There are many people that struggle to communicate on the phone, all because they don’t have the right telephone. Especially those that are hard of hearing as there are so many different types of solutions available. Often a standard telephone is not quite loud enough and being able to call a friend or relative is very important. People such as the elderly can often struggle with technology, however the majority of hard of hearing phones nowadays are simplified and easy to use.
These types of hard of hearing phones come in a huge range of different shapes, colours, and sizes. However the main thing that they all do is offer that extra increase in volume that standard phones do not. This amplification in telephones like this is usually powered by either batteries, or connection into a power socket. If someone is particularly hard of hearing then there are models that can increase sound to 45dB.
One such range of telephones is by a company called Amplicom who specialise in phones with amplification. They have both corded and cordless phones in the range and all of the phones have large chunky buttons. This is good because a lot of the elderly or disabled have dexterity problems, so large buttons make them much easier to dial. Some of the other manufacturers that make hard of hearing phones are BT, Geemarc, Doro, Panasonic, and Plantronics.
It is possible to even increase the volume of an existing telephone by adding a small amplifier into the handset socket. These devices are not very expensive and give the phone that extra boost in volume needed. They are usually very small in size and have a small volume control so the user can set the sound level manually.
These types of phones are also specially designed so anyone with a hearing aid can use them as well. They have special inductive couplers so that feedback is reduced when they are on the phone. A good example of this is when you put a microphone next to a speaker, like you might have heard from a karaoke machine. It often happens to me when I’m singing one of my imaginary number one hits.
Having telephone that you can use is not much good if you can’t hear it ringing. For this reason most of the hard of hearing phones also have extra loud ringers. Some models also have flashing lights as well so you can see the call as it comes in. Often when a call happens the user is in another room so can’t hear the ring. If this is there case there are even a range of ringers and flashers that can be added to the phone line as well.
