Hearing aid manufacturers are making a clear statement over the importance of induction loop systems to hearing aid users, providing a broad range of new products with telecoils as standard.
As hearing aids became ever smaller over recent years, with a move towards ‘In-The-Ear’ (ITE) hearing aids, functionality has been squeezed and in some cases the all-important telecoil was sacrificed. However recent trends have reversed this problem, and the proportion of telecoils in hearing aids is on the increase around the world.
In the US the proportion of telecoils within hearing aids has risen to 62% in 2007 from as low as 30%. There has been a surge back towards ‘Behind-The-Ear’ (BTE) devices due to the improved quality and functionality of these larger aids, where telecoils are most commonly part of the hearing aid.
Elsewhere telecoil use has been historically greater, for example in the UK where well over 90% of hearing aids have had telecoils. However an influx of ITE devices without telecoil threatened to reduce this proportion over time. More recently, ITE hearing aids are being brought to market with telecoil functionality as standard. This development shows that hearing aid manufacturers recognise the importance of loop systems to those with hearing loss. Modern hearing aids are ensuring that users can have access to the world of induction loop systems regardless of which type of hearing aid they select.
In the March Hearing Review Products (see here), 35 current ITE hearing aids have been reviewed – all 35 have telecoils built in. This demonstrates that the hearing aid manufacturers recognise the importance of induction loop systems for people with hearing loss, and are moving to include this technology in all of their products.