RNID: For deaf and hard of hearing people.

Neckloops, like induction loops in theatres and cinemas, produce  an inductive signal that is picked up by your hearing aid when it is switched to the telecoil (T) setting. With a neckloop, a wire is worn around the neck and only your hearing aid can pick up the signal, it is like having your own personal loop system. If you wear two hearing aids, you can set both to T and they will pick up the same loop signal. You can also switch one aid to the microphone(M) setting, so you can hear a conversation close by and listen to the neckloop at the same time.

  • Many people use neckloops as a link between different devices. For example, if you use a mobile phone with an old hearing aid, you may hear a buzzing sound. This is because some older hearing aids pick up interference from mobiles, but a neckloop connected to it can stop this problem by relaying the call directly to your hearing aid.

    A built-in microphone on the neckloop picks up your voice to allow a normal two-way phone conversation, even if the mobile is in your pocket or on a table nearby. This allows the mobile phone to be kept away from the hearing aid, further reducing interference.

    For added convenience, some neckloops have a call answer button, so you can answer calls without having to press the button on the mobile phone. Outgoing calls are made in the normal way by dialling the numbers on your mobile phone.

    Recently Bluetooth neckloops have become available. Bluetooth is a type of short distance digital radio signal so it means your neckloop does not need wires to connect with other devices. A number of new mobile phones now have Bluetooth and these can be easily connected with Bluetooth neckloops allowing direct wireless communication between them.

    Put to the test  

    We decided to focus on wired and Bluetooth neckloops for use with mobile phones. Bluetooth neckloops are expensive but should become cheaper as they become more popular. Most wired neckloops are fitted with a 2.5mm jack plug but not all mobile phones have this type of connector. If your mobile phone doesn’t have one you can get an adapter. With Bluetooth, you don’t have to worry about connectors or adapters.

    All six neckloops were put through our detailed performance and usability tests. We looked at sound quality, strength of inductive signal, ease of use and comfort. Our volunteers tested the Bluetooth neckloops with a number of current Bluetooth mobile phones, and for the wired neckloops, we used the mobile phones tested in our last product review. For each test, we called the mobile phone and played the same sample of speech from a CD to guarantee each neckloop was tested the same. . 

    Neckloops don’t have many controls and some, such as the Ferrosound MPL-06, have none at all. Most of those with built-in amplification have nothing more than a simple rotary volume control, an on/off switch and call answer button. Our ease of use tests focused on volume adjustment, if the neckloop has one, and putting the neckloop on. We also asked our volunteers for their views onhow comfortable the neckloops are to wear.