People with

milder hearing loss up to 40 decibels of hearing loss, perhaps can hear

fairly well with most telephones, even without help from a hearing aid.

That's because the phone is also an amplifier, so the telephone voice

can actually be louder than a normal voice.

People with

more severe hearing loss need to use a telephone amplifier (portable or

built-in) or a hearing aid telecoil. A telecoil is an electromagnetic

coil built into a hearing aid that picks up and amplifies the electromagnetic

field transmitted by a telephone.

Although a

telecoil can be very helpful, there are a number of drawbacks. You must

move or press a switch to activate the t-coil. The amplified signal is

usually not as loud, so the hearing aid volume may need to be adjusted.

You need to place the telephone in the right position near the hearing

aid.

Telephone relay services

Due to the

severity of their hearing loss, about 4 million Americans cannot use the

telephone, even with a telecoil or telephone amplifier. These people have

depended on text telephone (TTY) services, but until recently, they could

only communicate with someone who also had a TTY device. In recent years,

relay services, which permit communication between TTY and non-TTY users,

became available in some locations.

But as of Oct.

1, TTY users have access to telecommunication relay services (TRS) nationwide.

TRS allows telephone communication between someone with severe hearing

(or speech) difficulties and anyone else, even if they don't have a TTY

device. The service is reached by dialing 711 from any phone in the United

States, including public pay phones. Once connected, the relay operator

"translates" between spoken and typed messages.

For example,

a deaf individual can dial 711, reach the relay operator, and get connected

to his or her party. The deaf caller then types the message and the relay

operator translates the message into speech. The called party then responds

orally and the relay operator transcribes the spoken message into text,

which appears on the deaf individual's text display.

With the new

nationwide 711 service, people who depend on relay services no longer

need to keep track of dozens of different numbers across the country.

The 711 access is available from regular telephones, cell phones and public

payphones.

Andrew Waits

Clinical audiologist

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