Hearing Loss
Lesson 3: Assistive Devices
TTY/TDD
Some people are confused about which term is correct – TTY or TDD. TTY stands for Teletypewriter and they were the first text telephones developed. TDD stands for "Telecommunication Devices for the Deaf", and it’s a later term that came about as devices improved. The Canadian Hearing Society says:
"Today, the term "TTY" is chosen because it has better claim to being a "Deaf Culture" name than "TDD" does. While "Telecommunication Devices for the Deaf" appears to limit the use of the device to Deaf people only, "TTY" communicates that its use is not limited to Deaf people and that hard of hearing, deafened, hearing people and individuals unable to speak are encouraged to use the device as well."
There are many models of text telephones for the deaf. There are text telephones with printers, without printers, large, small, and even portable. You can see many models of these at: Canadian Hearing Society Shopping Online
People in the Deaf culture often can’t hear and speak. A TTY, which allows them to type to each other through a special telephone, works best for them. Most government agencies, businesses and other organizations have phone lines for TTY.
Late deafened adults usually still have speech and don’t need to type. That’s where the VCO phone comes in. VCO stands for Voice Carry Over. It's very easy to use and get used to.
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The first step is to buy either a VCO telephone or the little portable as shown here.
I like both VCOs for different reasons, but either of them works well for the primary purpose, which is letting you talk on the phone.
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You don’t need an extra phone line to use the VCO, but you might want to put it on a separate line for convenience. In order to answer a VCO call, you need to know that a VCO call is coming in so you can send the signal to the operator. If regular calls are coming in, it can get confusing. Call privacy can also make things confusing for the operator, so it's best not to have incoming VCO calls with call privacy active. I plugged my VCO into a line we used to use for a modem. There are no frills on that line so VCO works quickly and easily.
If you are calling out, the first step is to call the relay operator. (There is no charge for the Bell Relay Service.) When you get your phone, you’ll be told how to do that. For me, it’s 711, but it may vary in other areas. When the operator answers, you give her the number of the person you’re calling, the name of the person you want to speak to, and your name. He or she then gets that person on the phone for you.
If someone is calling you, they call the relay operator at a special 800 number and give her your number (the one the VCO is attached to) and their name. When you answer your VCO, the operator types to you and tells you who is calling.
The highly trained relay operator (who is sworn to confidentiality) types what the other person says.
| You then look at the text display, which displays what the other person said. (See the picture) Then you answer by speaking |
The person you are speaking to can speak normally (slower is better) and the operator types exactly what he or she says. From the other person’s point of view, there’s very little difference. From your point of view, it’s much more manageable because you’re not constantly missing words and struggling to hear what’s said.
Though small, the benefit of the one shown here is the portability. You can feel secure using a telephone almost anywhere and in some case they will work with cell phones. Some of the others, which are the size of a normal phone (or a little bigger) have more features but not the portability.
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