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By Sim Gaunt and Laura Feakes
The telephone is a vital element in our daily living. We routinely use the phone to chat with friends, make dinner reservations, and even to do our shopping and banking. For most of us, the telephone provides a convenient communication method that we take for granted. However, for the several million people in this country with severe hearing impairments, the convenience as well as life saving capacities of the telephone have, until recent years, been inaccessible. Today, an individual with hearing or speech impairment can make telephone calls using a TTY. The purpose of the TTY/TDD is to break through the communication barrier for regular telephone use, but most importantly, this device provides direct access to 911.
TTY stands for Text Telephone. It is also sometimes called a TDD, or Telecommunication Device for the Deaf. TTY is the more widely accepted term, however, as TTYs are used by many people, not just people who are deaf. The TTY is a special device that lets people who are deaf, hard of hearing, or speech impaired use the telephone to communicate, by allowing them to type messages back and forth instead of talking and listening. A TTY is required at both ends of the conversation in order to communicate. It is not necessary to notify the local telephone company that you have a TTY. The TTY itself will not interfere with any of your telephone calls or voice answering machines.
To use a TTY, place a telephone handset onto special acoustic cups built into the TTY (some TTY models can be plugged directly into a telephone line). Then, type the message you want to send on the TTY's keyboard. As you type, the message is sent over the phone line, just as your voice would be sent over the phone line if you talked. You can read the other person's response on the TTY's text display.
If you don't have a TTY, you can still call a person who is deaf, hard of hearing, or speech impaired by using the Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS). With TRS, a special operator types whatever you say so that the person you are calling can read your words on his or her TTY display. He or she will type back a response, which the TRS operator will read aloud for you to hear over the phone. Toll free TRS services are available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. There are no restrictions to the length or number of calls placed.
Advantages of the TTY system include:
$ Reduced dependence upon third party assistance.
$ Increased privacy and self sufficiency.
$ Reduced social isolation.
$ Enhanced opportunities for employment and upward mobility.
A growing number of government agencies and businesses are installing TTYs to provide direct phone communication to and for their deaf employees and customers. Availability of this service is denoted with a "TTY" or "V/TTY" directly following the phone number.
Choosing the right TTY for your needs is important. For more information contact:
$ MassRelay Customer Service at 1-800-720-3480 (TTY) or 1-800-720-3479 (Voice), or email to ustServ@MassRelay.org.
$ The Massachusetts Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing: www.mass.gov; Toll free Voice 1-800-882-1155; TTY Berkshire County 413-442-9484.
$ Mass Equipment Distribution Program: 1-800-300-5658
Sim Gaunt and Laura Feakes are Elder Services’ Information and Referral Specialists.