Frequently Asked Questions

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A student is complaining about an FM system. I don't wear hearing aids. How do I test the system?

In general, you can plug a headset into the receiver and listen, just as you would with a CD player or IPOD. Have someone speak into the microphone on the transmitter and make sure all the components are turned on and you have adjusted the volume. This will tell you the quality of the sound being provided by the transmission system. If the sound quality is not good, you might change the batteries and also test in multiple locations to see if there is interference. If the sound quality still is not good, contact the manufacturer to find out about maintenance for the device.

If the student is using telecoils (an option on some hearing aids and cochlear implants) and a neckloop instead of headphones, you would need a separate induction receiver, sometimes referred to as a "neckloop tester." Induction receivers look similar to FM receivers. They have a jack for headphones and an on/off volume control.

After you have listened with headphones plugged into the FM receiver and you know the transmission part of the system is working, you can test the neckloop. Plug the neckloop into the FM receiver and move the headphones to the induction receiver. Now place the induction receiver next to the neckloop, and have someone speak into the microphone connected to the FM transmitter. You'll hear what is being broadcast through the FM system. If all the elements seem to be working, the student should have his or her telecoil checked out. If it is not working, there may be some problem with the neckloop (wires are easily bent or broken in neckloops). (Of course, you need to be sure the induction receiver is functioning, too. You can try this out by holding it up to the telephone speaker when it is off the hook. You should be able to hear the dial tone through the headphone. Most landline telephones should give off a magnetic field that will be picked up by the induction receiver.)

With cochlear implants, it may be necessary to either a) try the same equipment out on a different cochlear implant user or b) bring in a specialist who can evaluate the CI and how it is interacting with the equipment.

Caution: you should check the equipment in the room where it is malfunctioning and involve the users (both speaker and listener). If the speaker is not using the microphone correctly, that can be a simple problem to fix that you won't realize if you don't observe it. Sometimes the equipment will pick up interference in a particular environment or when other equipment is turned on in an environment; thus, testing the equipment in your office may not produce the same results.

More information on these topics can be found at:
www.beyondhearingaids.com
www.hearingloss.org
www.hearinglossweb.com
http://www.geocities.com/heartland/prairie/4727/bhframe.htm
www.wou.edu/~davisc
Demystifying Hearing Assistance Technology: A guide for service providers and consumers (PDF Document)

Figure courtesy of Samuel Atcherson.