Video Calls With a Parent Who Has Hearing Loss: A Guide for Families Abroad

Why the weekly call matters

For many families abroad, the weekly video call is the main way to stay close to a parent in Israel. It is also often the first place where a change in hearing becomes obvious: questions answered off-topic, the volume turned to maximum, or a parent who starts to avoid calls.

Hearing loss is common, particularly as you get older, as the NHS puts it. The US National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) says that about one in three people in the U.S. between the ages of 65 and 74 has hearing loss, and nearly half of those older than 75 have difficulty hearing. A few changes on both sides of the screen can make calls much easier.

Set up your side of the screen

• Face the camera. NIDCD advises asking family to face you when they talk so you can see their expressions and lip movements. On a call, that means looking at the camera with your face fully in the frame.
• Light your face. A Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS leaflet warns not to stand with a window behind you, because your face is then in shadow. Sit facing the light, not with your back to it.
• Keep your mouth visible. The same leaflet says not to cover your mouth when speaking. Avoid holding the phone at chin level or eating during the call.
• Cut background noise. NIDCD advises turning off or turning down background noise such as the TV. Close the window, and keep children and pets in another room for the important parts of the call.

How to speak on the call

• Clear, not loud. NIDCD advises speaking louder but not shouting. The Gloucestershire leaflet adds that there is no need to speak slowly or fast: use clear, normal lip movements.
• Rephrase rather than repeat. If your parent does not understand after you repeat something, the leaflet suggests rephrasing the sentence instead.
• Use yes/no questions for key details. A James Paget University Hospitals NHS guide notes that questions with a yes/no answer may be helpful.
• One speaker at a time. On a family call, take turns. Many voices at once are hard to follow.
• Put important details in writing. Send dates, times and addresses as a text message after the call.

Help on your parent's side

Streaming the call into hearing aids. Many Bluetooth hearing aids can play phone and video-call audio directly. Oticon says most of its hearing aids can receive calls and stream from iPhone, and that its newest hearing aids can receive calls directly from select Android phones and tablets. Philips says its most recent hearing aids can make and receive calls directly when paired with an iPhone or iPad, and that the call is then routed to the hearing aids automatically. Whether this works depends on the exact hearing aids and phone; see Bluetooth hearing aids and phone compatibility.

Answering from the hearing aids. Oticon describes answering an incoming call by briefly pressing the button or double tapping one of the hearing aids, depending on the model.

A bigger screen. A tablet or laptop on a stand, rather than a phone held in the hand, makes faces easier to see and means nobody has to hold the phone steady for the whole call.

Live captions: useful, but check the language

The World Health Organization (WHO) notes that people with hearing loss can benefit from assistive devices as well as captioning. Two phone features are worth knowing:

• Android Live Caption. Google says Live Caption automatically captions speech on your device, including phone calls and video calls, and that you start it by pressing the volume button. Google also notes that captions might be unavailable for some calling apps, that Live Caption is not intended for calls with more than one other person, and that it works best with clear speech and low background noise.
• FaceTime Live Captions. Apple says Live Captions (Beta) in FaceTime are available in English (U.S. and Canada) on iPhone 11 and later, and that their accuracy may vary.

Check the languages before you rely on captions. Hebrew does not appear in the Live Caption language list Google publishes, and Apple lists FaceTime Live Captions in English (U.S. and Canada). If you speak English with your parent, captions may help; for Hebrew calls, the other tips matter more.

When the call tells you something

If calls are getting harder, it may be time for a hearing check or a review of the current hearing aids. Signs worth noting: your parent asks you to repeat more often, avoids calls, or the hearing aids seem to be switched off or not connected. Settings, programmes or an accessory may help; see follow-up and adjustments.

You can arrange help from abroad. See arranging hearing care for a parent in Israel from abroad, and call G-Sound in English. G-Sound offers Philips and Oticon hearing aids.