Making phone calls can be a source of great anxiety and frustration for many in the deaf and hard of hearing community. For those individuals, there are different technology options for improved accessibility. Tools and resources like call captioning applications or amplified phones can help facilitate communication and help those with hearing loss make calls with confidence.
When many people hear of a captioned phone what likely comes to their mind is a landline phone with a built-in screen to display a transcription of the call. However, thanks to advances in modern technology, there are many alternative accessibility solutions for those with hearing loss. In this article, we discuss the pros and cons of some of the technology currently available for making accessible phone calls, and help you discover what option is best for your needs.
Readers may be wondering what the difference is between a captioned phone and a closed captioned phone. In short, there is no difference! While Captioned Telephone Service (CTS) is the term most commonly used since this is how the law refers to it, many will refer to it as a closed caption telephone because closed captions are what people tend to be more familiar with from a television context.
Generally speaking, closed captions can be turned on and off in the settings of a program or device while open captions are always in view and cannot be turned off. The good news is, this again is mostly in the television context so it will not impact the accessibility you get on your captioned phone.
Captioned landline phones function pretty much the same as a traditional telephone, but provide real time captions of what the other party is saying via a screen on the phone. Each company that provides the service will offer different features, and most importantly each uses different technology to provide captions. Here are some pros and cons to consider when deciding if a landline captioned phone is right for you.
While there are many new and emerging accessibility options for captioning calls, landline based caption phones continue to remain a great option for many due to their affordability and ease of use. If an individual resides within the United States and needs captions to understand their phone calls, they may qualify to get a captioned phone at little to no cost. For those who go the route of a captioned landline phone, keep in mind it is best to get one directly from the provider or state to avoid paying a premium from a third-party seller. Since captioned phones work similarly to conventional landline telephones, there is a minimal learning curve once you get your chosen phone model.
Although landline captioned phones are straightforward to use and should be easy to obtain, they are not without their limitations. A common complaint of landline closed caption phone users over the years is that there can be a delay between what the other person is saying and when the captions appear on the screen. Since closed caption phones are the same design as a traditional telephone, they are also not designed to be mobile and are cumbersome, or even impossible, to travel with. This may be an inconvenience for office workers for example, as users can only use their closed caption phone at their desk or other stationary location. It is worth noting that closed caption phones are also intended for individuals who need captions to understand their calls and can voice their responses. Therefore, captioned phones are not a solution for everyone in the deaf and hard of hearing community.
Amplified phones are designed the same as a standard telephone, but allow the user to increase the volume of both the ringer and the speaker on the call beyond the abilities of a traditional phone. There are a variety of amplified phone models which provide varying features to meet different accessibility needs. Some of these available features may include: t-coil connection or Bluetooth, visual indicators like flashing lights, and backlit keypads. Amplified phones work well for some individuals can have an accessible call with louder volume and audio control. If an amplified phone seems like a good option for an individual, it may be prudent to consult with an audiologist or hearing health professional to determine which model is best to use in conjunction with their respective hearing-assistive device.
As we mentioned, amplified phones boast an array of features, depending on the model you select. Keep the features discussed in mind while shopping, so that you purchase the phone model that best meets your accessibility needs. For many hard of hearing individuals, some tones and pitches are easier to hear than others. A great feature of many amplified phones is that they also enable the user to control the tone. Some amplified phones even come with preset tones so that the hard of hearing user can quickly and easily tap a tone control button to change the pitch of the other party’s voice. Even better, certain models of amplified phones allow customizable tonal control, so that it can be matched to an individual’s own audiogram and hearing frequencies. Another feature some amplified phones offer is the amplification of outgoing speech which can be useful as those with hearing loss sometimes begin to start speaking more softly. Amplified phones are helpful beyond active calls too, as there are models that offer ultra-audible ringtones or flash to indicate an incoming call.
While amplified phones may be useful for enhancing volume and adjusting tone for improved clarity, their capabilities are limited beyond these functions. Whether an amplified phone is a good solution for an individual will depend on their degree of hearing loss and accessibility needs. Generally speaking, amplified phones may be less likely to be helpful for those who have severe or profound hearing loss. Another possible downside to using an amplified phone is that the majority are not able to be used with closed caption phones, and do not have any way to provide captions on their own.
If you are a hearing aid user, it is vital that any assistive phone be compatible with your hearing assistive device. Hearing aid compatible phones are designed with this exact need in mind. It is required by the FCC for all workplace, emergency, public and mobile phones to be hearing aid compatible. This not only improves accessibility for the public, but with mobile phones being hearing aid compatible and popular this also puts this technology in more hands of those who need it. As a result, this may also eliminate the need to purchase a specific hearing aid compatible model landline phone. Hearing aid compatible phones use two rating systems which are important to keep note of when shopping for one. The two ratings used are the M and T rating. An M rating will range from one to four, and serves to help remove background noise and feedback. A hearing aid compatible phone’s T rating refers to the compatibility level of the phone with a user’s tele-coil in their hearing aid. This technology may help improve the signal quality of the call by sending the sound directly to your hearing aid processor without having to rely on a microphone.
