magazine January/February 2013 - 30

The Often-Neglected Neck Loop continued from page 29
•	 No	wire	from	the	neck	loop	or	ear	 hook	to	the	cell	phone •	 Some	have	a	“dongle”	option	to	allow	 wireless	listening	to	your	TV,	MP3	or	 any	other	music	or	sound	device. •	 When	the	phone	rings	you	will	be	 notified	through	your	Bluetooth®	 device. 	 These	neck	loops,	again,	will	work	 with	any	telecoil-equipped	hearing	aids	 that	have	a	manual	telecoil	control.	 Bluetooth®	style	neck	loops	can	be	purchased	for	$199	and	up	depending	on	 their	features.
Williams Sound Pocket Talker

that	improve	the	“focused”	sound.	 Focused	sound	just	means	that	the	 microphone	has	been	made	to	have	a	 small	and	narrow	area	from	which	it	 will	pick	up	the	sound	signal.	This	is	 very	advantageous	in	restaurants	and,	 especially,	during	family	dinners.	 	 This	type	of	personal	amplifier	 starts	at	around	$125.	Some	models	 have	built-in	mics	with	an	option	to	add	 an	external	plug-in	microphone.	These	 models	start	at	around	$170.	Reminder:	 all	of	these	use	a	headset	so	that	means	a	 neck	loop	or	ear	hook	will	work	too.

Personal Amplifiers and Neck Loops Personal	amplifiers	have	a	powerful	little	 microphone	that	allows	the	user	to	aim	 the	device	at	a	speaker	to	pick	up	his	 or	her	voice.	This	helps	to	decrease	the	 background	sound	and	focuses	more	on	 the	person’s	voice,	increasing	clarity	and	 volume.	 	 A	personal	amplifier	like	the	“Pocket	 Talker”	from	Williams	Sound	(www. williamssound.com)	that	is	shown	above	 with	a	headset	and	ear	buds,	can,	instead,	 be	coupled	with	a	neck	loop	or	ear	hook.	 It	can	increase	the	user’s	ability	to	hear	 and	understand	in	restaurants	and	other	 settings	where	hearing	aids	alone	simply	 are	not	adequate. 	 Although	these	devices	can	be	 aimed	at	whomever	is	speaking	in	a	 group	setting	such	as	a	roundtable,	they	 work	best	in	one-on-one	situations.	 Some	of	the	personal	amplifiers	come	 with	removable	microphones	and	they	 allow	for	different	sizes	of	microphones	
30 Hearing Loss Magazine

The Personal FM and the Neck Loop A	step	up	from	the	personal	amplifier	 is	the	personal	FM	system	such	as	the	 system	shown	below	from	Contego	 (www.comfortaudio.com).	This	system	 has	two	units—a	transmitter	and	a	 receiver.	With	such	a	system	the	hearing	 person	will	have	the	transmitter	and	will	 use	either	a	built-in	mic	or	a	plug-in	mic	 that	attaches	to	the	speaker’s	clothing.	 The	person	with	the	hearing	loss	would	 have	a	neck	loop	connected	to	the	 receiver.	Using	a	personal	FM	system	 and	a	neck	loop	will	allow	you	to	hear	 someone	at	a	distance	as	clearly	as	if		 they	were	standing	next	to	you.	

systems	operate	on	a	specific	frequency,	 and	there	might	be	times	when	others	 are	on	the	same	frequency.	When	this	 happens	the	user	has	the	option	to	 change	the	channel	or	frequency	on	 their	system.	This	allows	for	multiple	 users	to	maintain	a	clear	signal	with	 no	interference	from	other	systems	in	 operation	in	the	same	vicinity. 	 Personal	FM	systems	can	also	be	 used	in	conference	rooms,	classrooms	 and	other	settings	where	a	person	with	 hearing	loss	might	be	some	distance	from	 the	person	speaking.	Used	as	described	 earlier,	several	listeners	can	be	equipped	 with	receivers	to	hear	the	speaker/ instructor. 	 Personal	FM	systems	range	in	price	 from	$350	to	well	over	$600,	but	used	 units	can	sometimes	be	found	online	at	 sources	like	eBay	for	less.

The Personal FM as a TV Listening System Personal	FM	systems	can	function	as	 wireless	TV	listening	systems.	 For	 television,	simply	put	the	transmitter	and	 its	mic	in	front	of	the	TV’s	speaker	or,	 for	a	clearer	sound,	plug	the	transmitter	 directly	in	the	audio	output	of	the	TV	 to	preclude	background	sounds	from	 the	room	being	picked	up	by	the	mic.	 You	then	can	leave	the	TV’s	loudspeaker	 volume	set	at	a	level	comfortable	for	 others	while	you	turn	it	up	for	yourself	 using	the	volume	control	on	your	FM	 system,	your	neck	loop,	your	hearing		 aid	or	a	combination	of	the	three. TV Listening Systems Another	alternative	for	TV	use	is	a	 system	that	is	specifically	made	for	 television	hookups.	 Such	devices	are	 plugged	into	the	audio	output	jack	 in	back	of	the	TV	and	broadcast	a	 signal	that	sends	the	sound	silently	to	a	 receiving	neck	loop.	Shown	on	page	31	 is	such	a	system	from	Sennheiser	(www. sennheiserusa.com).	Some	of	these	 systems	operate	by	using	an	Infrared	(IR)	 signal	and	others	use	a	radio	frequency	 (RF)	signal.	 	 The	major	difference	is	that	the	 RF	feature	allows	you	to	listen	from	a	 different	room	since	the	signal	travels	 through	the	walls	and	for	greater	

Contego personal FM system

	 In	a	restaurant	setting	the	speaker	 could	be	wearing	the	transmitter	and	 the	user,	instead	of	having	a	personal	 amplifier,	would	have	the	FM	receiver.	 	 The	receiver	accepts	a	headset	 connection	which	means	that	a	neck	 loop	and/or	ear	hook	will	receive	and	 send	the	transmission	directly	to	the	 t-coil	equipped	hearing	aid	or	CI.	FM
Hearing Loss Magazine January/February 2013

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Hearing Loss Magazine January/February 2013
