Fortunately, modern technology has been able to provide devices that provide these functions for hard of hearing, late deafened, and oral deaf persons. Assistive listening devices are extremely beneficial to hard of hearing, late deafened, or oral deaf persons who retain some residual hearing. Cochlear implants are relatively recent inventions that can partially restore the ability to process sound for people with hearing loss. They seem to be especially effective for late-deafened people who have had some usable hearing in recent years. Cochlear implants are somewhat controversial within the Deaf Community, but with their growing success has come growing acceptance.
Hearing aids are one of the mainstays of personal communication for people with hearing loss.
There are an incredible variety of devices available. One of the more recent advances is the digital hearing aid, which promises the ability to more closely match your hearing aid to your hearing loss. Speech recognition is a promising technology that has the capability to really open up communications to people with hearing loss. Although it is not currently commercially viable, the progress in recent years has been astounding. An accurate, usable system in the next few years in not out of the question.