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Making phone calls can be a source of great anxiety and frustration for those with hearing loss. Struggling to make out what is being said over the phone can be so overwhelming that some deaf and hard of hearing individuals may avoid it entirely.
If this difficulty is one you or a loved one are familiar with, then captioned calls may improve your life. Captioning of phone calls makes telephone conversations accessible for the hard of hearing through generating captions of what is being said into text that is easy to read. Phone call captioning is available through captioned stationary phones, or by downloading a mobile app to your smartphone. These services are relatively straightforward to use for any age and are highly-affordable or at no expense to eligible users. For those who are affected by hearing loss, captioned calls offer a world of benefits and increased independence.
Restore confidence in making calls and stay connected for all life’s important moments by using a captioning service. Captioning phone calls accounts for the aspects of conversation and language that go beyond words, like verbal utterances and cues, that text cannot offer. Not only does this provide more context during conversation, but also facilitates a more natural dialogue.
While using a service to provide call captioning can be a lifechanging step for many hard of hearing users on its own, there are tips and accessibility features worth exploring to get the most out of your captioned calls. Being familiar with all the customization options and features available through your chosen captioning service will help make calls more accessible for your unique needs.
Before you make your next call, take the time to learn what factors can impact your call captioning experience and to set up your phone for more seamless communication. There are steps users can take to better hear and understand the party on the other line, like location and proper pairing with hearing-assistive devices. We share our top 10 tips for the best captioned calls, so that whether you are a current user or just getting started you can call with confidence. Read more to discover how to make your captions work for you and how InnoCaption is dedicated to making your calls as accessible as possible.
Caption quality and accuracy are both impacted by the clarity with which the party on the other line speaks. If you notice that your captions are incorrect, this could be due to the speaker talking too quickly or not speaking clearly enough. Speaking too closely into the phone’s microphone can also affect the quality of captions, and is also important for the caller to keep in mind so that they can also be heard best.
If possible, try to find a quiet location to make or accept your phone call. Not only will this improve caption quality and accuracy, but it will also be less distracting as the caller reads and follows the conversation. Background noises or conversations from television shows or crowds can also be picked up by the software or phone and be accidentally captioned and brought into the call.
Caption customization options allow users to adjust text size, color and even select a font. Make your text size larger or smaller so that it is suited to your own preference and needs for easier reading. Changing the color of the text and or background can help make captions more easily visible and legible.
Adjust the brightness setting on your cell phone or computer screen to your own needs or as your environment changes. If making a call outside, lowering the brightness may help reduce glare from the screen and make captions easier to read.
The internet network that you choose to connect to greatly impacts how well your captioning app performs. Mobile applications require an internet connection for use, and there are two options for internet access. Users must either join a Wi-Fi network or use their cellular data to run the app. Depending on the strength of the connection, this can cause the app to run quicker or more slowly, and impact the stability of your phone call. Most residential and public Wi-Fi networks will not offer the same connection speeds as a business internet connection. In these cases, turning off your Wi-Fi and using your phone’s cellular data is most likely to offer a better connection and calling experience.
Those using hearing aids or other hearing assistive devices should check to make sure their cell phone is compatible and pair the device with their smartphone accordingly. While all smartphones are required to be hearing aid compatible by the FCC, the level of compatibility and quality still ranges depending on the phone. Ensuring that your phone is hearing aid compatible helps to reduce and protect against noise interference.
Add your contacts from your cell phone to your captioning app for a more seamless calling experience. Importing your contacts into your app allows you to make calls directly from the app and eliminates the need to go back and forth between screens. Saving yourself an extra step may help relieve some anxiety associated with making a phone call, and reduce the likelihood of entering in a phone number incorrectly.
Ensuring that your smartphone is running on the most current version of operating software is key to how well your captioning app performs. If your phone’s software is out of date, the app will not be able to perform its best and is more likely to glitch, crash or not work at all. Besides keeping your phone’s software updated, it is also important to verify that you are using the most recent version of the app itself. Software engineers responsible for designing an app make updates in order to correct issues or bugs in the program, but if a user continues to use an older version of the app they will also encounter issues that may have been resolved in a newer version. Check for app updates by visiting the app store for iphone users or the play store for android users.
