Blog
Blog
How RM Systems Are a Game-Changer for Students

RM (remote microphone) systems can be a game-changer for students with hearing loss. They can help post-secondary students hear better in noisy environments, participate more fully in class discussions and understand what their classmates are saying. If you’re a student with hearing loss, here’s how an RM system can help you in your academic career.
How An RM System Works
RM systems are advanced hearing technology that use digital transmission signals to enhance sound transmission from a speaker’s microphone to a student’s receiver. The receiver can be integrated with hearing aids and cochlear implants or worn as a separate device. The system creates a higher signal-to-noise ratio than normal, which means speech can be more easily heard above ambient noise. This means students with hearing loss can hear the speaker’s voice clearly, even in challenging acoustic environments.
4 Benefits of RM Systems for Students
Using wireless RM technology has many benefits for post-secondary students with hearing aids and even students without hearing loss. Here are four.
1. Better communication
Many schools and universities have lecture halls designed without acoustics in mind. These are cavernous rooms without carpets, where sounds bounce off hard surfaces creating echoes and noise that make it difficult to understand an individual’s speech. This effect is compounded for people with hearing impairments.
RM systems provide a direct audio feed from the speaker to the student’s hearing aids or other receivers, bypassing ambient noise for better communication. Consider a scenario where a student with hearing loss is attending a lecture in a large auditorium. With the assistance of anRM system, they can effortlessly follow the lecturer’s voice, ensuring they don’t miss any crucial information.
2. Improved classroom participation
RM systems foster classroom engagement by ensuring that students with hearing impairments can hear instructors and classmates. In a lively classroom debate, for example, these systems allow students to focus on the conversation without straining to understand words. RM systems remove communication barriers to empower students to contribute, creating a more inclusive and collaborative learning environment.
3. Individualized learning experience
Unlike conventional classroom PA systems, RM systems have customizable settings so students can adjust the volume and tone of the sound transmitted to their hearing aids. This allows for a more individualized learning experience.
4. Reduced listening fatigue
Students who have difficulty deciphering lectures can quickly develop listening fatigue, as the brain works harder to make sense of the information it gets from the inner ear. Listening fatigue is mentally exhausting and detrimental to a student’s learning and studying ability. Using an RM system allows students to understand what they’re hearing with less effort so that they have more energy for their studies.
RM Systems and Hearing Aids in Calgary, Lethbridge, High River and Grande Prairie
At Soundwave Hearing Care, we carry a comprehensive lineup of hearing aids and RM systems for students of all ages. Contact us today to speak with one of our hearing aid practitioners to discover if an RM system is right for you. We have locations in Calgary, Lethbridge, High River and Grande Prairie.
All the blogs are reviewed and edited by our clinic's lead audiologist, Dr. Anne Wooliams. Dr. Woolliams is an experienced audiologist specialized in pediatric audiology, auditory processing, and tinnitus/sound sensitivity therapy. She is dedicated to providing top-notch hearing care and helping her clients improve their language and communication abilities. Dr. Woolliams' expertise in literature and linguistics, combined with her passion for helping people improve their language and communication, make her an incredibly valuable asset in the field of audiology. Learn more about Dr. Woolliams.