Phoning: Problems and strategies for the deaf and hard-of hearing

How well deaf people can cope with phoning depends on the nature of their hearing problems. This page is for people who can cope, but often only just. Phoning is something to be put off rather than enjoyed, as effort has to go into understanding an interpreting, before being able to respond. Also there is pain and echoing inside their heads, which are off-putting and exhausting.

Buying a phone for a deaf person

The following strategies are by no means the answer to all the problems experienced when buying a phone for a deaf person. However, they should stimulate your thinking so that you can adopt or adapt them for your own use.

1. It is crucial to have a phone that first and foremost works for you, and only then to look at the price tag. This means buying a phone from a dealer who will agree to refund the cost if the phone is unsuitable. Some do, willingly, but a surprising number of well-known and well-regarded high street names will not.
2. Similarly it is crucial when buying any type of phone to speak to the manager and ask his advice. It is invariably possible to tell from a manager's reaction, whether he or she really does know his or her stock. A really negative give-away is, "It all depends what you want / or can afford". After trailing round numerous shops, I was lucky to find a manager who said, "This is a house-phone you will not want to bring back" - and he was right.
3. A house-phone with a loudspeaker button is essential as far as I am concerned. Although designed for use by several people at a time, it can also be used on one's own; it amplifies without the discomfort of anything in the ear.
4. As it can be difficult to hear the ring on a mobile phone in a crowded situation, the strength of the vibration is important. Surprisingly quite a number of mobile phones vibrate so gently that one doesn't notice the vibration in one's pocket. Nokia ones have the name for a good vibration, but see the update below.
5. It is worth playing around with the various ring phones for a mobile phone, to find one that can be recognised over the background noise of traffic and people. A thumping tune can be particularly suitable.
6. Mobile phones invariably come with a slot for a strap, and I have found that it is essential to fix a strap so that I can wear the phone round my neck when expecting a call. Then I don't miss the ring. However standard high-street names no longer seem bother to sell straps, presumably because there is no real money in it. Market ''unlock' stalls and 'pound shops' are the best bet.
7. Be wary about buying a coloured shell or facia for your mobile phone. Although they do enhance appearance as a piece of pendant jewellery, the text on the keys rubbed off mine, eventually making the phone almost unusable.