Pump up the volume
Sound Amplifier from Google acts just like a hearing aid, so listen up , writes
One of the least-heralded software launches of the last few months might be the one that ultimately makes the biggest noise. It might, in fact, be a veritable ear trumpet. Sound Amplifier is a free app from Google which tries to pick out speech within range of your phone and feed it directly into your headphones or wireless earbuds. It’s basically a hearing aid.
Like conventional, and often very expensive devices, it works by increasing quiet sounds without over-amplifying louder noises. You can adjust the balance with a couple of on-screen sliders.
It has been available for a few months now but it is the latest upgrade, which adds support for Bluetooth earphones, that is a game changer. It means you can use it without anyone noticing, and look as if you’re joining in the conversation around you, rather than trying to avoid it.
Wireless earbuds, of the type popularised by Apple, are not exactly unobtrusive – they dangle below your earlobes like plastic jewellery – but neither are they unusual any more. People will not look at you askance if you keep them in one or both ears while you’re talking. And if conversing in a noisy environment is hard for you, there is a positive advantage in doing exactly that. Suddenly, you can hear what the people across the table are saying to each other, without any of the stigma sometimes associated with conventional hearing products.
No-one is claiming that Sound Amplifier is a medical appliance, but all the same it does use some of the same technology.