HELOS Hearing Loss Simulator

HELOS is a Hearing Loss Simulator based on a simple 3-part model of hearing loss:

• Threshold: weaker sounds are not heard / stronger sounds are heard
• Filter: the audibility of higher frequencies is reduced
• Distortion: the clarity of audible sounds is reduced / frequencies are "blurred"

Most communication partners want to understand the effects of hearing loss.  One way to provide that understanding is to simulate hearing loss, that is, to reproduce the sound qualities that a person hears through impaired ears.

It is hard to imagine the experiences of a person with impaired hearing, but it is possible to simulate hearing loss.  The HELOS hearing loss simulator changes the quality of sound so that a person with normal hearing can hear speech as a child or adult with a hearing loss would hear it.  Parents, family members, and students can develop their speech and language skills by communicating with another person who listens through HELOS.  Educators and rehabilitation specialists have used this system for many years to teach university students, train communication partners, and inform the public about impaired hearing (Erber, 1996, 2002, 2008).

HELOS is easy to use

(1)  Load HELOS software onto your computer.

(2)  Select “Threshold” (sensitivity), “Low-pass” (slope frequency), and “Distortion” (clarity).  Adjust the three sliders to vary speech intelligibility from 0 to 100%.

(3)  Listen through HELOS and experience:

• loss of sensitivity to weak sounds
• limited frequency range
• rapid growth of loudness near threshold
• poor frequency discrimination
• reduced clarity
• impaired speech perception
• communication difficulty in noise

Modify the sound quality of DVDs.  Simulate hearing loss during face-to-face conversation.

• Inform relatives, teachers, nurses, and health care staff
• Illustrate effects of hearing loss on learning and social interaction
• Increase empathy in communication partners
• Train partners to produce clear speech and language
• Demonstrate assessment and rehabilitation methods
• Support development of educational and rehabilitative procedures