deaf, hard of hearing, 999, TTY, HOH, TDD
Telecommunication technology has significantly changed the communication landscape for deaf and hearing impaired (HOH – Hard of Hearing) individuals. For more than 40 years, text telephones (TTY) and amplified phones were their only options. Today, videophones, Smartphones, and instant messaging most often replace the TTY as preferred communication tools.
Roughly 600,000 people in the United States are “functionally”
deaf according to Gallaudet.edu. I,
myself, am not classified but am 100% deaf in my right ear and have severe
hearing loss in my left from contracting a virus 6 years ago. The creation of this blog post is to share
general information and to review practical applications.
The TTY (TeleTYpe), TDD
(Telecommunications Device for the Deaf), and TT (Text Telephone)
acronyms are used interchangeably to refer to any type of text-based
telecommunications equipment used by a person who does not have enough
functional hearing to understand speech, even with amplification.
In 1964, Robert Weitbrecht, a
deaf electronic scientist, developed an acoustic coupler that converted sounds
into text. Signals received by a standard telephone handset placed on a coupler
were translated into a printed text message by the teletype machine. A flashing
light alerted the deaf person receiving a call that the phone was ringing.
Access to this telecommunications device, also called a "TTY" or
"TDD," meant deaf people could place a phone call to a friend, a
club, or anyone who also had a TTY. Before TTYs, deaf people had to go in
person to see if friends were home, make appointments, or do any of the things
hearing people did effortlessly by phone. For deaf people, TTYs became a tool
for change.
Like
today’s cellular texting there are “short cuts” … TTY technology use this
method starting back in the 1970’s. For ex:
“GA” – “Go ahead” or “It’s your turn” because the system worked over pots lines
and two-way simultaneous communication was not available.
- Open Market Video Calling Software: Due to the user restrictions placed on videophones, deaf and hearing individuals often use Skype, FaceTime, Fuze along with a myriad other video calling software applications available to converse in real time.
- Open Market Texting Software: In addition to
taking advantage of current mobile phone texting capabilities, sign language
users are increasingly using software programs such as YouTube and Glide to
“text” messages in sign language.
Did you know???
999 began in 1937 and today
is available in 25 countries (unfortunately the United States is NOT
included) – For the deaf and hearing impaired this has evolved into a texting emergency
services for registered cellular units and TTY connected units.
Countries and
territories using 999 include:
Bahrain, Bangladesh, Botswana, Eswatini, Ghana, Guernsey, Hong Kong, Ireland, Isle of Man, Jersey, Kenya, Macau, Malaysia, Mauritius, Poland, Qatar, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Trinidad and Tobago, Seychelles, Uganda, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and Zimbabwe
Telecommunication has progressed by leaps
and bounds during the past 40 years but there is a long way to go for the deaf and
hearing impaired.
Corcentric specializes in supporting telecommunication connectivity for the healthcare and manufacturing amongst other industries. These two niche
sectors combined with telecommunication carrier and cloud-based application
providers open the world of communication for the Deaf and Hearing-Impaired
individuals, communities, and businesses.
Post A Comment:
0 comments so far,add yours