Phones

Clarity Cordless Phone Provides Maximum Amplification with Mobility

Amplification of a bad signal is worse than no amplification at all, and until recently many amplified phones made comprehension more difficult, not easier, for people with hearing loss. Recent advances in digital sound shaping technology borrowed from the digital signal processing in hearing aids have improved the situation markedly in wireline phones. But jamming all that processing power and software into a cordless handset has been a challenge. Clarity Products decided to tackle the problem head on, and people with hearing loss can be glad the company did. The Clarity Professional C4230 5.8GHz Cordless Amplified Phone not only provides up to 50 decibels of amplification, but also provides a very clear signal through its wireless handset.

Better yet, unlike many other makers of amplified phones, who seem to be satisfied in offering the basic plain-vanilla handset with an amplified signal and little else, Clarity Products loaded the C4230 with all the bells and whistles heavy users expect at both the office and at home. It features dual speaker phones, with caller ID, call waiting, and a 40-name-and-number memory; it has a digital answering machine with variable-speed playback and remote access; the handset’s generously spaced buttons are backlit, making dialing easy; and its white, high-contrast LED screen is bright and easy to read. The handset’s contoured shape makes it comfortable and easy to hold, and its concave earpiece creates an acoustic chamber that provides clear sound while blocking ambient noise. The base station is handsome with an intuitive user interface and supports up to three handsets.

The special features for hard-of-hearing users put the C4230 in the top of its class. It is hearing-aid-compatible, with digital 5.8GHz transmission providing interference-free sound. It provides up to 50 decibels of amplification controlled by the user; Clarity’s proprietary Digital Clarity Power (DCP) sound-shaping technology is integrated; and there are four DCP tone settings provide a customized listening experience. The result is calls that are not only louder, but clearer and easier to understand than most other cordless phones. There are also bright visual ringers in the handset and a base flash to signal incoming calls for people who can’t hear a normal ring.

Last but not least, it has a sleek, high-tech design that doesn’t shout out “don’t use me unless you’re old, infirm or have a disability” as many amplified phones seem to do.

Note To Steve Jobs: Why Isn’t The Apple iPhone Hearing-Aid Compatible?

I can’t believe Apple failed to make its iPhone compatible with either hearing aids or cochlear implants. I’m in the market for a mobile phone again and just discovered the lack of compatibility. Given all the hype surrounding the iPhone launch, I’m surprised there haven’t been more complaints.

The only strong objections I’ve heard have been on Paula Rosenthal’s HearingExchange site, in some chatter on Apple forums, and a complaint made to the FCC by the Hearing Loss Association of America. HLAA has done the most advocacy for hearing-aid compatibility (HAC) regulations, which now mandate 50 percent of manufacturers’ handsets meet minimum M3 compatibility standards. The M3 and M4 ratings mean there’s no buzzing when you listen to the phone with your hearing-aid microphone on, and T3 and T4 ratings mean the phone works with the telecoils in your hearing aids. But according to the HLAA complaint: “Apple has now entered the scene and is predicted to shake up the entire wireless industry. Yet they are not, nor have ever been, involved in any discussions regarding HAC requirements.” Steve Jobs is known for his arrogance and inflexibility when it comes to the design of his products. Apple’s treatment of the hearing-impaired population is a great example. What a disappointment.

Agilent Makes It Easy To Design Hearing-Aid Compatible Cell Phones

Now there’s no excuse. Agilent Technologies has come up with a design system enabling manufacturers of mobile phones to easily ensure their handsets meet all the hearing-aid-compatibility (HAC) standards mandated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

The news release and associated product material on the new Antenna Modeling Design System (AMDS) are worth looking at because they give a tutorial on electro-magnetic radition and the shielding technology required to assure your hearing aids are actually able to hear the sounds coming out of your cell phone. “By February 2008, all wireless carriers in the U.S. must ensure that 50 percent of their phones are hearing-aid compatible,” says Agilent Product Marketing Manager Erwin De Baetselier. “Today, we are leading the industry by offering HAC compatibility tests in our EM simulation environment, ensuring that designers of wireless devices will be able to meet these important and rigorous specifications.” I’ve written before about the foot-dragging by mobile phone manfacturers unwilling to put the extra effort into designing hearing-aid-compatible phones, and it’s good to see a leading supplier of components and design services taking the FCC mandate seriously.

How To Find A Hearing-Aid-Compatible Mobile Phone

Bryan Lockwood has written in with a tip on a site that makes it very easy to find out whether the mobile phone you are shopping for will be compatible with your hearing aids. PhoneScoop.com has a phone finder which lets you search for hearing-aid compatible phones, including their ‘M’ and ‘T’ ratings. When you get there, click ’show all options’ and then scroll to the middle of the page where you will find a list under the heading Hearing Aid Compatible. Then you can check off the options you need. M3 or greater means your hearing aids microphones won’t get interference from the phone; T3 or greater means the phone will be compatible with the telecoils in your hearing aids which, if you have them, transmits the voice signal directly into your aids without distortion by the microphone. I’ve written a lengthier piece on finding the right mobile phone on the Healthy Hearing web site which gives more advice as well.

