In my last post, I explored a few types of assistive technology for cochlear implant users, but this only made me hungry to find more. While browsing the Internet, I found this article that offered a few more devices.
Two of the devices that I found particularly interesting were telecommunication (TTY) devices and alerting systems. TTY devices can work with regular telephones to type out the speech during phone calls so that people with hearing problems can follow the conversation more clearly. Interestingly, these devices have been less useful recently because of something that most of us - hearing impaired or not - rely on heavily in our everyday lives: texting! It appears that some forms of assistive technology for those who are hearing impaired do not even require hearing at all.
In addition, another type of assistive technology for those with cochlear implants are alerting systems, which use light, sound, and vibrations to let an individual with hearing problems know that something is happening. From my own experiences with having family members with cochlear implants, I have heard of alarm clocks that vibrate to wake you up when you do not have your implants on overnight. Also, for anyone who has ever checked out the "Accessibility" page in their iPhone's settings, there is a setting that allows users to turn on LED flashes from their phone's camera that will go off when text messages or phone calls come through. These are just two examples of the many forms of alerting systems that discreetly help individuals with hearing problems go about their days more easily.
I have really enjoyed discovering the variety of assistive technology that exists for those with cochlear implants. In my next post, however, I would really like to see if there are any new improvements being made to the cochlear implants themselves that would decrease the need for assistive technology in the future.
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