How Phone Technology can Benefit Hard of Hearing Customers
Technology has changed the way of living for everyone. New inventions and breakthroughs have always made our lives easier. Now, phone technology has found ways to help hard of hearing people.
It was about time. There are several companies which work specifically to provide you with a means for better and clearer communication. One such company is Lucid Hearing. They have 500+ Hearing Centers in America. First, a hearing test is conducted, for free might, I add, and then aid is constructed solely to meet your hearing needs. To know more, check here.
But let’s start by checking out our phone settings. Go to the accessibility settings to see if your phone is best configured to suit you. Different smartphones offer different features. iPhone 5 and later launches have several useful accessibility options. They are the following:
Volume Control
This may be the most basic feature but it really makes a difference. Many times the volume controls are set too low. You can also opt for vibration with or without volume. Try different settings till you find your solution.
Live Listen
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It is a feature for hard of hearing customers. It will help you to clearly listen to the interlocutor while a conversation is going on. It also works in a noisy area. Audio can be transferred to hearing aids such as AirPods.
Mono audio
This is a very effective feature for people who are hard of hearing in only one ear. Many recordings such as stereo and music have different audio for each ear. But this feature helps you to hear the same audio in both ears.
Telecommunications: TTY and TDD
Hard of hearing people often use telecommunications or text telephone to converse via phone. They are known as TTY and TDD. By configuring them you can make any phone call a live text.
Notification settings
By setting notifications for messages, calls and text on visible alert and vibration alert. You can set different vibrations. Moreover, you can also set the flashlight on for notifications.
Siri
You can communicate with Siri by typing and reading.
For the Android users, there are fewer factory settings but several applications can be downloaded. The accessibility options are as follows:
Instant Transcription
It can act in accordance with a live call-in more than seventy languages and quickly participate in the call because of speech synthesis.
Subtitles
Subtitles are also available. You can choose different types of subtitles such as language, text and style.
Instant Captions
This feature is exclusive to only Google Pixel devices. It is available for all multimedia.
Hearing aid compatibility
This feature lets you pair your hearing aids with your Android phone so you can hear more clearly.
Real-time text
Real-time text (RTT) during a conversation works with TTY. This feature similarly offers the ability to type text to converse live during a call.
After you go through the settings and adjust everything according to your needs, these are the applications you can download according to your need and usage. All of them are free.
Ava
This is a transcription app that is instant and works live in transcribing the words of the group of people involved in the conversation. First, you have to install this app on your phone. Then, through the microphone, the conversation is transcribed. This works great and you would not need to read lips.
It is available for both iPhone and Android phones.
RogerVoice
Next, we have an application which is famous worldwide. It was created by Oliver Jeannel in 2013.
It has two options to offer. The first option is a live transcription of a phone call. It can be done in over 100 languages. Moreover, voice synthesis is also available to answer the calls. Text of the conversation is received from the other side. This works very well for people who are hard of hearing, deaf or have difficulty in speech.
The second option is making calls. It is due to the help of qualified and professional LSF interpreters graduates as well as graduated LPC coders. This is all done only in France. The free version of this application provides one entire hour of call with the video interpreter assistance. It is very useful and effective.
It is available for both iPhone and Android phones.
Sound amplifier
This application is similar to the Live Listen option given in the iPhone settings. But it does go on to offer more functionality such as eliminating background noises and also sound volume adjustments.
When using headphones, this application enhances the voice quality to give a better and more comfortable experience. It can also improve and amplify voices and sounds from the real world.
It is available for Android phones.
These are a few applications that showcase how the advancement of phone technology benefits people who are hard of hearing. All the applications and features are made to make your experience smooth.
