Hearing aids and cellular phones have not always gotten along as well as they do now. The sophisticated electronics in both devices often triggered static, dropped words or squealing interference noises. Technology improvements along with new government regulations have mostly eliminated this problem.

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A Hearing Aid Wearer’s Guide to Shopping for Cellular
Phones
Hearing aids and cellular phones have not
always gotten along as well as they do
now. The sophisticated electronics in both
devices often triggered static, dropped
words or squealing interference noises.
Technology improvements along with new
government regulations have mostly
eliminated this problem. Today cell phone –
hearing aid compatibility is not the huge problem it used to be. The
regulations mandated new labeling requirements and ratings that help you
to find a cell phone that works well with your hearing aid.
To understand how this rating system works, you should first understand the
two modes that hearing aids work in – M mode (for microphone) and T mode
(for telecoil). When your hearing aid is in M mode, it uses the built-in
microphone to pick up audible sounds from around you and amplify them to
make them easier for you to hear. When the hearing aid is in T mode,
instead of the microphone it uses its built-in telecoil to directly pick up
conversations from inside the phone, in the form of electromagnetic signals.
The T mode is important when shopping for a phone, because at least 60%
of hearing aids sold in the United States have one.
The two modes – M and T – are each rated on a scale of 1 to 4 where 1 is
the lowest sensitivity and 4 is the highest. To be labeled as hearing aid
compatible (HAC) a mobile phone must carry a minimum rating of M3 or T3.
Hearing aids themselves also carry M and T ratings to indicate their
sensitivity and ability to block interference in each mode. If you know the M
and T ratings for your hearing aid, to determine its compatibility with any
mobile phone, just add the two sets of ratings together. If you get a
combined total of 6 or more, that is thought of as excellent, a combination of

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hearing aid and phone that will be highly usable. If the combined rating is 5,
this combination is considered normal and suitable for most regular phone
use. If the combined rating is 4, this is thought of as acceptable but not very
usable if you make a lot of extended phone calls.
Since being introduced, the new rating system has made it much easier to
shop for a mobile phone online and determine its compatibility with your
hearing aid in advance. If you are able to shop in a store that allows you to
“try before you buy” and actually use the phone you want while wearing
your hearing aid, that is of course a better idea.