The purpose of this page is to provide a brief overview of the various solutions available for hard of hearing cell phone users.    In general this site will stick to providing a general rather than detailed overview without much opinion offered, leaving it up to the person who is interested to pursue further research on their own.   When opinions are given, they are just that, opinions.  

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Cell phones meeting ANSI Standard for hard of hearing users

Neckloops

Cell phones meeting ANSI Standard for hard of hearing users

Hearing aids work by employing an internal microphone to take sound, convert it to a digital signal that is filtered and amplified, then convert the digital signal back to sound for the user.  The hearing aid's microphone oftentimes does not work well with the cell phone.   To counter this problem, the cell phone industry from the direction of the FCC has implemented Microphone and Telecoil Standards.  The Microphone Standard addresses the audio coupling problem.  The Telecoil Standard ensures a strong magnetic coupling between the cell phone and those using a telecoil to resolve the audio issue.

Microphone Standard

Handsets that receive a hearing aid compatibility rating of M3 or M4 have met or surpassed the ANSI hearing aid compatibility standard as adopted by the Federal Communications Commission.

• M3-rating indicates the handset has satisfied the ANSI standard
• M4-rating indicates the handset has exceeded the ANSI standard

The higher the M-rating the handset has the lower the Radio Frequency emissions level and higher signal quality the handset will have. If there is no M-rating then the handset does not meet the ANSI standard. The handset's M-rating along with a hearing aid's M-rating will assist customers in finding a handset that will work best for them. The hearing aid must be in microphone mode in order to replicate the mode that was used with the handset when the rating was achieved.

Rating information can be found on the handset description card at your local Verizon Wireless store and on the Verizon Wireless online store. The M-rating, and a brief description of what the M-rating means, will be on the outside of the handset box and included with the information inside the box.

Telecoil Standard

Handsets that receive a telecoil rating of a T3 or T4 have met or surpassed the required standard as adopted by the Federal Communications Commission.

• T3-rating indicates the handset has satisfied the ANSI standard
• T4-rating indicates the handset has exceeded the ANSI standard

The telecoil rating is in reference to telecoils in some hearing aids, the telecoil is a small device that is built into some hearing aids for use with the telephone as well as assistive listening devices. Not all hearing aids have telecoils. To use the telecoil, generally, either the hearing aid is switched to the "T" position or a button on the hearing aid is pushed to select the telecoil setting.

The telecoil picks up magnetic fields generated by telephones and converts these fields into sound. Telecoils are particularly useful for telephone communication because they permit the volume control of a hearing aid to be turned up without creating feedback or "whistling," and background noise can be reduced, especially when using cell phones in noisy places.

Those handsets that are both compliant for the microphone rating and the telecoil ratings will have both ratings on the handset box and its owner manual. If compliant to both standards it will appear as M3/T3 or M4/T4.

AT&T

Verizon

Sprint

• BlackBerry 7130e (M3/T3)
• BlackBerry 8130 (M3/T3)
• BlackBerry 8703 (M4/T4)
• BlackBerry 8830 (M4/T4)
• LG- LX550 Fusic (M4/T4)
• LG- LX160 (M4)
• LG-LX570 Muziq (M4/T4)
• LG- LX260 Rumor (M3/T3)
• HTC Mogul (M4/T4)
• HTC Touch (M3)
• Motorola ic502 BUZZ (M4/T4)
• Motorola ic602 BUZZ+ (M4/T4)
• Motorola ic902 Deluxe (M4/T4)
• Motorola i560 (M3)
• Motorola i580 (M3/T3)
• Motorola i850 (M3)
• Motorola i880 (M3/T3)
• MOTORAZR V3M (M4/T4)
• MOTORAZR V9M (M4)
• MOTORAZR2 (M3)
• Palm Centro (M4/T4)
• Palm Treo 700wx (M3)
• Palm Treo 755p (M4/T4)
• Samsung M300 (M4/T4)
• Samsung M500 (M4/T4)
• Samsung M510 (M3)
• Samsung Upstage (M4)
• Sanyo KATANA II (M4)
• Sanyo KATANA DLX (M4/T4)
• Sanyo SCP-3100 (M4/T4)
• Sanyo SCP-3200 (M4/T4)
• Sanyo SCP-7050 (M4/T4)

Neckloops

A neckloop is a "handsfree" accessory.  The most basic ones plug into the phone's audio port.  They are also widely available in Bluetooth wireless versions, i.e. no wire plugs into the phone.  They work on the same principle described above in the Telecoil Standard section, the main difference being that you don't have to hold the phone up to the hearing aid when wearing a neckloop as with a T-rated cell phone.  There are lots of models available now on the market. 

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