Many people have friends and relatives that have a hearing impairment, and you might be just one of them.
This means that you know how difficult life for the hearing impaired people around you is.
Giving people hearing impaired phones as gifts and presents for birthdays or other occasions is perfect because it shows you care.
However how do you know what to go for, which one is the perfect gadget to buy? Particularly if you are not affected by this problem, you won't exactly know what the people's needs are in the first place.
So here are a few tips to get you started in understanding the needs of these individuals and why such a phone will make life so much easier for them.
First of all you have to realize that their main challenge is hearing phone conversations.
If somebody calls them, they might simply not understand what the other person is saying due to different voice pitch frequencies, for example.
However many people are also looking for additional features in these phones, such as extra light helping with any visual impairment, and also something to help with lack of dexterity, such as offering extra large buttons to press the numbers on.
If your friend or relative has a moderate hearing loss, all they need is a phone in the range of 20-40db.
People with mild hearing loss will only need something that gives strength of 15-30 db.
However if the hearing loss is excessive, you can easily go for anything that amplifies up to 50db.
One problem that hearing impaired individuals face is their inability to hear well high or low pitched noises and sounds.
Some telephones help by having a feature that allows one to adjust the tone on the phone.
The location is also important.
Will the phone be used at home or outside.
Will it also need to have extra cordless phones coming with the original set? These will have a specific range that they can operate away from the main set, so it is important to know where the phones will be used.
If the person also needs extra visual or audio help, there are telephones with adjustable ringer loudness that also have bright light flashing on them to notify of any incoming calls.
Price is another consideration.
The more expensive a telephone is, the more features it has and also higher amplification levels.
The basic ones, starting at 15-30db are not expensive, you can find a reasonable quality one for less than $100.
Top end phones, of course, will cost more.
I've seen some come as high as $250 and more.
These had 50db amplification levels.
Another very important aspect of helping hearing impaired people is regarding them waking up in the morning.
Not being able to hear the regular alarm clock is quite a hindrance for many.
This means that you know how difficult life for the hearing impaired people around you is.
Giving people hearing impaired phones as gifts and presents for birthdays or other occasions is perfect because it shows you care.
However how do you know what to go for, which one is the perfect gadget to buy? Particularly if you are not affected by this problem, you won't exactly know what the people's needs are in the first place.
So here are a few tips to get you started in understanding the needs of these individuals and why such a phone will make life so much easier for them.
First of all you have to realize that their main challenge is hearing phone conversations.
If somebody calls them, they might simply not understand what the other person is saying due to different voice pitch frequencies, for example.
However many people are also looking for additional features in these phones, such as extra light helping with any visual impairment, and also something to help with lack of dexterity, such as offering extra large buttons to press the numbers on.
If your friend or relative has a moderate hearing loss, all they need is a phone in the range of 20-40db.
People with mild hearing loss will only need something that gives strength of 15-30 db.
However if the hearing loss is excessive, you can easily go for anything that amplifies up to 50db.
One problem that hearing impaired individuals face is their inability to hear well high or low pitched noises and sounds.
Some telephones help by having a feature that allows one to adjust the tone on the phone.
The location is also important.
Will the phone be used at home or outside.
Will it also need to have extra cordless phones coming with the original set? These will have a specific range that they can operate away from the main set, so it is important to know where the phones will be used.
If the person also needs extra visual or audio help, there are telephones with adjustable ringer loudness that also have bright light flashing on them to notify of any incoming calls.
Price is another consideration.
The more expensive a telephone is, the more features it has and also higher amplification levels.
The basic ones, starting at 15-30db are not expensive, you can find a reasonable quality one for less than $100.
Top end phones, of course, will cost more.
I've seen some come as high as $250 and more.
These had 50db amplification levels.
Another very important aspect of helping hearing impaired people is regarding them waking up in the morning.
Not being able to hear the regular alarm clock is quite a hindrance for many.