I was recently explaining the benefits of a T-Coil or tele-coil to a patient and her daughter, but it was met with a lot of confusion. Of course, I didn’t realize why until the follow up appointment when the daughter asked, “How is rubbing teak oil on her hearing aid going to help her hear better?” That’s when I did a face palm and apologized for the miscommunication. Once I explained that it was a tele-coil, and not teak oil, it all made much more sense.
Oh, well, live and learn. Always good not to take myself too seriously!!
Just for future reference, a T-Coil is a small component in many hearing aids that converts an electromagnetic signal into an audio signal and allows the hearing aid wearer to experience startling clarity of speech in a venue that has a hearing loop installed.
A hearing loop is just a loop of copper wire installed in a venue and connected to their sound system. It allows the hearing aid wearer to hear without any background noise and no reverberation. This means they now have access to places and activities that they normally would not go to because of not being able to hear clearly and make out the dialogue of a play or understand clearly what a speaker is saying. Look for this symbol or ask if they have a hearing loop installed - you will definitely notice the difference in your hearing!
Not sure whether you have this technology in your hearing aids or want the short list of venues with a hearing loop? No worries, give us a call at (757) 431-1999 and we can share what we know!
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