Parentgiving offers phones for hard-of-hearing people that feature amplification and other features that make having a telephone conversation far easier.
A telephone is an essential safety feature in every home, allowing seniors, caregivers and all family members to communicate with friends, neighbors, doctors and first responders in the event of an accident or health problem. A working phone that every member can use is a vital piece of technology.
A traditional phone projects incoming calls at 10 to 25 decibels, which can be heard by a person with normal hearing. Amplified phones, sometimes called clarity phones, project at up to 50 decibels or higher, making calls far louder and easier to hear. Different models project sound at different decibel ratings, and a choice can be made based on the degree of hearing loss.
Phones for the hard-of-hearing come in corded and cordless models, and both desktop and wall mounted units are available. They offer many different features, including amplified ring tones, speaker phones, additional handsets, answering machines and caller identification. Some also offer large numbered keypads, which are easier to see and use.
Many models also feature captioning, which presents a visual readout of the conversation on a large screen or display. This allows the conversation to be read, which can make it easier to use for those who are hearing impaired. Some phones also amplify outgoing calls.
Safety features such as direct dial buttons are also available, making it easier to reach a family member, neighbor, doctor or emergency responder. Some models also feature a single-button emergency response feature, which dials emergency numbers when the button on the phone or on a wrist transmitter is pushed.
Amplified phones can dramatically increase safety and a sense of security for hard-of-hearing family members, especially when a caregiver is in the home only part of the time.
To enhance the sound on your existing phone without buying a new phone itself an inline phone amplifier is an add-on product to consider. True to its name an inline telephone amplifier amplifies the voice on the other end of the phone allowing you to better hear your callers. Some telephone ringer amplifiers plug into your phone jack (you might need to purchase a two-to-one adapter if you need to plug the phone and amplifier into the same jack) while others connect on one end to your phone base and on the other to your handset&mdasheither option is easy to connect without any adjustments needed to your telephone wiring.
What you will need is a traditional corded telephone with a keypad on the base&mdashphone amplifiers typically won&rsquot work on phones that have the dial pad in the handset or on yesteryear&rsquos princess style or trimline model phones.
The first choice to make when picking a model is the level of sound amplification you want. Options vary from about 40 decibels (dB) which is equal to 100 times louder than the normal phone all the way up to 100 dB and higher.
Next decide on the power source you want. Some phone amplifiers work on electricity with an A/C adapter others on battery power and a few on both (you have the battery as back-up). Another great feature to look for is a tone selector for speech clarity this function makes it easier to distinguish similar sounding words.
In addition to all the sound increases many telephone amplifiers also have a bright neon or strobe light that flashes when a call comes in to get your attention. For instance the Amplified Phone Ringer With Strobe Flasher monitors your phone line for incoming calls. When receiving a call it will alert you with a 120 dB amplified ringer and bright flashing strobe light. The device works with all standard corded phones and it plugs directly into your phone jack.
With a telephone amplifier you&rsquore sure to never miss a call and to hear your caller better than before.
