CI users. Can you use the phone?

[deafskeptic]

I can speak to family members on the cell phone and talk to strangers (with some difficulty) on it. I found out that I can use the intercom at the Lynchburg hosipital when I under went bypass surgery last Christmas. I never would have been able to do that using my old HA.

However, I never will be able to man the phones all day. I have poor auditory memory and I find it easier to remember stuff if I see it rather than hear it.

 

[sr171soars]

Let me see if I understand what some seem to be saying.

Some of you can hear on the phone but won't or won't try it?

If so I can't even fathom the logic behind the decision to not even try. And if you can use it why not use it?

In a way I find that a tad bit insulting. For I lost my ability to do that almost 20 years ago and I would love to be able to just pick up the phone and order a pizza, book my own shows or just say hello to friends and family. For someone to be able to but just won't is kind of ridiculous to me.

I'm not trying to be negative. I just can't understand this.

Or am I misunderstanding something?

Obviously, phone usage is not an issue with me as I do use it quite often.

However, I would like to add one reason why it is difficult for many CI folks to use the phone. I think confidence plays a big role in using the phone. Before my CI when using a HA, it wasn't easy using it if I didn't know the person. I really didn't like using more than necessary since it was hard at times not being sure you understood everything. Also, it could be embarrassing to ask the person to repeat too much.

I can remember when I started using it soon after I got hooked up. I was somewhat cautious when using the phone as I wasn't sure how I would do. I realized that it was so much easier and I became less reluctant to use it. As I got better with it and more confident, off I went and never looked back. So, it wasn't as if I started with a bang with the phone but a fairly gradual process over a couple of months.

 

[RonJaxon]

Thanks for the replies. That all makes sense. I can certainly understand the confidence issue as well. My own speech is one of the few things I dread to be able to hear when I get the CI.

That's another advantage I think I might have. I'm a professional entertainer and I had to learn how to speak to large crowds. I had a real confidence problem with that because I know my speech isn't all that great. It's for the most part understandable but I do now my speech is far from perfect. So that was something I really had to overcome. One way I overcame this is I went to public places and performed. IT didn't matter where. I'd sing karaoke (Only songs I remembered from when I could hear), I'd go to open mic nights. Anywhere I could perform and talk to a crowd. Another obstacle was performing and speaking to a camera. It's been so long since I talked to someone that I wasn't talking to live and in person that it felt strange talking to an object (Camera). Then of course the nervousness made my speech even worse. To overcome this I spent a lot of time recording myself on my own home camera. So maybe these experiences will give me a little help when I get my CI and start to learn to hear again. I hope so.

Do any of you use captel or webcaptel? I was thinking that it could be helpful in gaining that confidence. So you'll be "Listening" as best you can but also reading what they say. Probably read more then hear it but maybe after a while you, and I, could start to understand more and more of what we hear over the phone.

This is hypothetical of course for I don't have my CI yet. But I just thought I'd mention it in hopes it might be helpful.

 

[Watermelon]

Do any of you use captel or webcaptel? I was thinking that it could be helpful in gaining that confidence. So you'll be "Listening" as best you can but also reading what they say. Probably read more then hear it but maybe after a while you, and I, could start to understand more and more of what we hear over the phone.

When I was younger, I would try using the speech recognition software to practice my speech. I tried for months, and then I just got so impatient with correcting it all the time. I eventually wanted to defenestrate it! Hopefully it was just the software, not my speech. But, hard to say.

 

[SteveESP52]

I use the phone on the T-coil setting. I have a mixed setting for T-coil 2/3 to microphone 1/3 so I still get some input through the Microphone but 1/3 normal volume. This gives me the ability to still hear what is going on around me but not overpowering. Some MAPs are set up for T-coil only when selected where the microphones are turned off 100%. I have heard other people ask about an occasional buzzing when walking through security sensors. I would imagine that most likely the Audi has set up the T-coil to be turned on all the time if you hear that noise. I only hear the security sensor buzz when I have my T-coil turned on.

I can use the phone with the microphone alone but it is a little more difficult mainly due to being able to pick up all the background noises.

If users can hear pretty well with their CI or HA but find it very difficult to hear on the phone using the Microphone, from my experience, I suggest trying the T-coil setting on your HA or CI. If you hear buzzing sounds when using the T-coil, you may have a phone that is not very compatible with T-coil settings. You may have to try different phones as they are all different. I find business phones are typically better than personal home cordless phones. Cell phones vary. My wife's cell, does not have a good T-coil compatibility even though it is rated at M4/T4. My cell phone T-coil compatibility is great but the speaker is not very good. My work cell works well on T-coil setting also.

As a side note, if you are wondering what the buzzing sounds like, I have found that my CRT computer monitor (traditional old style monitor) produces a wonderful buzz if I get close to it. (internal power supply is not shielded) I hear the high power line buzz when I walk under them. On some occasions, if I lean up against a wall above a light switch, I can pick up the 60hz frequency of the power lines in the house but only if I am up against the wall with the CI almost touching the wall. My older HA's would do the same when set on T-coil.

Just some ideas how to figure out if your phone is capable of providing a clean T-coil signal for your HA or CI to use. Do keep in mind, price does not necessarily mean the product is good for what you need it to do. I purchased a $90.00 cordless phone with the best ratings thinking it would work great. Didn't work well at all. Heard more buzzing than speech. I tried a cheap $30.00 cordless phone thinking what have I got to loose. Works so well, I almost forget I'm on the phone. Chrisp, Clear sound and no buzzing.

Hope the info helps someone.

 

[sr171soars]

...
If users can hear pretty well with their CI or HA but find it very difficult to hear on the phone using the Microphone, from my experience, I suggest trying the T-coil setting on your HA or CI. If you hear buzzing sounds when using the T-coil, you may have a phone that is not very compatible with T-coil settings. You may have to try different phones as they are all different. I find business phones are typically better than personal home cordless phones. Cell phones vary. My wife's cell, does not have a good T-coil compatibility even though it is rated at M4/T4. My cell phone T-coil compatibility is great but the speaker is not very good. My work cell works well on T-coil setting also.

...

Hope the info helps someone.

Great advice!

Unfortunately, I never took to the T-coil and in fact couldn't tell you how to get it working for my CI without looking in the manual. One part of it was that I wanted all my input as "normal" as could be. The other part was that I decided early on to simply live with the background noise and learn to deal with it.