In today’s age, technology is constantly being innovated and updated and smartphones are the majority of phones purchased. As smartphones and other phones are hearing aid compatible, this puts this assistive technology at the majority of hard of hearing individuals’ fingertips. For those with mild to moderate hearing loss, most cell phones today will be compatible with your hearing aid without further action from the user. This is thanks to what is known as acoustic coupling, which simply means that the microphone on your hearing aid will automatically pick up the sound from the phone’s speaker on its own. Another feature of both the majority of landline and mobile hearing aid compatible phones is that they have the capability to flash or vibrate to alert of an incoming call.
Although hearing aid compatible phones are easily accessible and may be a solution for those with light or moderate hearing loss, this style of phone may not be as great of an option for those who are severely hard of hearing. Despite cell phones being compatible with hearing aids, for this technology to benefit those with severe hearing loss, users must also turn on the tele-coil in their hearing aid. As mentioned above, while most smartphones are hearing aid compatible without special configuration thanks to acoustic coupling, the downside is that this may also pick up background noise and negatively impact the quality of the audio making it difficult to understand. Since not every phone has the same M or T score rating, it is important to account for your level of hearing loss in relation to the M and T ratings when shopping for a phone. A phone with an M and T score rating of four will yield the best and clearest delivery of call audio.
Stenographers are individuals with years of specialized training to type or transcribe in shorthand methods to enable them to write as quickly as people speak. To do this, these individuals use stenotype machines that have special keyboards which work with syllables instead of letters. As a practical matter, this allows for a word like “calendar” to be produced with three strokes instead of eight strokes which you would need to make on a regular keyboard. Stenography in an accessibility setting is referred to as CART captioning which stands for Communication Access Realtime Translation. CART captioning is considered to be the gold standard in accessibility and can be used to have an accessible phone call.
CART captioning of phone calls provides high levels of accessibility since these individuals are highly trained to be able to produce fast and accurate captions in real time. For those who benefit from receiving captions of not only what is spoken, but non-verbal cues like when a person is laughing, a dog is barking, or there is poor connection – unlike some other captioning methodologies a CART provider is able to include those cues as parentheticals (e.g., [laughter] or [dogs barking]). Another benefit to using a CART provider is the ethical and legal obligation for them to maintain the confidentiality of your conversations. Since these professionals have invested significant resources into their education and training to be able to work in secure environments, you can have peace of mind that your conversations are private. Another benefit of opting to use CART captioning for an accessible phone call if you are in the United States is that you may not have to pay for it directly. For conference calls, remote meetings, and training your employer may be required to contract with a CART provider on your behalf under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Additionally, you may live in a state whose relay provides for CART where calls are scheduled ahead of time. For calls from your smartphone on demand at any time, InnoCaption is the only FCC certified captioned app which provides captioning of calls at no cost to you using CART for deaf and hard of hearing individuals in the United States who need captions to understand their phone calls.
While CART providers are a life changing resource for many, there is not one best accessibility solution for all. CART can be expensive to contract with when you need to pay out of pocket. Another potential drawback is that, as with all humans, the captions are as good as the provider and other factors like their connection. Many community members have reported frustrations with having to disclose their hearing loss to have their employers contract with a CART provider and additional frustrations with not receiving the accommodation even after disclosure and request.
As smartphones only continue to grow in popularity, there are more applications designed to improve accessibility. There are multiple caption apps available for download which use automatic speech recognition (ASR also known as voice recognition) to transcribe the words being spoken. Each of these apps are different, some are for in-person use while others are specifically for phone calls. Here we specifically focused on those meant for phone calls. Amongst those applications, some are certified and regulated by the Federal Communications Commission and others are not.
These applications which rely only on ASR provide consistently fast real-time captions of what is being said on the phone call. Since it is computer based only, there is no human intermediary and the captions produced are exactly what the software hears. Many of these captioning apps for phone calls are at no cost to the user or provided for a monthly fee. Generally speaking, those which are funded and regulated by the FCC are provided at no cost to users, while services which are not regulated are provided at a cost.
The accuracy and reliability of caption apps is affected by background noise and the clarity of the speaker. Unlike CART or captioning provided with a human intermediary, for speakers with unusual speech patterns or in a location with background noise, the caption accuracy will significantly vary. Many of these apps require a stable internet connection and are only available on cell phones, so they may not be the easiest option for seniors or those living in rural areas.
InnoCaption is a mobile app that provides real-time captioning of phone calls for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing. The app is available to these individuals within the United States who need captioning to understand their phone calls. The user speaks as anyone would for a phone call, and can see captions of what the other party is saying to them. InnoCaption provides captions using CART or ASR, the deaf or hard of hearing individual is the one who selects what they would like to use for each call.
InnoCaption understands that accessibility needs are as unique as the individual. Which is why InnoCaption uses user feedback to implement new features and innovate accessibility solutions. Available features for eligible users include: caption generation methods, text and background customization, text-to-speech, and more to help the hard of hearing call seamlessly. The best part of all is that InnoCaption is offered at no cost for those with hearing loss. The InnoCaption team’s mission is simple; to empower those with hearing loss to call with confidence.
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.
