CapTel in the office?

L

Laungel

New Member
Joined
Jan 28, 2009
Messages
18
Reaction score
0
Hello all,
I just started a new job and while I am HoH, none of my clients or their parents are familiar with deaf technology. I know I need to get a new phone for work use and was hoping someone could help me. I've never actually used a CapTel phone but I think this might be a good option for me in that I can speak just fine, I just need some assistance in the hearing department.

My question is if anyone has been using this in the office already? Would clients have to call a relay service and then have them call me? Is there a way to hook the CapTel up to the business phone line where I am given an extension? Would I just need them to leave a message, have someone take the message for me, and then call them back using relay with the CapTel?

I'm really looking for the easiest solution as just using relay is confusing enough for some of my clients. I'm trying to push everyone to contact me over email but that can only go so far.

Any insights or experiences you can share would be appreciated!
 
Laungel,

I've been a CapTel user since September,2011. It's been a good investment for me.

I have the CapTel 800,which requires that inbound callers dial an 800 number in order for me to see the captions. * Calls that I make from the CapTel caption by default as long as I have the caption button on.


The phone is valued at several hundred dollars but many states subsidize the purchase. If VA's Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services had made me pay,it
would have cost me $99. My income was low enough for the state to pick up the cost after my 30 day loan to own trial period. I can upgrade to newer
technology after 4 years.

I think the CapTel 840I might be good for a business person. In addition to fully customizable closed captions, (color,size,color of corrections) the 840I has a built-in answering machine. Not sure if it has caller id as well.

The 840I does require an internet or wifi connection. Depending on your setup,you might need an ethernet cable,a router,or a range extender.

Callers don't need to dial a routing number with the 840I.

Booklets for CapTel phones are available on their website: CapTel - Captioned Telephone | Phone Captions, Text Telephones, Hearing Loss, Hard of Hearing, Deaf, Voice to Text.

You might also want to contact your state's Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing
Services for assistance.

There are other brands of captioned telephone out there but I feel the CapTels have the most features.

Hope you find what you need!

* Separate routing numbers exist for English and Spanish incoming calls.
 
Back
Top