Words App

Suttonology Words App V2 for Apple iPhone and iPad

This app is a text to speech playback utility app that allows the user to direct text to speech audio playback to a variety of combinations and sequences of left and right audio outputs, with independent volume control for left and right audio channels,

This app does NOT provide medical advice and is NOT itself a medical application. It does NOT treat, prevent, cure or diagnose any medical condition. It is NOT a substitute for professional medical advice.

As with any app that plays sounds, it is your responsibility to use comfortable and safe listening levels. Stop using the app if it causes you any discomfort.

You can use this app to create lists of words which then using Apple text to speech, you can direct the playback of those word lists or individual words, to your left ear only, right ear only, both left and right ears, or sequentially to one ear then the other, or sequentially to one ear, then both ears, and then to the other ear. You can also play a masking “noise” in either ear, while playback occurs. 

I created this app after I experienced unilateral Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss (SSHL). I use this app as a convenient way to play sounds directed to my left ear only, both ears simultaneously, to my right ear only, or sequentially to one ear and then the other, with or without simultaneous White or Pink noise. I have used this app with Bluetooth and wired earbuds and headphones, and via Bluetooth streaming to my hearing aids. I found the best approach is with earbuds or headphones that offer excellent sound isolation.

The use of this app makes no claims of hearing improvement or any other outcome.

You should immediately stop using this app if you experience any discomfort or any negative outcome. Always seek immediate advice from your medical professional if you have any medical or health conditions or concerns.

How to use this app

Proper use of this app requires the use of earbuds or headphones. Note that using amplified headphones can amplify sounds in a way that surpasses any volume control limits within the device or app. Always use safe and comfortable listening levels. While the app will playback audio through the iPhone/iPad’s built-in speakers, doing so will not give you the effect of targeting playback to your Left ear, Right ear. Any brand/model of headphone or earbud that is supported by your model of Apple device should work, however Closed Back headphones, or earbuds that provide good sound isolation are best (ie, if you can’t hear sound played through the Left earbud or headphone speaker, in your Right ear or vice versa).

Make sure you have the headphones or earbuds on the correct way – for example, with headphones, make sure the speaker/ear cup marked “R” or “Right” is on your Right ear, and the speaker/ear cup marked “L” or “Left” in on your Left ear. 

Make sure your Accessibility Settings do not have “mono” enabled. 

If you have previously set your Sound output balance to anything other than middle/centre, change it back to middle/centre.

If you have enabled Headphone Safety/Reduce Loud Audio, or enabled Built-in Speaker Volume Limits, you can leave them enabled, you do not need to disable them to use this app. 

To start, set your device volume to above 0% (minimum), but below 50% (halfway), at a comfortable listening level.

Use the Word Bank Library module to create, manage, edit, delete, import or export word banks (lists of words or phrases), which can then be played back using the Word Bank Player or Single Word Player modules.

The app comes with a default Word Bank, but you can also create your own.

The app will save Word Banks in app on your device, and you can choose to play back words from Word Banks and route the audio playback to your left ear, right ear, both ears, or sequentially playback left only, both, and right only. The Word Bank Player also gives you the ability to set independent volume levels for Left and Right outputs, as well as repeating playback.

In the Word Bank Player module, you have access to options to select where the audio will play (Routing) as well as output levels (Left level, Right level); 

-              Choose L+R, and the recording will go to both Left and Right channels (Left and Right ears);

-              Choose “L only”, and the recording will playback in mono to the Left channel (Left ear) only;

-              Choose “R only”, and the recording will playback in mono to the Right channel (Right ear) only;

-              Choose “L then L+R then R”  and the recording will sequentially play Left only, then Left and Right, then Right only.

-              Choose “L then R” and the recording will sequentially play Left only, then Right only.

Use the Left Level and Right Level sliders to set a comfortable volume independently for Left and Right. These settings do not change the iPhone’s master volume level but do change the volume independently for the Left and Right audio channels. If you have more hearing loss in your Right ear than your Left ear, you could adjust the Left and Right volume levels to compensate for that.

You can also change the amount of time in between word playback by adjusting the slider for “Interval”.

Order & Repeats gives you the ability to Shuffle the order of word playback from a Word Bank, and you can adjust the “Repeat cycles” to repeat playback.

At any time during playback you can hit “Stop” and playback should stop.

The app uses Apple’s built in text to speech functionality, and the app allows you to select the Voice from whatever you have enabled in your Apple device settings (Settings, Accessibility, Read&Speak, Voices). The “Enhanced” or “Premium” voices are often a better quality. 

In the Single Word Player module, you can manually type in a word or phrase to be spoken, or you can randomly let the app choose a word from a Word Bank. 

In both Word Bank Player and Singe Word Player you can also choose to play White Noise or Pink Noise during playback, and adjust the volume of the noise level for Left and Right outputs. As White Noise or Pink Noise noise can be perceived as being loud due to its broadband nature, the app defaults to a low level to start but gives you additional controls to change the noise attenuation level to 0dB, -3dB, -6dB, -9dB or -12dB. -12dB will reduce the noise playback level more than -6dB. If the Noise Bed is too quiet, even with increasing the noise bed volume sliders, you can change the attenuation to -0db, -3dB, -6dB, or -9dB. 0dB = minimal/no attenuation, while -12dB = most attenuation.

Repeat setting allows you to choose the number of times words or phrases will playback. You can choose 1x, which plays each word or phrase once, or you can increase the number of Repeats incrementally – for example, “3x” would playback the chosen Word Bank or Single Word three times. Note when you select a playback sequence (like “L then R”) in the Routing section, it will play the entire sequence (Left only, then Right only) and then repeat the entire sequence if you enter a repeat value greater than 1x.

The app saves Word Banks on your device in app and they are only accessible to the app. If you export a Word Bank, they will be saved locally on your device or in iCloud as “.txt” files. In the Word Bank Library tab/module, if you hold your finger down hard on a Word Bank name, a menu will appear that gives you the ability to make that Word Bank active (“Set Active”), Rename, Duplicate, Export or Delete.  You can also swipe left on a Word Bank and that will expose Duplicate and Delete options. At the top right of the Word Bank Library you also have a “+” ICON for creating a new Word Bank or Import Word Bank. When Importing, the file must be .txt file that you created when you previously exported a Word Bank, or if you made a .txt file in advance with word or phrases for the purpose of importing into this app.

If you want to reset the app back to all of its default settings, you can do so in the Settings tab/module by clicking “Reset all settings to defaults”. Doing so will not remove any Word Banks it will just reset adjustable playback settings.