This month, the HOPE team and participants talked about hearing aids with artificial intelligence, assistive listening systems that don’t work, caption glasses that DO work, and more.

For more information on our free, online HOPE program to help people with hearing loss, visit our HOPE page.

Ready for a Cochlear Implant: Which Brand is Best?

One participant shared that he’s ready for a cochlear implant and asked if anyone had experience with Advanced Bionics. Another participant said that Advanced Bionics’ sister relationship with Phonak was an advantage, as Phonak is outstanding on connectivity options. Participants discussed bimodal solutions – one CI and one hearing aid – and how important it is to have those devices synced so you don’t hear out of only one side of your head.

Caption Glasses in Action: Yes, They Work!

One participant shared that she used caption glasses at an event, and they worked well, but it was still exhausting. It’s somewhat challenging to figure out where to look, how to get the transcription in the right place, and how to track conversations. But the participant was very happy that she could understand speech and be connected to the world.

Hearing Aids with AI?

A participant shared her positive experience with Phonak Sphere Infino hearing aids, which have an AI deep learning chip to help you hear in background noise. She’s also using the Lace AI Pro auditory training app to train her brain to hear in background noise. The Sphere Infinio hearing aids don’t come with a telecoil, so you can’t connect them wirelessly to hearing loop assistive listening systems; they are supposedly “Auracast ready,” however.

When Public Assistive Listening Systems Don’t Work

Three different assistive listening systems failed to work for one participant at an event at Hill Auditorium. She was told that the systems only worked in certain parts of the auditorium–but she wasn’t told where she should sit in order to use the systems. Another participant agreed that accessing assistive listening systems can require some steps, such as calling the venue to get tickets in the right place so you can hear or read captions, or both. Sometimes even with a neckloop, the signal isn’t strong enough. The burden shouldn’t be on people with hearing loss to speak up and to figure all this out, but it often is.

People with hearing loss can file complaints in these situations. It’s up to venues to make sure hearing assistance works--otherwise, it doesn’t qualify as hearing assistance.

When You Say You Have Hearing Loss But People Keep Talking Anyway

Sometimes, even when we tell people we have a hearing loss and can’t understand, they keep talking anyway. It’s kind of humorous, but also frustrating. It can be hard for people to understand hearing loss and the challenges that come with it if they haven’t experienced it themselves. When this happens, one option is to repeat, “I can’t hear you, I can’t hear you.”

At a doctor appointment, one participant experienced this and followed up with an email to her doctor, explaining that hearing accommodations are required. To help with medical appointments, a couple of participants take their smartphones, which have captioning–this helps a lot.

Note: This is our last HOPE meeting until September 2025. We encourage you to have a wonderful summer and join us at our annual picnic on July 12, 2025.