TelecoilTips

SHHH

Tips for Telecoil Users:

Finding the Best Digital Wireless Phone For You

(NOTE: This article was written before Self Help for Hard of Hearing People - SHHH - changed their name to Hearing Loss Association of America - HLAA. It is believed that it still reflects the advice of the national office of Hearing Loss Association of America.)

Wireless phones can meet important communication needs for hard of hearing people who are able to hear on telephones. In addition to providing effective and convenient communication by telephone, many wireless phones can provide caller id information and interactive visual information (web access and/or text messaging), and also perform as a vibrating alarm clock, timer or reminder of scheduled events, all of which are accessible to people with hearing loss.

Phone manufacturers generally do not list measurements of the base volume, vibration strength, ringer sounds, and inductive field of each phone. For this reason, it is important for potential customers with hearing loss to personally evaluate various features of a phone to determine if those features are accessible to the customer. This is not a simple process. Every person's needs are different and the person's experience of the quality of sound from phones is affected by the person's hearing loss or hearing aid/cochlear implant. Salespeople at the store may be able to provide additional information about phones or service features but often lack information that is specific to the needs of hard of hearing people. Some phones that are not on lists of phones accessible to hard of hearing people may still be accessible or have many desirable features.

Because finding an accessible phone that works well with the telecoil can be especially challenging, the following tips are geared towards "http://www.hearingloss.org/html/rosstelecoilarticlejf02.HTM" users to help them gather the information necessary to select a phone they can use directly (i.e., without being required to use accessories). However, most of these tips are also useful to users of hearing aids or cochlear implants (CIs) who do not use the telecoil. After reading this list, we suggest reviewing it again to indicate to yourself which tips you would like to use (or disregard) in selecting your phone.

1. Particularly if you use or may use a telecoil, plan on trying several activated phones at stores directly operated by CDMA service providers, such as Verizon Wireless or Sprint PCS, or by Nextel (iDEN). Phones operated by other digital service providers often generate too much magnetic interference on the telecoil setting, although this may change over time. (Although analog phones tend to be accessible to telecoil users, they are being phased out.) Before doing a great deal of research on individual phones, you may want to try out phones at store(s) operated by local service providers to check out which ones work well with your hearing aid or CI, and then do further research afterwards on the phones you liked the best. (People who use hearing aids or cochlear implants with excellent immunity against radio frequency interference and who do not use the telecoil may be able to hear on phones from all the digital service providers.)

2. Research and learn about the features available through each service provider mentioned above to determine if any are important to you. Some features which may be of particular value to people with hearing loss are:

Short Messaging Service or Text Messaging (check whether the message is displayed on

the handset, requires web access or additional software, or whether the phone can send

messages to email addresses)

Web access (displayed on the phone itself)

Internet access with PDA or computer (phone as wireless modem)

Instant messenger service (for communicating with other IM users)

Note: Features offered by a service provider may not all be available on every phone offered by

the service provider. Many features incur an additional cost, such as high-speed Internet access,

or may use up airtime.

3. Research the features of phones via the service provider's web site or via the phone manufacturer's web site. You may be able to download the user guide for the phone from the manufacturer's web site (which can also be helpful for learning if the phone can be made accessible to people with poor vision or other disabilities). Some potential features in the phone are:

"http://tap.gallaudet.edu/WirelessPhoneTTY0902.htm"

(with TTYs which meet new standards for compatibility with wireless phones)

VCO compatibility (allowing you to receive TTY tones using an external TTY, and to use your voice to speak)

4. Note the factors of a phone that may (but do not always) create interference with telecoils:

Cell phone battery near speaker

Backlight or other electronics near speaker

Antenna near speaker

First try phones that are likely to have less interference with hearing aids, like flip-top phones (with speakers that flip up away from the body of the phone).

5. Unless you are very sensitive to loud sound, turn up the volume control on the phone. The top level usually increases the gain of the phone a maximum of 18 additional decibels. Increasing the volume also usually increases the inductive field from the phone to the maximum level. You can later decrease the volume on your hearing aid or the phone if the sound is too loud. (If your hearing loss is mild or if you are unusually sensitive to loud sound, err on the side of safety: start at the lowest volume settings and increase as necessary the volume control of the phone and then your hearing aid to the level which sounds best to you.) Note: other people around you may be able to hear the conversation on your phone if the volume is all the way up.

6. To determine whether the phone will create interference with your hearing aid and/or telecoil:

Place a call, and listen to the phone's speaker as quickly as possible after pushing the

Send button. Any initial interference may also indicate the level of interference you would

experience in areas that are distant from a transmitter tower.

