Q. What is MT clearSound?
A. MT clearSound is a service for people with a hearing impairment making or receiving mobile calls. In clinical trials a majority of users experienced improvements in sound quality – some said that the improvements were life-changing because it allowed them to speak to relatives and friends via mobile for the first time since experiencing their hearing impairment. The product is also for anyone making or receiving mobile calls in noisy environments such as the construction industry, noisy offices, and factories
Q. How does MT clearSound work?
A. MT clearSound technology evaluates and measures how a user hears different sounds on their mobile phone via a short phone call based test. The MT clearSound test assesses the sensitivity of the customer’s hearing at each frequency when combined with the effect of listening through their mobile phone. The results can be used to set up a signal-processing algorithm (a prescription) that compensates for their hearing loss when they listen through their own specific phone.
This ‘prescription’ is used to create an individual profile for the user which is tailored to their individual hearing ability. The profile fine tunes all incoming and outgoing telephone calls, on the Manx Telecom network, to meet the user’s individual requirements, for example by enhancing the sound of certain consonants in speech which can sometimes be unclear because of the way in which standard telecoms network technology processes speech.
The user profile is retained for all future calls – but can be altered at any time by the user if their requirements change.
Q. How do I register for MT clearSound?
A. The registration process consists of two steps. Customers must first log onto the MT clearSound website via www.mt.im/clearsound and provide details, such as name, gender, age and Manx Telecom pay monthly mobile number. Once registered, a text message will be sent to your mobile with an activation code that must be provided prior to completing the hearing test, the hearing test can take up to 20 minutes to complete. The output from the test is a hearing profile that is tailored to your personal hearing needs. You will have an opportunity to listen to the enhanced profile and compare it to a standard profile. You can either save the new profile or re-take the test and generate another profile. You will receive a second text message acknowledging the hearing test has been completed.
Q. Why do I need to do a hearing test?
A. The hearing assessment gives us the data we need to personalise the service for your hearing needs/loss.
Q. Is it the same as the hearing tests you get in an audiology clinic?
A. No, the hearing assessment is simple to complete and isn’t designed to be the equivalent of a detailed audiogram although it uses the same principles of identifying which frequencies of sound you struggle to hear.
Q. Should I take the hearing test with my hearing aid in or out?
A. The hearing test works best if you take it with your hearing aid removed. However, you should only take the test in this way if you don’t use your hearing aid when you talk on the phone.
- If you use your hearing aid to talk on the phone, Take the test with the hearing aid in place.
- If you use a hearing aid with an open fitting to talk on the phone, hold the phone with the earpiece close to the entrance of your ear canal (as it would be held by a person with normal hearing) both during the hearing test and during normal use of the phone.
- If you use a hearing aid with a closed fitting to talk on the phone, hold the phone with the earpiece close to the microphone of the hearing aid (usually above the ear). Do this both during the hearing test and during normal use of the phone.
Q. What type of hearing loss is the MT clearSound system best suited for and why?
A. The system is best suited for people with moderate to severe hearing loss.
If your hearing loss is mild, you will probably be able to hear conversation on the phone quite well without the hearing compensation provided by the MT clearSound system.
If your hearing loss is very severe or profound, your phone will probably not be able to generate a sufficiently high output level without distortion, and you will need to use a high-power hearing aid to listen to your phone.
Q. How do I do the hearing test?
A. You will be sent a link to access the on-line hearing assessment. When you access the hearing assessment you will need to have the mobile phone you currently use with you. It is best to be in a quiet location without background noise.
Open the link on an internet connected computer or another device that is not your mobile phone. When you start the assessment, you will receive an automated call on your mobile. A series of sounds will be played on your phone which you are required to respond to. This will enable us to determine a profile of your hearing which we can store on the network. It really is that simple.
If you have waited 24 hours and haven’t heard anything from us, please check your spam or junk folder. If you still haven’t heard anything, please visit www.mt.im/clearsound/contactus
Q. How long does it take?
A. The first time you complete the hearing test we advise that you allow 20 minutes. Please don’t feel rushed and you can repeat the test if you wish to.
