Your Audiology Tutorial: "Live Listen"

Do you have Bluetooth enabled hearing aids? Do you own an iPhone? You may or may not be aware of an option that can help you hear others' speech better, whether they are a distance away, in a noisy environment, or both.

"Live Listen" is an iPhone feature that links the microphone in your smartphone to your amplification.  You now have an external mic that can be placed near the source of interest.  Your spouse will sound as if she is right next to you, even if she is down the hall or even in another room, provided she has the activated phone somewhat nearby.  This may or may not solve that old issue couples face when one asks a question from the laundry room.

You can also place the mic end of your phone closer to your dinner mates in a noisy restaurant.  Results will never be perfect, but many of my patients have reported improved speech intelligibility.  One story that has gone around - a patient left their phone on the table while in the restroom, and heard what their friends were saying about them.  Be careful.

One of my patients sat the phone on the lectern of a person delivering a speech.  He sat several rows away and heard everything clearly.

You can activate Live Listen a few different ways.  Of course, your hearing aids must be paired with the phone.  If your iPhone is a model with a home button (at the bottom), you can press it quickly three times.  You will see a screen similar to the above. Tap on Live Listen.  It will remain on until you tap it again.  You can also go to Settings - General - Accessibility - MFi Hearing Aids - "Your Hearing Aids" (will usually have the patient's name).  Scroll down until you see Live Listen.

If you place the phone too closely to the hearing aids you will hear an echo, by the way (the mics in your hearing aids are still active).  The idea is distance.

Yes, many hearing aid manufacturers have remote mics (typically a few hundred dollars) that serve the same function as Live Listen, but give it a try.