1. Improving Conversations with Captioned Telephones
We have been trying to give the hearing impaired access to the audio world for decades now. We have
tested and tried new methods for years, hoping to discover something to improve their lives.
Each new discovery makes leaps and bounds in this way. We started with large funnels placed in the
ears of the hard in hearing.
Improving Conversation with the Hard of Hearing through Time
Speaking into the larger end of the funnel allowed the sound direct access to the ear drum. The focused
sound made it easier for the more deaf members of
society to hear.
These unsightly brass instruments were soon replaced
with little electronic ear buds that were light, portable
and flesh colored. They marked a major turning point
in the design and functionality of hearing aids.
For the first time, electricity was used to take sounds
from the outside world and amplify them to a greater
level for the wearer. Electricity made it possible to take in the information, and power the sound into a
greater volume.
With the more accessible proportion, the deaf could take their hearing with them everywhere and not
get tired. Pretty soon even these became clunky, outdated and useless when we discovered how to
make them even more powerful and less noticeable than ever before.
Captioned Television
Other technological advances brought television programming to the hearing impaired. We found that
we could prepare scripts of television programming that would display at the same time that narrators
on the screen were talking.
They called it closed captioning. People would transcribe what you were hearing on the TV, send it in an
encrypted format, and the TV could translate the code into text to display.
The news suddenly has relevance to the deaf because the can see what the reporters are saying. Game
shows become more interesting when they didn’t have to resort to reading lips.
The deaf enjoyed watching TV more thoroughly. Movie directors caught on to closed captioning as well
and began developing subtitles for their movies.
In the menu of every DVD, you can turn on your subtitles to get the script displayed for you in real time.
This feature has become so popular that many with perfect hearing like to put the subtitles on to better
enjoy the dialogue they can’t always hear.

2. Lyrics to musicals are easier to discern when you put on the subtitles. Sing-alongs and karaoke use them
to let you know what to sing when.
The Latest Technology – Captioned Telephones
Our technological improvements never cease. In more recent times, people have developed the
captioned telephone.
A captioned telephone allows the hearing impaired
to visually see what your caller is saying. The
technology listens to the voice on the other end,
and then uses its advanced capabilities to translate
what they’re saying into the written word.
The process happens so quickly and so accurately
that you can hold a normal conversation with
someone. They will never realize you’re reading, as
opposed to hearing, their comments.
This is a perfect tool for the elderly and hard of hearing. Captioned telephones make it possible for the
hearing impaired to enjoy the benefits of the hearing world again.