Cell Phone Tips and Tricks for the Hearing Impaired
Making phone calls or using smartphones is an integral part of our daily lives. However, it is frustrating for people suffering from partial or complete hearing loss to communicate using a cellphone. As telephonic conversations lack visual cues, conversing over the phone becomes daunting.
Cell phone companies have made incredible technological breakthroughs making smartphones viable for over 450 million hearing-impaired people. In developed countries, a whopping 95% of deaf and hard of hearing people use cellphones in their routine life for social interaction and other essential activities.
People with hearing impairment should choose the cellphone wisely. Present companies make hearing aid compatible cell phones and numerous apps that facilitate better hearing and help people with hearing loss stay in touch with their loved ones and feel involved.
In this post, we outline a few valuable tips and tricks to maximize the cellphone experience for those with hearing disabilities:
Check the proper configuration of smartphone accessibility settings. Modern cell phones have multiple useful functionalities that often remain underused due to a lack of knowledge.
Those who wear hearing appliances or have mild or moderate hearing loss should purchase cell phones compatible with hearing aids. Cell phones have an M (microphone) rating. Phones with higher ratings work better with hearing aids and considerably block unwanted noises. Most people use phones with an M3 rating.
People with severe hearing loss should turn on the T (telecoil) in their hearing aid to improve the signal-to-noise ratio. T4 is the best rating.
Use the dictation feature to dictate texts and punctuations.
Check the volume control option for easy and convenient functioning. Modern cell phones, specifically designed for the hearing impaired, allow increasing the ringer or the incoming sounds.
iPhone has a live listen feature to allow the hearing impaired to hear more clearly what the speaker is saying during a conversation
Make calls like live text by configuring RTT (real-time text during calls) and TTY protocols.
There is a mono audio option for people with hearing disabilities in a single ear.
Use Siri to type any query.
Set shortcuts to easily access certain features.
Set a vibration alert instead of a ringtone and avoid auditory signals.
If possible, avoid conversations over the phone and use messaging apps for quick and easy communication.
Android users can use the subtitle feature and select the desired text, style, and language.
Check the hearing aid compatibility feature, allowing better hearing by pairing the device with the Android phone.
Use apps like ava, sound amplifier, subtitle viewer, roger voice, tap SOS, or singly for an enhanced experience. These apps make it easier for deaf and hard-of-hearing people to have effective communication among themselves.
Use video calling apps like Facetime or Skype for communication.
The Google live transcribe feature transcribes speech into text in real-time in over 70 languages.
As we see, hearing disability is never a barrier in using cell phones. With technology evolving every year and companies considering hearing impaired in the design of cell phones and applications, the process will become more convenient. Cell phones can work as a great tool to help people live more comfortably, even with hearing loss.
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