Great apps that train and test hearing
When you have a level of hearing loss, it’s important to make the most of the level of hearing you retain. With touch screen technology, there are many apps you can download that will help you train your hearing, or determine the level of hearing loss you’re experiencing. We’ve taken a look at some of them and have a breakdown below.
Sonence Hearing Trainer– free
This experimental app is a series of acoustic games created at the University of Toronto. The app takes you through a series of tasks based around sounds generated at different frequencies. At the end of the games, you’ll be given a report on how well you hear at different frequencies.
Hear Coach – free
This suite of games is designed to help you challenge your cognitive and auditory sharpness. Basically, you’ll be working to train your hearing to work better in noisy environments. In noisy environments, people with hearing loss often experience communication breakdowns, because of a difficulty separating voices from the background noise. By improving your hearing in this way, it’s hoped that people will be able to relax and participate in conversations without straining.
You can track your progress over time, and unlock more difficult levels as you improve – encouraging you to move forward regularly. This app is a great idea for people who think they might have hearing loss, people who have new hearing aids, and even existing hearing aid users who want to improve their hearing.
Siemens Hearing Test – free
Developed by technology company Siemens, this app was created to determine whether you have hearing impairment. The game presents background noise and then floats some nonsense words in amongst that noise. You have to identify the word. The background noise will then be adjusted based on your answer.