Personal Computers are a Deaf or Hearing Impaired Individual's Greatest Asset

People with impaired hearing have found they can easily adapt a personal computer for their use. All the required elements needed can be located in most any computer store, or in the computer section of department stores. This is just as important to the hearing impaired as the invention of the telephone. It is an easy task to call friends and family who use a computer and use the keyboard and screen to have a chat. They use the screen for output - their words that would be spoken are printed there, and they use the keyboard for input - their words appear as they are typed.

Neither of these methods needs the user to be able to hear. Telecommunication Devices for the Deaf (TDDs) are simplistic keyboards that display a single line of text, and occasionally they incorporate a printer that prints onto extra paper from the machine. Traditional TDDs however, are generally not compatible with the personal computer though software that translates the information is available. Most people will not buy the software unless they have someone close to them who is hearing impaired.

I recently used TDD to conduct a conversation with a person who is hearing impaired and I requested that he describe his deafness for me. He responded that he learned to read at the early age of three, at the same point he lost his hearing, and did not ever lose the ability to speak, but he is currently able, through new technology, to conduct conversations with those that hear without passing notes or reading lips. This conversation was held using a TDD machine. His knowledge and experience with TDD is growing daily because he calls his wife everyday for updates and is able to reserve a motel and make travel arrangements using his TDD.

The TDD isn't used much on my end, and they usually aren't used anywhere outside of the homes of the deaf. This is not a criticism, since TDDs represent the first major step out of electronic isolation for hearing impaired people, with the second step being the microcomputer. If someone who is hearing impaired is purchasing a computer, do they still need TDD?

Communication with TDDs through personal computers is difficult at the present time. It's required to have special software and hardware. Many hearing impaired individuals own TDDs and so their use is likely to continue for some time to come. A lot of people are hesitant to pay the money for a micro. Averaging $200 a TDD is very cheap.

What qualities should the deaf seek in a computer and do they need special equipment or software? There is nothing in particular one would need besides the ability to get on the internet. Should the deaf know anything special about computers before they go out and buy one? He suggests that they forgo the purchase of a printer or other peripherals in favor of first purchasing the modem. He also advises the use of a lap top computer if it is a good price which can even be used as a primary computer.

If they have an emergency, they can call CB to ask someone to conduct a voice call on their behalf. While this is purely speculative, it would probably take a bit of persuasion to make CB people understand their earnestness. On a more practical level, I've been told there are new bulletin board networks in various cities that are being set up experimentally. That would be a great way to make emergency calls if needed, as well as providing information for those who would have no other way of receiving it.

I have also heard about lap computers being attached to speech synthesizers, but have very little information concerning them. It's possible, but if the synthesizer could be attached to a phone, it would be a better. Although finding a way to inform the deaf person that somebody has answered or is replying may pose a problem. Deaf people are able to utilize their healthy senses, such as sight in combination with learned skills, such as typing, to enter available job markets in the computer industry. These jobs have become more plentiful over time. The ideal job for someone who is hearing impaired is word processing, data processing, or anything that does not require telephone interaction such as programming and more.

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