Your Telephone + Hearing Aids Can HAC It Together

When you realize you have hearing loss, it can be frightening to use the phone. Sometimes you wonder if it's worth keeping the darn telephone. Hearing aids aren't always the answer, as they can sometimes whine and hiss when you are on some kinds of phone. But you needn't toss out the telephone. Hearing aids can help you use the phone as you always did.

And, federal law requires that all telephones made after 1989 are Hearing Aid Compatible (HAC). If you don't believe me, it's called the Hearing Aid Compatibility Act of 1988. Sometimes phones and hearing aids don't match, one giving noises that cancels out the effects of another. Federal law is trying to get all kinds of wireless phones and headsets to HAC it, as well.

Should I Get A New Phone?

You don't have to worry about using a public, hospital or social service office telephone. Hearing aids will not bother them as they all had to be replaced by HAC compatible phones back in 1989. Even business were supposed to have all HAC compatible phones by late 1989.

If your land line phone was made before 1989, you need a new land line telephone. Hearing aids will not work well with them. The price of land line phones have gone down since the surge of the cell phone, so you will find land line phones on sale sooner or later. All telephones sold now have to have prominent "HAC compatible" labels on them.

If your cell phone was made before 2005, you need a new cell phone. They also have to have "HAC compatible" labels prominently displayed on them. All digital wireless handsets will need to be HAC compatible by 2008 or the FCC is not going to be happy.

Also according to the HAC act of 1988, all stores are affected that sell mobile telephones. Hearing aids will be sure to work with your new phone before you buy it because the stores are required to let you test the phone in the shop. This law covers only mobile telephones and not land line phones, but many department and electronic stores will plug your phone in for you to see if it works well enough for you.

Any new phone you buy should have an easy to operate volume control button or switch. Sometimes they will also have a mute button, which is increasingly becoming handy these days.