Communication on the phone can be difficult for many people, especially those with hearing impairment. The phone does not transmit the full frequency range necessary for understanding all of the different sounds in speech, particularly those in the high frequencies, k,f,s and th. A portable phone reduces the transmission further and a cell phone even more. Therefore, speech transmission over the phone can sound like a mumble jumble of vowels and a few consonants with serious loss of clarity. Amplified phones and volume controls can help, but not solve the problem. Enter captioned phones.
Captioned phones are land-line or cell phones that provide word for word captions of the person speaking on the other end of the phone. The phones utilize voice to text technology, with operator assistance, to transcribe the spoken word to captions delivered to a screen of a special phone or to your cell phone (using various applications) with little if any delay. Some of the phones include answering machines and the ability to store messages for future reference.
Best of all, the service is free for qualifying customers. As part of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and monitored by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), phones and service are provided to hearing impaired individuals at no cost. Listed below are providers and websites:
CaptionCall®: captioncall.com
CapTel® Captioned Telephone: captel.com
ClearCaptions: clearcaptions.com
Hamilton CapTel®: hamiltoncaptel.com
InnoCaption: innocaption.com
Sprint CapTel®: sprintcaptel.com
