Do You Have Trouble Hearing? Check out these 5 Apps to Help with Communication and Hearing Health.

If you have difficulty with hearing, conversing with others, and find yourself feeling left out in certain situations, in addition to using hearing aids, you can try an app.

Here’s a list of five apps to help you communicate with the people around you. 

1. Live Transcribe - this app from Google lets users with Android smartphones transcribe in-person conversations in real time. This program was developed with help from Gallaudet University, a prominent American school that provides higher education to students who are deaf and hard of hearing. The app can instantly translate over 70 languages and dialects into captions on your phone. Bilingual communication is possible, allowing users to switch between languages and the option to type responses instead of speaking them. This app can also alert you if your smoke alarm, doorbell, or other important sounds in your home go off. 
2. NIOSH Meter for Sound Levels - with a compatible device, this app utilizes built-in microphones that can measure the sound level in your surroundings. About 16 to 24 percent of hearing loss is caused by contact with noise in the workplace. Exposure to excess noise is one of the only preventable causes of hearing loss. That’s why it’s important to be aware of the sound levels in areas where you spend a significant amount of time so that you can reduce your risk by wearing hearing protection, or knowing when to take breaks. You can also use this app to determine noise levels in places like restaurants, bars, stores, and any other place that may be too loud. 
3. SoundWatch - Smartwatch apps can notify you when there are sounds happening nearby. It was developed for those who are deaf or hard of hearing, and utilizes machine learning to inform the user of specific sounds that they had preselected - an automobile horn, a baby’s cry, running water, etc. This is not useful if there’s an emergency or other serious situation, but it helps you become aware of your environment.     
4. Marlee Signs - Through this app, adults and children can learn basic American Sign Language (ASL) with Oscar-winning actress Marlee Matlin, who is deaf. ASL, which is used in the U.S. and Canada, lets people connect no matter what their hearing abilities are. There are a lot of other ASL apps, so explore the ones that work best for you. Other ASL instruction apps are available. They may include finger-spelling, building vocabulary, conversational signing, helping infants communicate, and more.         
5. SoundPrint - This measures decibel meters and uploads the results to a community through a searchable database. Users can research gyms, restaurants, subways, and other areas by sound-level ratings that are categorized as “quiet”, “moderate”, “loud”, or “very loud”. 

If you, or a loved one, are noticing hearing loss please contact us at Pure Sound Hearing for a complimentary hearing test and consultation.

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