 | Ed Clausen M.A
M.A. Audiologist, CCC-A is a licensed Audiologist under the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. He received his CCC-A in 1994 and serves as Company Audiologist for the 18 company offices of Midwest Hearing Aids, Inc. in Kansas. He holds memberships in the American Speech/Language and Hearing Association, the Kansas Speech/Language and Hearing Association, and the Kansas Hearing Aid Association. You may contact Ed at Midwest Hearing Aids corporate office in Wichita at 1 (800) 668-4055 or locally at (316) 264-2411. |
Audiology
2001-11-01 15:10:00
Telephone devices
Question: What are the options for a hearing-impaired person to be able to communicate better over the phone?
Answer: The telephone can be a difficult listening situation for individuals with hearing impairment. This is due to the fact that many hearing impaired individuals depend on facial cues and lipreading to various extents to help them understand speech. However, these visual cues are not available when having a phone conversation. There are many options available to hearing impaired telephone users.First, there is a device that can be put in a hearing aid that can help with phone conversations. It is called a telecoil, and it picks up electromagnetic signals from the telephone and amplifies them through the circuitry of the hearing aid. The benefit of this is that it disables the hearing aid microphone, so the background noise is blocked out and the aid cannot feed back, or make a whistling sound when the earpiece is placed near it. However, it does take up space in the aid and therefore, it cannot be placed in the smallest aids. The smallest type of hearing aid, called "Completely-in-the-Canal", fits so deeply so that it can be used with the phone without feedback, so a telecoil is not necessary. Next, there are devices that attach to existing phones to make the signal louder. Amplified handsets are available. Another such device is a battery-powered amplifier with a volume control that wraps around the earpiece of the phone with an elastic band. Still others, called "in-line" amplifiers, plug into the base of the phone and attach to the phone cord. These amplifiers are battery operated as well, and feature volume controls. These in-line amplifiers can generate a lot of power, and therefore they can be used successfully by individuals with significant hearing impairment.However, some individuals' hearing loss may be pronounced enough that these devices do not generate enough amplification for them. It may be necessary for them to purchase a new amplified phone. There are many different types, with different features and different levels of amplification. Some also have enlarged buttons so those individuals with visual impairment can use them. Some have frequency control capability, so that the amplification can be enhanced in the frequency regions where the user needs it. If the user lives with people with normal hearing, some phones will re-set to normal volume every time the phone is hung up, so that another person picking up the phone will not hurt their ear with the volume being up too high. Some of these phones can be extremely powerful. Be careful to get the appropriate phone for your needs- don't get something too strong and risk further damage to your hearing.There are some types of hearing loss where even the most powerful amplified phone cannot help the individual hear over the phone. For these people, it is necessary to make communication possible by changing the auditory signal to a visual one. The device that does this is called a TTY (as in telephone typewriter). It looks like a typewriter or word processor, with a small screen and two couplers on it to hold a telephone handset. The user places a regular telephone on the TTY, and types what they want to say on a keyboard. The TTY generates audible beeping sounds, which are carried through the phone line to second TTY at the other end of the line. The second TTY translates the beeps back into letters, and then the message appears on the TTY screen. This happens in real time, so the conversation flows smoothly, although a little more slowly than a voiced telephone conversation. In cases where only one party has a TTY, each state has a Relay service where an operator "translates" between TTY text of one caller and the voice of the other. All of these options require that the user acknowledge that they have a hearing loss. If you frequently talk to a person who does not think they have a hearing loss and will not pursue help, then you have an option- a device called a speech amplification handset. In contrast to an amplified handset, which amplifies the incoming signal, the speech amplification handset amplifies the outgoing signal. It is designed for individuals with impaired voices, but you may find it helpful to be able to amplify your voice without having to shout! Just be certain that you only use it when talking to your hearing-impaired acquaintance…you don't want to damage someone else's hearing because of your handset.These devices are sold through catalogs and in some hearing instrument dispensing offices. Check with a hearing healthcare professional about what device is appropriate for you and to find out how to obtain one.
