Every day we encounter so many sounds from children crying or laughing, birds chirping, construction work, songs on the radio, dogs barking, etc. This is one of the beauties of life; you can hear what’s around you and learn from your surroundings.
However, not everyone gets to experience this due to some level of hearing loss, aging, etc. It leaves you feeling unattended, isolated, and depressed. Fortunately, it doesn’t have to be like this, thanks to Google’s sound notification technology.
What is Sound Notification?
It’s a new feature added to Android phones to ensure that you don’t miss important sounds. This feature will primarily benefit people with hearing loss, but it can also benefit users wearing headphones, earbuds, and earplugs.
The feature is developed to recognize ten distinct sounds: doorbell ringing, baby sounds, sirens, landline ringing, appliance beeping, knocking, dog barking, shouting, water running, smoke, and fire alarms.
These are common sounds that we often miss. Fortunately, with this feature, you’ll get an alert every time it detects the sounds.
Compatibility
The feature is only compatible with Android phones. In addition, you’re required to download the Live Transcribe app on Google Play Store. If you’re using a Google Pixel phone, you should have the app on your phone as it’s one of the Pixel’s stock apps.
Keep in mind that the app is only compatible with Android 5.0 and up.
Arguably its best feature is the timeline view. The app allows you to view the events that preceded the sound. For example, if a baby is crying, you can scroll through the time to see what might have caused the disturbance.
If your dog is barking, you can scroll through the timeline to check whether someone knocked at the door, your baby woke up, etc. The timeline view also indicates the time; thus, you’ll know how long ago this disturbance occurred.
Convenience
We spend most of the day glued to screens; thus, having notifications for familiar sounds would ensure that you don’t miss important alerts.
Sound notifications on Android are also compatible with Wear OS by Google smartwatch.
This means that you’ll receive alerts even when sleeping. It’s built for convenience; everywhere you go, you’ll know what’s happening around you.
Other Assistive Listening Devices
This isn’t the first sound assistive feature built-in a phone, and neither is it the last. You can also find sound awareness apps for different operating systems, such as iOS. Most of these are compatible with smartwatches.
They send data to your smartwatch every time they detect ambient noises, display a notification, and vibrate.
If you’re on iOS, check out the new accessibility feature in iOS 14. It has similar features that will notify you when a sound or disturbance needs your attention.
How to Live with Hearing Loss
We understand how you feel and the struggles you endure every day due to hearing challenges. Aim Hearing and Audiology are here to assist in issues related to hearing loss. If you’re having trouble using your hearing aids with your smartphone, contact us today, and a member of our friendly team will guide you every step of the way.