Check Out ‘The Mobile Phone Challenge’ At Healthy Hearing

Dr. Paul Dybala, who runs two excellent web sites for hard-of-hearing consumers and hearing health professionals — Healthy Hearing and Audiology Online — asked me to contribute an article to Healthy Hearing on my experiences shopping for mobile phones that would work with my powerful hearing aids. It was a fun exercise and has driven a lot of traffic to Hearing Mojo. It’s entitled ‘The Mobile Phone Challenge.’ Check it out!

Vortis Cell Phone Antenna Reduces Hearing-Aid Interference

A start-up company based in Glasgow, Scotland, has developed an innovative antenna technology eliminating the electrical interference that can make cell phones impossible to use with hearing aids. Dual-antenna array technology built into the Vortis Technologies Ltd. antenna radiates electrical signals in a figure-eight pattern out and away from the user’s head and hearing aids. The result is not only buzz-free reception through the hearing aids but also lower power consumption and longer battery life, because the phone has to work less hard to deliver a clear signal. It has the added benefit of eliminating radiation directed at the head that some still fear may cause long-term health problems. A Silicon Valley telecommunications entrepreneur, James Johnson, began working on the innovative antenna technology in the ’90s and located the company in Scotland to address the emerging European Union market for accessible solutions. With the U.S. Federal Communications Commission recently mandating cell phone compatibility with hearing aids, Vortis Technologies has its sights set on a major global market. The Vortis antenna is being sold direct to consumers as an attachment to existing handsets, and the company is talking with major manufacturers about the possibility of building the antenna into their phones.

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. When I plugged it into the standard hotel-room phone, all of a sudden I could hear the voice at the front desk as well as if I were calling from home. In no time I was making dinner reservations, calling the parking attendant, and just for fun, calling for the local weather.

The ClearSounds IL40 is a deceptively simple little black box that sits between the telephone handset and base. A special connector cord links the base to one end of the amplifier, and the phone cord plugs into the other end. The ClearSounds IL40 is a new breed of phone amplifier that includes sophisticated new features that, for me, make the difference between a phone amplifier that works and one that doesn’t. First-generation of amplifiers often suffered from compatibility problems, so depending on what kind of phones you wanted them to work with, it was a hit or miss proposition whether they would work for you. The new ClearSounds product has a dial with 20 settings on the bottom that will make it compatible with virtually any phone you want to use it with. And whereas first-generation amplifiers had simple volume controls, the Clearsounds IL40 has variable tuning for both volume and tone, enabling you to adjust the signal according to the kind of hearing loss you have and the kind of connection you get. That’s a lot of sophisticated circuitry fitting into such an unassuming package.It provides you with the best possible shot at comprehension, regardless of the quality of the phone or connection. Powered by two AA-sized batteries, the unit is good to go on any trip as well as for use at home. The ClearSound IL40 makes good use of sophisticated technology already built into other ClearSounds products, including the ClearSounds CLA7 Amplified Power Neckloop, the Clearsounds CLC40 and CLC50 Amplified Desktop Phones, and the Clearsounds A50 Amplified Cordless Phone. ClearSounds is a company whose stated charter is to meet the needs of hard-ofhearing consumers. It did a lot of work developing new technology and integrating extremely useful features into its initial products. And it’s great to see ClearSounds intelligently and aggressively leveraging these features and technologies across its product line.

Hearing Aids And Cellphones: One Step Forward, Half A Step Back

Making a cellphone easy to use with a hearing aid is devilishly hard. Both devices are packed with so many chips and other digital electronics that electromagnetic interference causing feedback, static and distortion is bound to occur in one or both devices. Last week, the cellphone/hearing-aid industry coalition that is racing to meet Federal Communications Commission (FCC) requirements for hearing-aid compatibility issued a good-news, bad-news update. According to a news release from the Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions, its Hearing Aid Compatibility (HAC) group “has performed extensive work and believes that wireless manufacturers generally will meet the regulatory requirements defined by the FCC….” (Good news). “However, the wireless industry has recently documented several challenges to achieving FCC-required HAC compatibility measurements for GSM handset devices operating in the 850 MHz frequency band. This reported challenge appears to be industry-wide.” (Bad news). The upshot is that while most new cellphones will work with hearing aids, as mandated by the U.S. government, some apparently will not. Like reputable hearing-aid vendors, many cellphone manufacturers offer 30-day “try-before-you-buy” trials of their products. If you’re buying a cellphone, taking advantage of this trial period, even if it’s a hassle, is a must. Because for the time being, the watchword for hearing-impaired cellphone consumers must remain “buyer beware.”

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