Once you are familiar with the test (and your contact details are registered and saved), it will take just a few minutes to work through it again. This makes the test quick and easy to repeat at any time.
Q. My hearing sometimes changes. Can I repeat the hearing test?
A. Yes, you can repeat the test whenever you want and as many times as you want so you have a profile you’re comfortable with. However only one profile can be active at any time.
Q. I’m a Manx Telecom customer, what do I do?
A. If you have a MT pay monthly contract today you can simply register for MT clearSound via www.mt.im/clearsound.
At present MT clearSound can only enhance the call quality of voice calls made or received by Manx Telecom Pay Monthly customers via a mobile network.
If you are an MT pay-as-you-go customer, you will need to move to an MT pay monthly service. We have a line of Essential tariffs, offering bundled calls and texts on a 30 days contract commitment from £12 per month including VAT. Please note this tariff is correct at time of print and may change subject to changes in MT pay monthly tariffs.
MT clearSound is available on all current pay monthly tariffs.
Q. I’m not a Manx Telecom customer, what do I do?
A. You could move to Manx Telecom for your mobile service. We have a line of Essential tariffs, offering bundled calls and texts on a 30 days contract commitment from £12 per month including VAT. Please note this tariff is correct at time of print and may change subject to changes in MT pay monthly tariffs.
Q. Do you have to download an app to your mobile phone?
A. No. The technology works by storing a personal profile for you on the network. You don’t need any app on your phone as part of the trial service.
Q. What can I expect to hear when I use my phone?
A. The sound will be automatically adjusted to reflect your personalised hearing profile. You may find that the sound becomes crisper and clearer, so speech intelligibility improves. You may find the volume has been boosted if your hearing test indicates that you need additional amplification.
The new sound may take time to get used to. For instance, if you have high frequency hearing loss, you may find that the enhanced service trial delivers a ‘tinny’ sound. This is likely to relate to you now hearing high pitches more than you did before. Try to ignore that the sound is not what you’re used to and focus on whether it helps you to hear more easily.
If you find it overly hard to adjust to the new sound, it could be that you need to repeat the hearing test, so your settings can be adjusted.
Q. Will my voice sound different to people I call?
A. No, your voice will sound the same as it normally does to people that you call. Only the in-bound part of your mobile calls, the sound that you hear, will be modified by MT’s clearSound voice processing technology.
Q. Will other members of my family be able to use my phone, or will it sound distorted to them?
A. Your phone will be personalised to match your hearing profile, so it may sound strange, unintelligible or uncomfortable to others. The level of possible distortion will depend on how much your hearing profile differs from the other person’s hearing profile.
It is currently not possible to switch between two hearing profiles on a single mobile phone handset, however another user could re-run the hearing test to adjust the clearSound enhancement to match their hearing needs.
Q. Are emergency service calls enhanced?
A. Emergency phone calls will not be enhanced as they route directly to the Emergency services.
Q. Will there be a change to my call tariff?
A. If you have a pay monthly contract with Manx Telecom then you will incur no additional charges to your normal call costs and any inclusive bundles you have will be decremented in the normal way.
If you are currently an MT pay-as-you-go customer, you will need to move to an MT pay monthly contract to use the enhanced clearSound service.
Q. Will I be able to call overseas?
A. Yes, you will be able to call all the destinations that you normally can with your MT pay monthly contract.
Q. Can I use MT clearSound whilst roaming?
A. Yes, however there are some restrictions, as not all of MT’s roaming partner networks can support enhanced MT clearSound services. For a list of the networks that are compatible with the service, please visit the following link on our website and select the country you are travelling to; www.mt.im/roamingdestinations.
Q. I have registered or started to register for the MT clearSound service but wish to stop or not progress further. What do I do?
A. We’re sorry to hear you no longer want to use MT clearSound. If you want to unsubscribe from the service, you will need to complete the form at www.mt.im/clearsound/login and you will be unsubscribed from MT clearSound (you may need to login to unsubscribe). We’ll be sorry to see you go!