ESPOO, Finland – Many of us take making phone calls for granted. And why not, after all we have plentiful access to phones, either at home or on the go. But what about those who are hard of hearing? Could you imagine not being able to have a phone conversation for three years? That was how one story started which inspired Nokia engineer behind the new Wireless Loopset, Mikko Haho. Hard of hearing himself, Mikko was demoing a first generation Loopset when a woman skeptical about the device tried it for herself. Having not had a phone conversation with her daughter in three years, the woman burst into tears – she couldn’t believe it.
Like anything else with a circuit board however technology moves on. Today’s announcement offers premium audio quality and handsfree operation for users of T-coil equipped hearing aids or cochlear implants.Peeta Piiparinen is an R&D specialist at Nokia and here she describes the benefits of the new system
“Sound is amplified more efficiently, while the distance between the phone and hearing aid means that the possibility of interference is greatly reduced. The loopset filters out background noise, which increases speech discrimination, and offers excellent audio quality in a range of environments such as the car, office, or even in windy conditions outdoors.”
The Loopset is compatible with Bluetooth enabled handsets and means mobile calls can be accessed wirelessly through the hearing aid. The new device will be available early next year. Meanwhile Mikko and his team continue their quest to improve accessibility
“At Nokia, we continuously study how we can better address the needs of people with physical, sensory, or cognitive impairments, so that also they have full access to mobile technology”
Have you had experience with Nokia Loopsets? Share your story in the comments below.