Find yourself asking people to repeat themselves? Or turning the TV volume up a tad higher? There's an app for that.
SoundAMP by Ginger Labs is a sound amplifier intended to turn the iPhone into a surrogate hearing aid, perfect for those who cannot afford an expensive hearing aid or who simply left their hearing device at home. SoundAMP works by taking incoming sound from the mic and boosting it. You can even modify the tone or tune in sounds at a distance by moving the bar.
The iPhone app also includes a few neat extras, like the ability to play back the last few seconds of sound with a touch of a button, or even play through the last thirty seconds. This can be a great way of avoiding asking someone to repeat themselves because you had a hard time understanding a few words.
I've tested SoundAMP over the last few days, and it works pretty good. It can't be confused with a "spy hearing device". Sounds that are very far away aren't picked up, but if you need to amplify a sound coming from across the room, you can move the bar to 'tune' it in by adjusting the volume sounds, and this works well. However, when I asked my wife to whisper something in the next room, no amount of tuning or pumping the volume up could get it to come in over the earphones, so no spying on the neighbors with it.
Where SoundAMP really shines is in conversations. Sounds that are close by are easily amplified, and the ability to repeat a few seconds ensures you won't miss anything.
This app is great for anyone who is having trouble hearing but can't afford a hearing aid, or are just waiting for their hearing aid to arrive. Even those who do have a hearing device might want to pick up this app. For just $9.99, it makes for a pretty good back up plan.
In addition to the iPhone, SoundAMP can be used on the iPod Touch, but Touch users will need a headset with a microphone.
Twilight on the iPhone? It's nothing new to Stanza users
TweetDeck: Is the best iPhone Twitter client a free app?
14 must-have iPhone apps
Comments