Hearing Assistive Technology

As humans, it is necessary to be able to communicate our feelings, thoughts, and ideas in order to be successful in our school, work, and home environments.  Not only is communicating important, but being able to understand the individuals you are communicating with is equally important.  Those individuals who cannot express themselves through speech or for those who cannot hear speech, are offered the use of hearing assistive technology.  Hearing assistive technology helps individuals who are hard of hearing and/or suffer from hearing losses, and gives them the opportunity to hear speech, as well as communicate with others.

For students trying to communicate within a learning environment, hearing assistive technology is very important.  It has the ability to enhance a students communication skills with both the teacher and peers working in the environment. "Students who are hard of hearing have difficulty following classroom instruction due to poor acoustics, classroom layout, and teacher style. They are also at a serious disadvantage during social interactions" (Dell, Newton, Petroff, 2012).  Students who lack hearing abilities are often unable to express their ideas and opinions, demonstrate knowledge they have learned in class, and participate in class discussions.  For these reasons, assistive hearing technology can be used to amplify specific sounds for students, while minimizing distractions that are in the background.  Beneficial assistive listening devices (ALD's) include FM systems, infrared systems, induction loop systems, and soundfield amplification systems.

Induction Loop System
Transmits an audio signal directly into a hearing aid through the use of magnetic 

FM System

References:

Dell, A.G., Newton, D.A., Petroff, J.G. (2012). Assistive Technology in the Classroom. Enhancing the School Experiences of Students with Disabilities. 2nd Edition.