97
HEARING
AID
COMPATIBILITY
HAC
FOR
WIRELESS
TELECOMMUNICATIONS
DEVICES
THIS
PHONE
HAS
A
HAC
RATING
OF
M4/T3
WHAT
IS
HEARING
AID
COMPATIBILITY?
The
Federal
Communications
Commission
has
implemented
rules
and
a
rating
system
designed
to
enable
people
who
wear
hearing
aids
to
more
effectively
use
these
wireless
telecommunications
devices.
The
standard
for
compatibility
of
digital
wireless
phones
with
hearing
aids
is
set
forth
in
American
National
Standard
Institute
(ANSI)
standard
C63.19.
There
are
two
sets
of
ANSI
standards
with
ratings
from
one
to
four
(four
being
the
best
rating):
an
“M”
rating
for
reduced
interference
making
it
easier
to
hear
conversations
on
the
phone
when
using
the
hearing
aid
microphone,
and
a
“T”
rating
that
enables
the
phone
to
be
used
with
hearing
aids
operating
in
the
telecoil
mode
thus
reducing
unwanted
background
noise.
HOW
WILL
I
KNOW
WHICH
WIRELESS
PHONES
ARE
HEARING
AID
COMPATIBLE?
The
Hearing
Aid
Compatibility
rating
is
displayed
on
the
wireless
phone
box.
A
phone
is
considered
Hearing
Aid
Compatible
for
acoustic
coupling
(microphone
mode)
if
it
has
an
“M3”
or
“M4”
rating.
A
digital
wireless
phone
is
considered
Hearing
Aid
Compatible
for
inductive
coupling
(telecoil
mode)
if
it
has
a
“T3”
or
“T4”
rating.
HOW
WILL
I
KNOW
IF
MY
HEARING
AID
WILL
WORK
WITH
A
PARTICULAR
DIGITAL
WIRELESS
PHONE?
You’ll
want
to
try
a
number
of
wireless
phones
so
that
you
can
decide
which
works
the
best
with
your
hearing
aids.
You
may
also
want
to
talk
with
your
hearing
aid
professional
about
the
extent
to
which
your
hearing
aids
are
immune
to
interference,
if
they
have
wireless
phone
shielding,
and
whether
your
hearing
aid
has
a
HAC
rating.
