Finding the Right Cell Phone for You <\/p>\n
This panel was moderated by Suzan Mazrui from AT&T. The panel members
\nwere Shelly Blakeney from T-Mobile, Paula Hall from Sprint, and Scott
\nKelley from Motorola. <\/p>\n
Susan began the discussion by pointing out the things you should do
\nbefore deciding on a particular phone. One important task is ensuring
\nthat the service you are considering has good coverage in the places
\nyou need it, including your home, where you work, and other locations
\nthat you frequent. <\/p>\n
Another decision to consider is the kind of plan you want. If you
\nwant the phone primarily for emergency use, you would want a
\ndifferent plan than if you intended to use it as your primary (or
\nonly) phone. It’s worthwhile to talk to friends with similar
\nlifestyles to learn about their plans and how they like them. <\/p>\n
You also want to consider if the service and a particular phone
\nsupport text messaging, which is especially useful for people with
\nhearing loss. Also, are the service and the phone TTY-compatible? <\/p>\n
Also, some companies, including AT&T, have a 411 (information)
\nservice that can do things like text you the address of a restaurant
\nyou’re interested in. <\/p>\n
Another feature you might be interested in is conference calling or
\nthree way calling. This is another feature that might be especially
\nvaluable for people with hearing loss. For example, my dad, who is 88
\nand has hearing loss, went to the doctor and thought the doctor told
\nhim that his gall bladder was gone! My brother and I were sure that
\nDad misunderstood, so my brother called the doctor. But the doctor
\ncouldn’t give him any information, due to privacy regulations. So we
\nset up a three-way call between Dad and the doctor, with my brother
\nalso on the call. It turns out that Dad did hear the doctor right.
\nApparently it’s not uncommon for the gall bladder to gradually shrink
\nas a person ages. <\/p>\n
Additional features that you might want to consider include caller
\nID, a calendar function with reminders, and web browsing. <\/p>\n
Of course, one of your primary concerns will be that the phone
\ndoesn’t interfere with your hearing aid or CI, either in microphone
\nor telecoil mode. <\/p>\n
The next speaker was Scott Kelley from Motorola. He discussed the
\nrating system that indicates how likely a phone is to cause
\ninterference with a hearing aid or CI. Phones that have been tested
\nwill have an M-rating and a T-rating. The M-rating indicates how
\nsecure the phone is from causing interference when the hearing aid is
\nusing the microphone, and the T-rating indicates how secure the phone
\nis from causing interference when the hearing aid is using the
\ntelecoil. Each rating system is from one to four, with four being the
\nbest. (The T-rating also considers the strength of the magnetic
\ncoupling, which is important for stimulating the hearing aid’s
\ntelecoil.) <\/p>\n
Note that hearing aids and CIs are also rated from one to four for
\nsusceptibility to interference on both microphone and telecoil mode.
\nTo determine the likelihood that a particular phone will interfere
\nwith a particular number, the ratings for the phone and the hearing
\naid (or CI) are added together. Totals of four are considered usable,
\nfive is considered ok for normal use, and six or greater considered
\nexcellent. <\/p>\n
The bottom line is that just relying on the phone rating is a
\nmistake. Even a phone with a rating of four may cause interference if
\nyour hearing aid is rated one. <\/p>\n
Each of the rating numbers represents a range of about 5db; some
\ndevices perform at the top of the range and others perform at the
\nbottom of the range. For example, a device at the bottom of the four
\nrating is only marginally better than a device at the top of the
\nthree rating. <\/p>\n
Audiologists and hearing aid dispensers often ask me which phone they
\nshould recommend to their hearing aid clients. That’s an impossible
\nquestion to answer without knowing a lot more about the client and
\nhow they want to use the phone. But it’s also not their job! They’re
\ntrained to fit hearing aids, not recommend phones! <\/p>\n
The panel then opened the floor to questions, with each member having
\nan opportunity to respond to each question. <\/p>\n
Q. How do customers find out about what hearing aid compatible (HAC)
\nphones you have? <\/p>\n
Shelley suggested that people visit their website or go to a T-Mobile
\nstore. They offer HAC phones with various features and in different
\nprice ranges. They encourage people to test the handset before they
\npurchase it, and have a 30-day return policy. <\/p>\n
Paula suggested that folks interested in Sprint could also either
\nvisit their website or one of their company stores. They include the
\nspec sheets for all their phones on their website, and the spec
\nsheets include the M and T ratings. They also encourage people to try
\na phone at a Sprint store before purchasing, and offer a 30-day
\nreturn. <\/p>\n
Susan reported that AT&T policies are similar to those at T-Mobile
\nand Sprint. She also pointed out that many of these policies only
\napply if you deal with a company store. None of the service providers
\ncan do anything about a contract you have with an independent
\norganization. <\/p>\n
Scott mentioned that people can visit the Motorola website for
\ninformation on their phones. He also pointed out that Motorola is a
\nhandset manufacturer, not a cell phone service provider. Motorola
\nmakes the handsets and sells them to T-Mobile, Sprint, and AT&T. So
\nyou won’t find a Motorola store. <\/p>\n
Q. Are there ratings on Bluetooth? <\/p>\n
A Scott replied that Bluetooth is a very low-power interface intended
\nfor short distances and does not have M and T ratings. <\/p>\n
Q. Weren’t the ratings really developed for hearing aids? If so, are
\nthey applicable to CIs? <\/p>\n
A. Scott replied that the ratings were originally developed for
\nhearing aids, but that they also apply pretty well to CIs. There are
\nsome differences, but they’re much like the differences between
\nindividual hearing aids. <\/p>\n
Q. I’ve heard that CDMA has less interference than GSM. Is that true?<\/p>\n
A. Scott replied that it’s true that different services use different
\ntechnologies, and that different technologies cause different levels
\nof interference with particular hearing aids. Sprint and Verizon use
\nCDMA, while T-Mobile and AT&T use GSM. It’s sometimes harder to get a
\nGSM phone to have a rating of four. But the best way to determine if a
\nparticular phone will interfere with your hearing is to try it! <\/p>\n
Q. Some consumers like to use amplified neckloops with standard 2.5
\nor 3.5 mm plugs, but they are incompatible with the proprietary plugs
\nused by the manufacturers. Do you see that changing? <\/p>\n
A. Scott replied that he echoed the frustration expressed by the
\nuser, and acknowledged that the policy is generally the handset
\nmanufacturer’s, rather than the service provider’s. He noted that a
\nuser can generally buy an adapter that allows him to used his
\nstandard neckloop. <\/p>\n
Q. Suppose a consumer has a two-year service agreement and their
\nphone interferes with their new hearing aids? <\/p>\n
A. Susan replied that AT&T tries to accommodate those kinds of
\nsituations on an individual basis. Shelly and Paula reported that
\ntheir companies had similar policies. <\/p>\n
C. Arizona recently passes a law requiring audiologists and hearing
\naid dispensers to inform clients about telecoils. The fact that a law
\nis required speaks to the state of hearing aid dispensing, and I think
\nwe as consumers need to educate the dispensers about the importance of
\ntelecoils.<\/p>\n
Link:
\nhttp:\/\/www.hearinglossweb.com\/res\/hlorg\/shhh\/cn\/2007\/ws\/cell.htm<\/p>\n
—<\/p>\n
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Finding the Right Cell Phone for You This panel was moderated by Suzan Mazrui from AT&T. The panel members were Shelly Blakeney from T-Mobile, Paula Hall from Sprint, and Scott Kelley from Motorola. Susan began the discussion by pointing out…<\/p>\n