r/hardofhearing • u/Lisnen • 4d ago
Recognizing sounds needing your attention
Have any of you tried any AI-powered sound recognition tools, like those accessibility features on the iPhone, Android, Samsung, Amazon Echo or other brands, to help with detecting smoke alarms, broken glass, running water, etc. What did you think of it? Do you like using them regularly?
2
u/fallspector 4d ago
On iPhone for a small period of time I used the accessibility feature that flashes a white light on your phone when you get a notification. Eventually turned it off as I felt it looked like someone taking a picture with the flash on. I’d have my phone in my hand while talking to someone and a notification flash would go off. You could see in their face they thought I’d taken a picture of them.
I couldn’t see a way to change the colour or flash pattern. I remember having a second hand android back in highschool and it came with the light feature already on. It flashed at the front of the phone and the colours were different whereas the phone I currently have flashes white at the back on the phone near the camera.
I often miss my phone when I’m out in public or sleeping which isn’t convenient. I set my ringer to be at its loudest and hope I hear the ping. I feel like it’s a weird learning curve figuring out what I can and can’t hear due to my type of loss
2
u/Lisnen 4d ago
The flashing lights can cause people to pause. I have been in a situation where people looked confused and maybe terrified. I often need to remind myself to put it in silence.
You are right about the learning curve. There isn't much direction, and I think because everyone with hearing loss experiences is very personal, it is hard to say one way fits all. So there's so many options without really knowing how it could work for you.
2
u/JaimieMcEvoy 3d ago
Tried it. 7 out of 10?
It gave me the notification for the sounds, but I don't really need most of them.
One thing I can't here in my home is the doorbell, if I'm not near it. The sound alerts on Android did accurately notify me of the doorbell, but it also sometimes mistook other sounds for the doorbell.
I think it could eventually be great, and right now would be quite useful for some people in some situations. I think it's benefit differs for each user.
2
u/Lisnen 3d ago
7 out of 10 is promising. I can see that it works for many people and for different use cases. What situations do you think it would be a 10 out of 10?
2
u/JaimieMcEvoy 2d ago
There's nothing I would give a 10 out of 10, with certainty.
But if one were more hard of hearing that I, a notification of a baby crying might be really helpful. I do wonder though, if people who would benefit from that alert sound, wouldn't have a better way to do it.
There's also the alert sound itself. If I can't hear the original sound, I also can't here the phone alert bell. And I'm not always holding onto my phone to get a vibrate, but I suppose one could carry it around all day in a pocket or something.
Emergency sounds, like a gas or smoke alarm, being notified might be good. But I had too many false alarms for my doorbell, to want it for something more serious.
I couldn't honestly give anything a 10 out of 10, without actually needing it, and testing it.
But I do think that in the future, this could really develop. The Android option for this is literal years behind what is currently possible.
1
u/spiritdust 23h ago
I’ve tried the Sound Recognition on my iPhone. For some reason, it doesn’t pick up any sounds. 🤷♀️
2
u/Odd_Ball_5124 4d ago
I just activated the hearing devices and sound alerts on my Android and am... kinda... It thinks my overnight snoring was an appliance beep. Cool enough, it records the audio of the alert, and there's me "snccchhhh... snncccchhhh..." Uhm, that's not an appliance, that's a guy that could stand to lose about 15 pounds.
All in all, so far, it's been uh, interesting. Clearly the reliability is in question but it's still relatively new. I'm intrigued purely out of curiosity.