Other devices are available to help people with hearing loss. Special telephones or telephone attachments amplify or make sound louder. A law passed by Congress in 1982 makes these special phones available in public places such as the airport, train station, or library. These devices have special microphones that send the sound to a receiver or headset worn by the person. This is similar to the way a radio disc jockey can transmit music to your radio receiver over the air waves.
New surgery permits some doctors to implant a hearing aid type of device inside the inner ear.
This device, known as a cochlear implant, is similar to a hearing aid. The implant sends signals through the nerve of hearing to the brain. But more research needs to be done before the cochlear implant will help people to understand speech clearly. Some people cannot hear and understand spoken words even with special listening devices. They use other devices to talk on the telephone or to watch television.