Portable Telecommunication Devices for the Deaf (TDD)
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Does anyone know about portable TDD devices? We have received a request from the county asking which TDD devices are best and where to purchase them. The event is for 15-30 mostly senior citizens in the audience and a microphone being used in the front. They want to use the devices for other events also. Any help is appreciated. Thank you.
Sara Oser HLAA North Bay President 415-710-7281 |
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Arlene Romoff, NJ
They don't mean TDD - which is Telecommunication Device for the Deaf, which is a typing telephone, which is also known as a TTY (for teletypewriter.) Those are typing telephones and have mostly been replaced by captioned telephones like CapTel or CaptionCall.
What they're asking about are Assistive Listening Devices or Assistive Listening Systems.
And there are options for that - depending on the usage, location, audience.
Ideally, they should loop the space, and offer receivers to people who don't have t-coils in their hearing aids or CIs, or don't have hearing aids or CIs. And the ones that do can just walk in and switch their settings to the t-coil.
Other options are portable FM systems.
I'll let some others chime in on various other options.
Arlene Romoff
Past President, HLAA-NJ -----Original Message-----
From: Sara Oser, President, HLAA North Bay of California via hlaagroups.hearingloss.org <saraoser=aol.com@...> To: HLAATech@... Sent: Tue, Aug 2, 2022 9:05 pm Subject: [HLAATech] Portable Telecommunication Devices for the Deaf (TDD) Does anyone know about portable TDD devices? We have received a request from the county asking which TDD devices are best and where to purchase them. The event is for 15-30 mostly senior citizens in the audience and a microphone being used in the front. They want to use the devices for other events also. Any help is appreciated. Thank you.
Sara Oser HLAA North Bay President 415-710-7281 |
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I think you mean ALDs (Assistive Listening Devices). TDD is a telephone device for the deaf. Hearing loops are wonderful for people who have telecoil equipped hearing aids. For those who don’t have that feature, receivers can be made available.
FM and Infrared systems can also work in group settings. Both of those technologies require the use of receivers that have to be charged by the venue. People with telecoil equipped hearing aids will want neckloops to use with the receivers, while others can use basic earphones or ear buds. There is a cost consideration here for those add on headsets. Also, those receivers have to be maintained and charged regularly.
We promote telecoils in hearing aids because loops work so well. No receivers needed. Think on this a bit. Ear phones or ear buds mean removing the hearing aids people pay thousands of dollars for. They are also unsanitary if passed around among users. Hearing loop receivers also require these standard devices.
I encourage venues and groups that want to provide communication access to look into hearing loops first. It’s one of those ‘build it and they will come’ things. Once people find out they can use their personal hearing aids to pick up the sound from the microphone, they will be elated. It doesn’t just happen. It takes some education.
Good luck on this.
From: HLAATech@... <HLAATech@...> On Behalf Of Sara Oser, President, HLAA North Bay of California via hlaagroups.hearingloss.org
Sent: Tuesday, August 2, 2022 8:05 PM To: HLAATech@... Subject: [HLAATech] Portable Telecommunication Devices for the Deaf (TDD)
Does anyone know about portable TDD devices? We have received a request from the county asking which TDD devices are best and where to purchase them. The event is for 15-30 mostly senior citizens in the audience and a microphone being used in the front. They want to use the devices for other events also. Any help is appreciated. Thank you. |
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Debbe Hagner, FL
I just donated two TDD to deaf service on Monday. I don’t know what they did with them.
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Debbe On Aug 2, 2022, at 10:03 PM, Julie Olson HLAA in Wisconsin/Appleton <julieo@...> wrote:
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Sara - Here would be some options for a portable system.
1. A hearing loop using a small driver like the Oval Window Microloop III and a half dozen loop receivers with earphones would be one solution. It's not really all that difficult to temporarily loop a 100 square foot area once taught how to do so. Our local HLAA chapter did this for years until they found a "home" where they could permanently install the loop and I've used a similar system to do presentations in rooms without a good ALS. This would have a learning curve while users became familiar with loop/telecoil technology .
2. Simpler to understand and to use would be something like this Williams Sound set of equipment. If should include both earphones and possibly 4 or 5 neckloops for telecoil users. ListenTech sells similar kits but I believe their kit includes a single ear device rather than earphones which is not adequate in my opinion.
3. A less expensive option would be this 4 person ALS. It is a "single ear" system which would not be as good a earphones but I believe the latter could be added and used just like the neckloops.
Stephen O. Frazier, Hearing Loss Support Specialist
 Please support the
GET IN THE HEARING LOOP
campaign of the
Hearing Loss Association of America
---------- Original Message ---------- From: "Sara Oser, President, HLAA North Bay of California via hlaagroups.hearingloss.org" <saraoser=aol.com@...> To: HLAATech@... Subject: [HLAATech] Portable Telecommunication Devices for the Deaf (TDD) Date: Tue, 02 Aug 2022 18:05:29 -0700 Does anyone know about portable TDD devices? We have received a request from the county asking which TDD devices are best and where to purchase them. The event is for 15-30 mostly senior citizens in the audience and a microphone being used in the front. They want to use the devices for other events also. Any help is appreciated. Thank you. Sara Oser HLAA North Bay President 415-710-7281 |
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Hi Arlene,
Thank you for your input. It's very helpful. Sara Oser |
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Hi Julie,
Thank you for your input. It's very helpful. Sara Oser |
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Hi Debbe,
Nice meeting you in person at the convention, and equally nice meeting your friends. Thanks for the input. I'm collecting everyone's information. Sara Oser |
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Hi Stephen,
Thanks for the input. I'm processing all the information and thinking of the best way to present it. Sara Oser |
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The Univox CLS-1 kit includes a loop driver that will work with 100’ of copper looping coil that can be temporarily ‘installed” on top of carpet or other flooring. The entire kit plus a few loop listeners retails for under $1k.
Beauty of the CLS-1 is that you can output the audio to two loops - the room loop and another looped item - seat cushion or floor mat. I’ve set this system up in less than 30 minutes in a variety of spaces…call or text if you have any questions. 516-697-0067. Peggy Bell Audio Directions |
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Hi Peggy,
Thanks so much for that suggestion. I didn't know about the Univox CLS-1. Sounds like a good and economical solution for looping a room. Sara Oser |
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Hi Sara,
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Portable loop systems are quite a powerful
advertisement for hearing loops, since they can be demonstrated
at very little cost. Contacta have made a rather #overkill'
example: I understand that it is about USD1000. while the
manufacturing cost structure of electronic equipment these days
is very strange (the electronic parts cost far less than the
plastic box they come in), it would be quite easy to make a
similar but slightly simpler system for a significantly lower
end-user price. ======================================================================================
Best wishes John Woodgate OOO-Own Opinions Only www.woodjohn.uk Rayleigh, Essex UK Forsan et haec olim meminisse iuvabit On 2022-08-04 19:51, Cheri Perazzoli WA
wrote:
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Thanks so much Cherie. That's useful information.
Sara Oser |
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