Resources
ClearSounds IL40: An In-Line Telephone Amplifer For All Seasons
Usually hotel telephones are a nightmare for me. They almost never work, even with my telecoil setting turned on and my hearing-aid volume set as high as it will go. (And then, insult is added to injury when the first call I want to make is to complain about the closed-captioning on the TV set not working, but I have to schlepp to the front desk in person to complain instead). I have the same problem with phones I try to use at clients, at friends’ houses… anywhere other than home, where I can rely on my trusty amplified desktop phone. But on our recent trip to New York, I tried out a ClearSounds IL40 Portable Telephone Amplifier, and now I believe my hotel phone problems may have disappeared forever. Read more
A Magician’s Secret Revealed: The Amazing Auditory Sleight-Of-Hand Of Speech Reading
Last night at dinner with our friends Linda and Turner, I had an insight into how the magic of speech reading works. Read more
Digital Clarity Power From Clarity Products Is Chock-Full Of Digital Signal Processing Performance
Several weeks ago I complained that Clarity Products hadn’t adequately explained the enhanced Digital Clarity Power (DCP) technology it was promoting as the latest and greatest innovation for its cordless and amplified telephones. Clarity was quick to answer my questions with comments on the blog post. And now on their website they’ve unveiled the technical background information they promised. Read more
I’m Still Waiting For CapTel Captioned Telephone Service In Massachusetts
Last night I finally got some answers to my questions about why CapTel service still isn’t available in my home state of Massachusetts, even after 35 other states have gotten the captioned telephone service up and running. Read more
Ear Gear Keeps Hearing Aids Safe And Secure
When I was five years old, my winter jacket had a pair of discreet retractable straps inside the sleeves with clips on the end that latched onto my mittens. I have no doubt that without the clips I would have spent many an unpleasant hour rummaging through the lost-and-found box looking for my misplaced mitts. Now a new company in Canada is applying the same principal to hearing aids, with a line of colorful, kid- and adult-friendly protectors for behind-the-ear hearing aids. Read more
GN Acquisition Of Interton Accelerates Hearing-Aid Industry Consolidation
The big are getting bigger in the hearing-aid industry, with GN Store Nord, parent of the GN ReSound Group, acquiring German hearing-instrument developer Interton for DKK 350-million ($56 million USD). Read more
I’m The First On My Block With Hearing Aid Sweat Bands
Okay, call me a nerd, I don’t care. I just ordered my first pair of Hearing Aid Sweat Bands, and I can’t wait to get them. Maybe they will look ridiculous to you, but not as ridiculous as I’ll feel if I continue tempting fate by playing tennis, running around in the rain, shoveling snow at the tail end of a New England blizzard or undertaking any number of other high-risk activities with my hearing aids on, unprotected from the elements. Read more
CapTel Phone Captioning Now Available In 32 States
I’m still a CapTel wannabee. With Sprint Nextel’s recent announcement of the addition of CapTel Relay Service in New Hampshire, the real-time telephone captioning service is now available in 32 states. It’s also available to current and retired federal employees including military veterans, as well as to U.S. tribal members. But it’s not available in Massachusetts, where I live. Read more