It’s everyone’s favorite time of year….back to school! It’s during this time that we begin 
to see questions surrounding FM systems such as…
“Does anyone have experience with the different FM systems especially in the classroomsetting?”
“I was wondering if anyone had instructions for their kid’s school made for them and the streamer/FM.”
Knowing how to educate not only children but teachers about hearing loss and the importance of using an FM system in the classroom is vital to helping start the school year right.
The importance of an FM System
Many who deal with hearing loss work to overcome three key obstacles: noise, distance, and reverberation. FM helps cut through noise and distance by delivering sound directly to the ear. Reverberation, one of the most common obstacles, usually happens in large spaces such as classrooms, lecture halls, places of worship and theaters. Again, when sound travels directly to the ear, it does not pick up reverberation in the room. Ponto sound processors can be used with FM systems so that the teacher’s voice can be transmitted directly to the sound processor.
“When you combine an FM system with a bone anchored hearing device and your child is being taught how to be a “visual” learner and be aware to always be looking, watching and reading lips, then together….all of these things help optimize your child’s maximum potential to hear his/her very best.” – Melissa Tumblin, Founder of Ear Community.
Connecting your FM System to your Ponto Sound Processor
For FM you need three parts:
- Sound Processor
- Transmitter
- Receiver
Once those three pieces are in place, you then have to make sure the receiver is compatible with your sound processor and your transmitter. All of the working parts must go together.
The Amigo Family does a great job at demonstrating the variability in FM. The “Amigo R2 BA” was created specifically for the Ponto Pro family. It’s important to note that the “Amigo R2” doesn’t work with the Ponto Pro family, the product name must have “BA” included, which stands for bone anchored.
The Amigo T5, T10, T20, T21, T30 and T31 transmitters are all compatible with the Ponto Pro family. The Amigo Arc and Amigo R5 with induction loop will work with the Ponto with the telecoil in place.
Ear level FM Receivers compatible with Ponto processors include:
- Oticon Amigo R2 BA
- Phonak MLxS BAHA
- Phonak MLxi BAHA
The Oticon Medical Streamer
The Ponto 3 and the Ponto Plus sound processors wirelessly connect to an FM system using the Oticon Medical Streamer. Users can listen to lectures and lessons at school without plugging any additional device into their sound processor. The Streamer has a built-in Europlug socket that enables an FM receiver to be attached.
Educating others on using an FM System
Educating teachers and children on the importance of using FM system in the classroom is vital to creating a positive learning experience. Below is a great video by St. John’s Medical Center that shows the difference an FM system can make for a child with hearing loss and the potential consequences of unmanaged hearing loss in the classroom.
Produced by St. John’s Medical Center’s Pediatric Audiology Project in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
We know you still might have questions. To help, we have a number of videos that walk through FM and connecting to other devices with the Oticon Medical Streamer. There are also numerous resources for parents in this Facebook group, including sample letters parents have used to explain their child’s bone anchored hearing device to teachers.
If you are interested in learning more about the Ponto device for your child, click below to be connected to a representative from our team.