Enable call forwarding on your phone so that calls to your original cell phone number will automatically be directed to your captioning app. Not only does this ensure that you never miss an important call, but also that the party you are trying to reach recognizes your number and eliminates any confusion of having a separate phone number for calls versus texting.
The quick launch area at the bottom of your phone screen is referred to as the dock. This is where you can place or pin apps you most frequently use for easy access. Adding your captioning app to your phone’s dock ensures that it is just a tap away whenever you need to make a call. You can even replace the phone app on the dock with your captioning app to avoid confusion between the two.
InnoCaption is dedicated to innovating accessibility solutions with their users in mind. Incorporating feedback from real users allows InnoCaption to create new features to best serve members of the deaf and hard of hearing community to make phone calls seamlessly. Each user’s unique accessibility needs are at the heart of every feature designed to empower their communication in everyday life.
Unlike other captioning apps, InnoCaption puts the power to choose back in the user’s control as they can select their preferred captioning method. InnoCaption is proud to be the only real-time captioning service offering both live stenographers, or CART, and automated speech recognition (ASR). Not only can users select the captioning method they are most comfortable with and best meet their accessibility needs, but they are also able to switch between the two methods freely during a call.
The limited text-to-speech feature allows app users to type short prompts and then have them converted into speech. Written prompts may be up to 64 characters long and then converted into a natural sounding human voice through ASR. This feature was created with users who have difficulty navigating automated systems in mind. Unique speech patterns and accents can make it difficult for automated systems to understand and frustrating for the caller.
Innocaption’s DeskView feature allows users to make outbound calls from their desktop and mirror captions from their phone to their computer screen. This accessibility feature is a great tool for office workers especially as it allows the user to make calls directly from their computer, eliminating the need for a captioned desk phone and streamlining communication to one device. Users are also able to get real-time captions on Zoom and other virtual meetings by mirroring captions from their smartphone to their computer or other device. DeskView is a key feature for video health appointments, webinars, work meetings and staying connected with loved ones.
InnoCaption provides transcripts for voicemails as well as previous phone calls so users never miss an important conversation. Any time a voicemail is left it is automatically captioned by the speech recognition engine, and text preview of the message is available as well. Transcripts of prior phone calls can be emailed to the user so that they can be permanently saved if they would like. Saving transcripts of past conversations is handy for professionals and office workers who make captioned calls for work, and can serve as a record of past conversations with clients for future reference.
Getting the most out of caption calls is reliant on caption visibility, which is why InnoCaption offers a variety of customization settings. Simply enlarging the text size may not be enough for users who have low vision or are dyslexic. InnoCaption allows the user to adjust background color and specialized font styles, so users can focus more on their conversation and worry less about keeping up with captions quickly enough. The app offers dark and light theme options for users’ screen and seven different background color options in total to choose from. Different text and background color options enable users with low vision or colorblindness to select the display and contrast which meets their accessibility needs. Three different font styles are available to choose from to further improve caption readability. The three font styles are all accessible fonts and even features a specialized dyslexic friendly font which makes each letter more distinguishable for those with dyslexia and other reading struggles.
InnoCaption provides real-time captioning technology making phone calls easy and accessible for the deaf and hard of hearing community. Offered at no cost to individuals with hearing loss because we are certified by the FCC. InnoCaption is the only mobile app that offers real-time captioning of phone calls through live stenographers and automated speech recognition software. The choice is yours.
InnoCaption proporciona tecnología de subtitulado en tiempo real que hace que las llamadas telefónicas sean fáciles y accesibles para la comunidad de personas sordas y con problemas de audición. Se ofrece sin coste alguno para las personas con pérdida auditiva porque estamos certificados por la FCC. InnoCaption es la única aplicación móvil que ofrece subtitulación en tiempo real de llamadas telefónicas mediante taquígrafos en directo y software de reconocimiento automático del habla. Usted elige.