If you hear continuing interference that is ongoing, try changing the backlight to turn off

after a few seconds to determine if the backlight is the cause of the interference. Also

slowly move the phone around your hearing aid to check whether you can easily avoid

hearing interference. If you still hear significant interference, try other phones to find one

you can use directly without interference (there are many that do not cause interference).

7. Test the quality of sound from the wireless phone by calling a recorded message or someone you know. Is the signal loud and clear enough for you? There can be significant differences in sound quality among phones from the same service provider. Make a note to yourself about the phone models on which you hear the best.

8. Check to see whether you can hear yourself through the phone (sidetone) using your telecoil. Sideone is very helpful for monitoring your speech on the phone. Many phones do not provide sidetone.

9. Do you hear much better using both ears than one alone? Consider looking for and trying out phones with speakerphone capability. However, make sure there is a way for you to use the phone by voice without the speakerphone. (Accessories are available which can provide binaural hearing and/or hands-free listening on most wireless phones, such as loopsets.)

10. Note whether the phone's headset jack is the 2.5 mm standard (compatible with most phone accessories) or whether there are adapters available. If not, you may not have the option of using hands-free accessories that are compatible with your hearing aid because these tend to use the 2.5 mm standard. The lack of a 2.5 mm jack can be particularly problematic for wireless devices that are operable by voice only in speakerphone mode or unless a proprietary accessory is attached---but the proprietary accessory may not be designed to be worn with hearing aids.

11. Look for phones that have built-in vibrating alerts in addition to a variety of ring tones. Try to determine whether you can be alerted by the vibrations of the phone by "wearing" the phone (with a belt clip or in your pocket), calling it with another phone and feeling the phone vibrate on your person.

12. Also listen to the various ringers available on the phone to determine which you can hear best. (Changing the ringers in the phone often generates the sound of the new ringer.) Although you may not be able to hear most of the ringers, you may be able to find one or two that you can hear well with your hearing aid or CI.

13. Check whether the phone can display a visual alert when it rings; this can be particularly useful when you are charging the phone and if you want to be alerted when it rings.

14. Ensure you understand the terms of the trial period for the phone. Some service providers may state you are responsible for the cost of service for an entire month even if you return the phone within two weeks. The service provider may normally require a non-refundable activation fee (typically $36); ask to have this waived in consideration of your need to make sure the phone is accessible to you.

15. If you anticipate traveling, consider choosing a phone that work on analog as well as digital networks so that you can still use the phone in remote areas during an emergency. (Quite a few phones work only on digital networks.)

16. Consider looking at comments about phones from users as well as professional reviewers (available at "http://www.cnet.com", "http://www.zdnet.com", and "http://www.epinions.com").

17. During the trial period, check out whether you can sense all the alerts on the phone, such as the low-battery alert or a call-waiting alert. For example, if the battery dies without warning when you are on the phone, this may be because you could not hear or feel the low-battery alert (assuming that there was one).

18. During the trial period, make sure you are satisfied with the quality of the audio from the phone as well as its reception at home, at work, and/or other areas you frequent. A phone may work well in some locations but not others due to poor coverage by the service provider.

19. Make an effort on a weekend during the trial period to test out the usability of all the features of the phone: three-way calling, entering names and phone numbers into the address book, retrieving stored contact information from the phone, using any software supplied to back up your data from the phone, and if available, messaging, web access, Internet access, setting up appointment reminders, using the phone as an alarm clock, etc. Send a short text message from your computer to your phone's email address to check how your phone receives messages and how you are alerted to new messages. Do also make an effort to read through the user manual as you may find useful information there you would not discover otherwise.

20. Consider joining Internet user groups for the phone you obtain or are interested in obtaining. These user groups can be valuable sources of information about the phone. One potential source of user groups is "http://groups.yahoo.com"; do a search for the model number of your phone to find a user group.

21. If the phone turns out not to be usable for you and you return it during the trial period, you will need to cancel the service with the service provider in addition to returning the phone to the store. Let the service provider know that you have a hearing loss and if the phone did not work for you for this reason; they may waive the service fees.

As you can see, there are many variables to consider in choosing a phone for a particular individual. Although selecting a phone is not a simple process, a thorough evaluation process can help you find a phone that will work very well for you in many different situations. Some phones can even act as an organizer and if the phone has a vibrating mechanism, it can remind you of upcoming appointments. Conversely, purchasing a phone without making sure it is fully accessible to you may mean that you may miss important calls, lose a phone call without warning, or otherwise have difficulty using certain features of the phone.

We hope you have found these tips helpful. Enjoy your new phone!

Dana Mulvany

Director, National Center for Hearing Assistive Technology

Self Help for Hard of Hearing People