Miss-Delectable
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http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/features/story.jsp?story=687780
The BT Age and Disability team have sent me a copy of their Freedom to Communicate brochure, which underlines the value of a traditional phone service but also emphasises that new technology can enhance the quality of life for all its customers, including those with impaired hearing or sight.
For many customers voice is, and will remain, the most important communication tool, but the report says the Internet is continuing to grow, permeating business and the home.
Most people now have mobile phones and are starting to use sophisticated new services. These ways of using technology are starting to come together ? to converge.
Most deaf people I know are ahead of the game here and my grandchildren tell me how surprised their friends are that we oldies are so adept with the text facility on our mobile phones. Text messages are quick and convenient, but the next step is automatic conversion to voice and delivered like a normal phone call. This will be great for people like my sister who just can't get the hang of texting.
As the booklet says: 'Every person has different communication needs and what works for one will not necessarily work for another. There is no such thing as a typical deaf person, so for this reason it can be helpful to gather as much information as possible before making any decisions about communication methods.'
BT recognise that the UK sign community values access to information in British Sign Language (BSL) and provide BSL access on their website. Visit www.btpic.com/age_disability to find out how broadband technology can be of special benefit to sign language users.
But, according to the figures sent to me by the RNID, 70% of people over 70 will have some kind of hearing loss and there are an estimated 2,470,000 deaf and hard of hearing people aged 16 to 60. Most cope with hearing aids or by making the best use of what hearing they have left, and for deaf people in this group the new digital phones with variable sound control are probably the best bet.
Current cordless phones are digital and although they do not have induction couplers, the basic sound quality is better than previous analogue types. The same principle applies to hearing-aid technology and several of my friends have remarked on the astounding clarity of the new digital aids and of the great pleasure in hearing birdsong for the first time.
My brother-in-law has the latest privately bought aids that fit entirely in the ear and he is full of praise for the dramatic improvement in his social life.
But while these technology marvels are transforming communication in the signing deaf world and our mobile phones are indispensable companions, the hard of hearing and deafened, and others who have grown up reliant on the spoken word, are finding it difficult coming to terms with the need to tap letters into a keypad on the phone or computer and it is this very large group BT is trying to reach.
It's really marvellous what can now be done to overcome our loss of hearing and every week through Skype on our computer we can chat with our son and his wife in Japan and are able to see each other on part of the screen while we speak via the headphone and they text back to us.
No doubt BT is working on ways to improve the quality of video phones and make them cheaper and more widely available.
Good enough for lip-reading as well as signing. And as technology advances we may be able to see each other on our mobiles and learn to sign with one hand!
The BT Age and Disability team have sent me a copy of their Freedom to Communicate brochure, which underlines the value of a traditional phone service but also emphasises that new technology can enhance the quality of life for all its customers, including those with impaired hearing or sight.
For many customers voice is, and will remain, the most important communication tool, but the report says the Internet is continuing to grow, permeating business and the home.
Most people now have mobile phones and are starting to use sophisticated new services. These ways of using technology are starting to come together ? to converge.
Most deaf people I know are ahead of the game here and my grandchildren tell me how surprised their friends are that we oldies are so adept with the text facility on our mobile phones. Text messages are quick and convenient, but the next step is automatic conversion to voice and delivered like a normal phone call. This will be great for people like my sister who just can't get the hang of texting.
As the booklet says: 'Every person has different communication needs and what works for one will not necessarily work for another. There is no such thing as a typical deaf person, so for this reason it can be helpful to gather as much information as possible before making any decisions about communication methods.'
BT recognise that the UK sign community values access to information in British Sign Language (BSL) and provide BSL access on their website. Visit www.btpic.com/age_disability to find out how broadband technology can be of special benefit to sign language users.
But, according to the figures sent to me by the RNID, 70% of people over 70 will have some kind of hearing loss and there are an estimated 2,470,000 deaf and hard of hearing people aged 16 to 60. Most cope with hearing aids or by making the best use of what hearing they have left, and for deaf people in this group the new digital phones with variable sound control are probably the best bet.
Current cordless phones are digital and although they do not have induction couplers, the basic sound quality is better than previous analogue types. The same principle applies to hearing-aid technology and several of my friends have remarked on the astounding clarity of the new digital aids and of the great pleasure in hearing birdsong for the first time.
My brother-in-law has the latest privately bought aids that fit entirely in the ear and he is full of praise for the dramatic improvement in his social life.
But while these technology marvels are transforming communication in the signing deaf world and our mobile phones are indispensable companions, the hard of hearing and deafened, and others who have grown up reliant on the spoken word, are finding it difficult coming to terms with the need to tap letters into a keypad on the phone or computer and it is this very large group BT is trying to reach.
It's really marvellous what can now be done to overcome our loss of hearing and every week through Skype on our computer we can chat with our son and his wife in Japan and are able to see each other on part of the screen while we speak via the headphone and they text back to us.
No doubt BT is working on ways to improve the quality of video phones and make them cheaper and more widely available.
Good enough for lip-reading as well as signing. And as technology advances we may be able to see each other on our mobiles and learn to sign with one hand!