Hi,
I'm currently using an iPhone 5S, am hearing impaired, and my issues
are similar to yours below. Here's what I've done to resolve, or at least
mitigate, them.
First, as to the sounds, they are basically hopeless as they come
out of the iPhone speaker. I don't remember the last time I used VoiceOver
or tried to hear anything through the iPhone speaker, it simply isn't loud
enough even with both it and the hearing aids cranked up to the highest
level. What I'm doing is to plug my phone into a 3.5 MM cable which connects
to an FM system directly or through the computer. This sends directly to my
hearing aids and makes the phone sometimes (depending on my hearing on a
particular day), usable with sounds.
If you don't have hearing aids, there are headphone amplifiers you
can use with headphones. I have never used these but have heard some good
things about them. You might want to Google for such an amplifier if you
need one.
If you don't have or want to use an FM system, you might like to try
something like the MusicLinks
http://www.enhancedlistening.co.uk/search.asp?strKeywords=headphone&numCurre
ncyID=1
These are wired headphones which, instead of ending with a speaker,
end with a curved piece of plastic with a magnetic induction coil. This
slips around your ear, getting the magnetic signal directly to your hearing
aid. They will, I should say, only work if your hearing aids have a telecoil
setting. If, however, your aids do have that setting, they are quite good. I
used to use them and only stopped because they are very fragile and I wanted
a wireless solution. The telecoil option is also usable via Bluetooth
http://www.tecear.com
sells several such products. I have tried all of these without success, the
voiceover voices are very bad for my ears and streaming them over Bluetooth
makes them far worse. This, I suspect, depends entirely on your hearing
loss, you may find Bluetooth connectivity excellent.
There are quite a few hearing aids with their own proprietary
streaming devices available as accessories. Phonak, for example, has
something they call the ComPilot, while Oticon has the Streamer. You may
want to ask your audiologist about these things, but keep in mind that they
suffer from the usual problem, an enormous mark-up in price. They aren't bad
in their quality of sound, though, at least in my experience with Phonak and
in what I've heard from other users about Oticon and other brands. If you're
going to go this route, you might like to have a look at a site like
http://www.hearingaidforums.com
where these streaming devices are discussed and reviewed. If you have a
particular brand in mind, googling for reviews is always helpful. These
units, I should mention, are very focused on music and communication by
voice, and are not really built for voiceover/speech users. For example,
with the Phonak product, VoiceOver sometimes switches the Bluetooth carrier
on and off, making the product almost unusable with the iPhone. I would, if
I were getting any kind of streaming device, make sure the return policy is
iron-clad and "no questions asked". What works well for one user may not
work for another, and it is almost impossible to say what will work for a
person using VO and hearing aids without trying it out for a few days at
least. Keep in mind, also, that the iOS braille support is very good, I use
that a good deal more than the speech myself, and it is quite possible to do
everything except phone calls through braille. Note that it may actually be
possible to use text relay through braille, but I always find this a good
deal of trouble. It's slow, lacks privacy, and some applications are better
than others in their accessibility.
As for the phone calls, all I said above applies to them.
Personally, I find most phone calls troublesome, even with the amplification
and clarity the technology provides. Keep in mind that cellular calls are
not of the best voice quality to begin with, though I'm pleased to see that
quality is improving. I find that, even with the technology, some voices on
some days are going to work and others on others, as it were, aren't. I have
not used any of the TTY options for the iPhone, and would appreciate any
reviews on their accessibility to a blind user.
I hope all that is of use.
Aman
] On Behalf Of David Weston
Sent: Wednesday, November 25, 2015 8:54 AM
To: access-uk access-uk
Subject: [access-uk] phones for a deaf blind person
Hi,
I am deaf blind and at this moment I am using a apple iPhone 5C, But I am
finding that the sounds are not loude enough, and some time i am not hearing
it? Also when using the phone I can not hear the person on the other end? So
is there an alternative? David.** To leave the list, click on the
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