• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Contact | 360-778-1266

Center for Hearing Loss Help

Help for your hearing loss, tinnitus and other ear conditions

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Reference
    • Glossary of Ear Terms
    • Drug Pronunciation Guide
    • Looping Information
    • “Learn About Hearing”
    • Useful Links
  • Museum
  • Blog
  • Shop
    • Alerting Devices
    • Assistive Listening Devices
    • Books
    • Loop Systems
    • Speechreading CDs
    • Telephones, amplified
    • Visor Cards

Is A T4 Rating in a Cell Phone Enough, or Do I Still Need the Music Links

by Neil Bauman, Ph.D.

A person asked:

Will a cell phone with an M3/T3 or an M4/T4 rating work OK as-is if held to my ear in “normal” use? Or should I purchase in addition the Music Links device you describe for optimal results? I have a difficult time hearing in noisy situations where the background noise level is moderate to high.

You’ll have to try each phone out and see. That’s the only way to tell for certain if it will really work with your particular hearing aids and t-coils.

Compatibility is a relative thing. There are many variables to consider. For example, you may find a given phone interference-free when it connects to a nearby cell tower, but find that it causes interference when the tower is far away.

This is because cell phones only put out enough power to reach the tower nearest them in order to extend battery life. Thus, if the tower is nearby, the cell phone puts out minimal power and with that, minimal interference, but if the tower is far away, the same phone has has to put out full power, and that may result in more interference.

Furthermore, some cell phone networks inherently cause less interference than others. For example CDMA networks cause the least interference, then comes TDMA and finally GSM with the most interference. So if your service provider uses CDMA technology (e.g. Verizon, Bell South, etc.) you will tend to get less interference than if your provider uses GSM technology (AT&T, etc).

As regards getting Music Links, much as I’d like to sell you a pair, I’d suggest you hold off on purchasing them until you see if you can use your new cell phone with just your hearing aids. If so, you have saved yourself some money and the inconvenience of using extra assistive devices. If you find you need the Music Links, you can always get them later.

Primary Sidebar

Hearing Loss Research & Resources

Free Visor Cards

Download your free Visor Cards for hard of hearing or deaf people here.

Loop Systems

Loop your home or meeting room. Discover how you can hear wonderfully clear sound again when listening to the TV/radio, etc, or when listening to a speaker at a meeting.

Loop systems are one of the best-kept secrets in town. To learn more about Loop Systems and what they can do for you, click here.

Take Control of Your Tinnitus—Here’s How

If your ears ring, buzz, chirp, hiss, click or roar, you know just how annoying tinnitus can be. You do not have to put up with this racket for the rest of your life. This book teaches you many things you can do to help bring your tinnitus under your control so it no longer bothers you.

Learn More | Add to Cart—Printed | Add to Cart—eBook

Sounds Now Too Loud for You?

Hypersensitive to Sound front coverIf some (or all) normal sounds seem so loud they “blow the top of your head off”, or make you wince or jump, or cause you headaches or ear pain, or affect your balance, or result in fear or annoyance of sounds so you feel you have to avoid these sounds, this book is for you!

Learn More | Add to Cart—Printed | Add to Cart—eBook

Hearing Phantom Sounds?

When hard of hearing people begin hearing phantom voices or music, they immediately worry they are going crazy. It never crosses their minds that they are sane and are just experiencing Musical Ear syndrome.

To learn more about the strange phantom sounds of Musical Ear syndrome and what you can do about them, click here to read a comprehensive article about Musical Ear Syndrome.

Or get the book—Learn More | Add to Cart—Printed | Add to Cart—eBook

Glossary Navigation

  • Full List of Glossary Terms
  • A to Z Index

Footer

Center for Hearing Loss Help

Neil G. Bauman, Ph.D.

1013 Ridgeway Drive, Lynden,
WA 98264-1057 USA

Email: neil@hearinglosshelp.com

Phone: 360-778-1266 (M-F 9:00 AM-5:00 PM PST)

© 2025 Center for Hearing Loss Help – Help for your hearing loss, tinnitus and other ear conditions

"The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life [which also includes perfect hearing] through Jesus Christ our Lord." [Romans 6:23]

"But know this, in the last days perilous times will come" [2 Timothy 3:1]. "For there will be famines, pestilences, and [severe] earthquakes in various places" [Matthew 24:7], "distress of nations, the sea and the waves roaring"—tsunamis, hurricanes—Luke 21:25, but this is good news if you have put your trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, for "when these things begin to happen, lift up your heads [and rejoice] because your redemption draws near" [Luke 21:28].