Assisted Listening Devices in the UK: A Plain-English Guide to Every Type
A note on what this site is. Ovara sells a personal sound amplifier, which is one of the device types below. Nothing here is medical advice. If you notice a change in your hearing, book an appointment with a hearing-care professional first.
"Assisted listening devices", also written assistive listening devices, is the umbrella term for everything that helps you hear a specific sound source more clearly: the television, a person across the table, the actor on stage, the announcer at the station. It covers five quite different kinds of equipment, and most people searching the phrase are trying to work out which one solves their particular problem. This guide goes through each type in turn: what it does, who it suits, what it costs in the UK, and where it falls short. We sell one of them, and we say so where it matters.
For a short, everyday decision between a personal sound amplifier and the wider category, read our personal sound amplifier vs assistive listening device guide.
Assistive listening devices in the UK: the five types, in one table
| Type | Solves | Where it lives | Typical UK price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hearing loop (induction loop) | Speech in public buildings and at counters | Installed in the venue; you bring a receiver or a device with a T setting | Free to use; a loop receiver £30–£80 |
| TV listener | Television dialogue at your own volume | A base plugged into the TV plus headphones or a neck loop | £40–£200 |
| Personal sound amplifier | The TV, the table, the walk: whatever is around you | Behind your ear, worn all day | £30–£150; ours is about £74 |
| Amplified telephone | Phone calls | Replaces your landline handset | £30–£120 |
| FM or infrared system | One speaker to many listeners: lectures, worship, tours | A transmitter on the speaker, receivers for the audience | Provided by the venue; personal sets £150+ |
1. Hearing loops: the one you already have access to
A hearing loop is a wire running round a room or under a counter that broadcasts the microphone signal as a magnetic field. You will have seen the sign: an ear with a diagonal line and a letter T. In the UK it is on the glass at most bank counters, post offices, railway ticket offices, pharmacy counters, theatres, churches and council offices, because the Equality Act expects reasonable adjustments and a loop is the cheapest one a venue can make.
To use it you need something that picks up the loop: a device with a T (telecoil) setting, or a small loop receiver with headphones. If you have neither, a loop does nothing for you, which is why so many people stand next to the sign without benefit. The catch is that loops only carry what goes into the venue's microphone. They are superb for a counter clerk or a stage, and useless for the conversation of the people beside you.
2. TV listeners: the best answer to one specific problem
If the whole difficulty is the television, a TV listener is the most direct fix. A base unit plugs into the TV's audio output and sends the sound wirelessly to headphones, a neck loop or a small speaker by your chair. You set your own volume; everyone else keeps theirs. Dialogue is often clearer than through the TV's speakers because it is arriving a few centimetres from your ear rather than across the room.
The limits are just as clear. It works for the television and nothing else, and the headphones stay by the chair. If your difficulty follows you into the kitchen and the car, it is the wrong tool. We compared the two options head to head in Sound amplifier vs TV listener, and the TV's own settings solve more cases than people expect; see how to hear the TV better without turning up the volume.
3. Personal sound amplifiers: the one that comes with you
A personal sound amplifier, sometimes called a PSAP, is a small behind-the-ear device that makes the sound around you louder and clearer. Unlike everything else on this list it is not tied to a room or a screen: the same device does the television at home, the conversation across the table, the talk at the front of the hall and the birdsong on a walk. It is self-adjusted, meaning you set the volume with a dial the way you would with headphones, which is why it costs a fraction of professionally fitted equipment.
That is also its honest limit. It boosts all the sound around you and it is not tuned to your individual ears by a professional. It suits people who hear conversation reasonably well in quiet rooms and lose it when the room gets busy or the television gets going. If you struggle to follow everyday conversation even in a quiet room, see a hearing-care professional before buying anything, ours included. The full description of the category is in what is a personal sound amplifier, and the buyer's guide for older relatives is here.
4. Amplified telephones: still the right answer for calls
Mobile phones have loudspeaker modes and volume boosts, but a dedicated amplified landline handset does the job better for someone who takes most calls at home: a much louder earpiece, an adjustable tone control that lifts speech frequencies, big buttons and often a flashing ringer. In the UK the well-known ranges come from Geemarc, Doro and BT, and many are sold with a loop-compatible earpiece so they also work with a T setting. Some local councils provide them through the sensory or occupational therapy service; it is worth a phone call before buying.
5. FM and infrared systems: one voice to many ears
Lecture theatres, places of worship, guided tours and courtrooms often use a transmitter clipped to the speaker and small receivers handed to listeners. Infrared versions stay inside the room; FM versions carry further. You rarely buy one of these yourself. The practical advice is simply to ask: venues that have a system are usually glad someone wants it, and the receivers sit unused in a drawer at the front desk.
Which one solves your problem
- Only the television is the problem: a TV listener, after trying the TV's own speech-enhancement setting.
- Counters, theatres and church: use the loops that are already there, with a T setting or a loop receiver.
- Conversation, TV and being out and about: a personal sound amplifier, worn all day, is the only one that covers all three.
- Phone calls: an amplified handset, possibly free through your council.
- Difficulty following conversation even in quiet rooms: a hearing-care professional first; in the UK a GP referral or a high-street check, often free.
Safety with any of them
Every device on this list makes sound louder, and loud sound from any source can harm hearing with enough volume and time. The habit is the same for all of them: start at the lowest setting, increase until speech is comfortable and stop there, and take breaks. Our guide are hearing amplifiers safe covers the volume question in detail.
The honest summary
Assisted listening devices are not competitors; they are answers to different problems. Loops and lecture systems are provided for you and cost nothing to use. A TV listener is the cheapest complete fix if the television is the whole issue. A personal sound amplifier is the one you wear, and the one we make: the Ovara™ Sound Amplifier, rechargeable, about £74, with 30-day returns so you can find out how it feels in your own ear rather than from a photograph.