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Troubleshooting

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Find your problem in the left column. Try the steps on the right in order.

Check my speaker

Before class, find out whether the speaker or headphones you are using can play the high pitch buttons (9K to 20K) on the hearing loss audiogram. Bluetooth speakers and headphones often cannot. Connect the speaker you will use, then press the button.

No sound

ProblemWhat to try
I pressed play and hear nothing.
  1. Check that the computer's volume is up and not muted, and that your headphones are plugged in or connected.
  2. On the Hearing Loss Simulator, press "Play a sample conversation" in the yellow box at the top. It does not go through the faders, so if you hear it, your sound is working.
  3. Check the faders or the hearing loss you chose. A severe or profound loss is meant to make most sounds disappear. Choose Normal and try again.
  4. Under "Sound from", make sure the box you want is chosen and that something in it has been started.
The built-in recordings are silent, but everything else works.
  1. This happens when the website version of a page is opened as a file on the computer. The page shows a yellow note when this is the case.
  2. Open the site from its web address instead: colleenelyse.github.io/Hearingandcis. The built-in recordings can only play when the page is online, not when it is opened from a downloaded file. Your own files and the microphone work either way.
The 9K to 20K pitch buttons on the audiogram make no sound.
  1. Look for a red box under the chart. It says your speaker cannot play that pitch, and how high it can go right now.
  2. Bluetooth speakers and headphones often play only lower pitches, especially ones with a microphone. Bluetooth usually cuts off above about 15,000 to 16,000 Hz anyway.
  3. Use the computer's own speakers, wired headphones, a cable from the computer's headphone jack to the speaker's AUX input, or the projector's (HDMI) sound.
  4. On a Mac, if the speaker has a microphone, open System Settings, then Sound, and set Input to the Mac's own microphone.
  5. Then reload the page.
  6. Even with the right speaker, many speakers cannot play the very top pitches. Most adults cannot hear above about 15,000 to 17,000 Hz, while teenagers often can.

Microphone

ProblemWhat to try
The microphone is on, but I hear nothing.
  1. Choose the right microphone. After you turn the microphone on, a "Which microphone" menu appears under the button. Pick your computer's built-in microphone, or the one you want. This is the most common fix.
  2. Read the message under the buttons. "Microphone on and picking up sound" means the microphone works. "The microphone is on, but no sound is coming from it" means the wrong microphone is chosen, or it is muted.
  3. Check the faders. If a hearing loss is set, your own voice comes through quiet or not at all.
  4. On a Mac, open System Settings, then Privacy & Security, then Microphone, and check that your browser is switched on.
With the microphone on, I can still hear the real sound.
  1. Move the listener away. Keep the sound source and the microphone together, and move the listener as far from them as you can. The listener should only hear the sound through the headphones.
  2. Turn off transparency mode on the headphones, and turn noise cancelling on if they have it.
  3. Keep the sound source quiet. The microphone only needs to pick it up.
  4. In the "Which microphone" menu, choose the microphone that is next to the sound source, not one on the listener's headphones.
The page says the microphone could not be turned on.
  1. Click the icon at the left end of the address bar and allow the microphone for this site.
  2. Press Turn on microphone again.
There is a loud squeal or echo.
  1. The microphone is hearing the speakers. Put on headphones.
  2. If it continues, turn the microphone off.
The sound went muffled when I turned the microphone on.
  1. Many wireless (Bluetooth) headphones switch to a lower-quality "phone call" mode when their own microphone is used.
  2. In the "Which microphone" menu, choose the computer's built-in microphone, not the headphones' microphone.

YouTube

ProblemWhat to try
How do I connect a YouTube video?
  1. Use Chrome or Edge on a computer or Chromebook, on the website. YouTube does not work in Safari, or when the page is opened as a file.
  2. On a simulator page (with Simple view switched off), choose YouTube under "Sound from", paste the video's link, and press Open the video. A small video window opens.
  3. Press Connect the sound. The browser asks what to share.
  4. Choose the tab named CHOOSE THIS TO CONNECT SOUND, keep "Also share tab audio" switched on, and press Share.
The page says "Wrong tab. Nothing was connected."
  1. A different tab or window was shared. Press Connect the sound again.
  2. Choose the tab named CHOOSE THIS TO CONNECT SOUND. It has a pink strip along the bottom.
The video plays, but the simulator does not change its sound.
  1. The sound was not connected, so you are hearing the video directly.
  2. Press Connect the sound and share the small video window's tab, with "Also share tab audio" switched on.
The play and skip buttons do nothing.
  1. During an ad, the buttons and the bar wait until the ad is over.
  2. To skip the ad, use the small video window.
The small video window never opens.
  1. The browser may have blocked the pop-up window. Click the blocked pop-up icon at the right end of the address bar and allow pop-ups for this site.
  2. On a school computer, the school's settings may block it. Ask your teacher.

The page itself

ProblemWhat to try
The page looks old, or a change is missing.
  1. The browser is showing a saved copy. Hold Shift and press the refresh button.
The font does not change when I choose one.
  1. Most of the fonts are downloaded from the internet when you pick them. Check your connection.
  2. Without a connection, the page uses your computer's own font.
I cannot hear the high-pitch test tones.
  1. Whether you hear them depends on your ears and also on your speakers or headphones. Many laptop speakers and wireless headphones cannot play the highest pitches.
  2. If a red box appears under the chart, the speaker cannot play that pitch at all. See "The 9K to 20K pitch buttons on the audiogram make no sound" above.
  3. Keep the volume where it is. Turning it up can hurt your ears even when a tone seems silent.
My quiz score disappeared.
  1. The score is kept only while the page is open. Reloading or closing the page starts it again.
  2. Open the score report and print it, or take a picture of it, before you leave the page.

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