There’s an interesting new option out there for the hard of hearing: smartphone apps that serve as “hearing aids.” Before we go any further, we should get the catches out of the way. First, while the apps may be cheapsay, 5you obviously need to purchase a smartphone first. Second, these apps are not replacements for real hearing aidsin most cases, they’re hearing amplifiers that simply make the sound louder. Such is the case with SoundAMP, which was released in 2009. SoundAMP doesn’t even market itself to the hard of hearinginstead, it offers the ability to “amplify the world around you discreetly.” However, one reviewer has said that it comes in “a close second” to an actual hearing aid she’s worn before. SoundAMP allows you to adjust volume, tone, and stereo channels (corresponding to your ears) with the option to replay the last 30 seconds if you missed something. It’s available for 4.99 on the iTunes Store.The more recent EarTrumpet app is a little more technologically advanced. That’s to be expected, since it was developed by researchers at the UC Irvine Medical Center. Rather than simply amplifying sound at all frequencies, EarTrumpet gives listeners the option to choose particular pitches to amplify. “People usually have high-pitch hearing loss and don’t need to amplify low-pitch sounds,” says Dr. Hamid Djalilian, the Medical Center’s director of otology, neurotology and skull-base surgery. If you’re not sure which pitches to amplify, never fearthe app allows users to test their hearing and personalize their pitch volumes. However, this test is not as accurate as one from an actual audiologist.EarTrumpet includes other features like adjustable volume for each ear, preset equalizer profiles to reduce background noise, and an “intense volume boost.” Ultimately, though, it’s still just a useful application whether than a real hearing aid, and the app’s test will not pick out other health issues that may be related to your hearing loss.