This blog is usually about photography but at times things come up that I feel I have to share that have nothing to do with photography. This is one of those times.

I am hearing impaired. It’s no secret. Those of you who know me, know that if I’m not wearing my hearing aids, I can’t hear. My hearing impairment is rated as severe. Speaking on the phone is a challenge. I have one phone in the bedroom that has volume control and I can hear 90% of people on it.  That is, hear them without my hearing aids. The problem with wearing hearing aids when speaking on a phone is that you get feed back. Think of a radio station that is off the air but sending a signal. Now imagine trying to have a phone conversation around that noise. Really hard to do. I do have a phone option on my hearing aids that turns off the feedback. Problem is, that I cannot hear a thing in that mode.

So when the phone rings I have had 2 options: Option 1 is to run into the bedroom and use the good phone. Option 2 is suffer through feedback on the other phone. (I have a couple of phones downstairs but rarely use them.) So I started looking at getting a phone for the hearing impaired. I could have bought the same phone as the bedroom phone but I want one for my desk and since space is a premium and that phone is large it wasn’t a good option.

The first place I looked was at my audiologist’s. Yes, they had special phones for around $300. I have some extended health benefits for equipment, but it’s $300 for LIFE and I had already used it.

Then I starting looking online. Google is a wonderful tool! I found a lot of phones made just for people like me for around $150 plus shipping. A definite improvement, but then I saw another gadget. A $15 amplifier that goes between the headset and receiver and boosts the volume. Certainly worth a try at that price. It came from China but since it’s small the shipping was only about $10. It came yesterday. It is amazing. It is exactly what I needed. I can hear on the phone! Even could hear my niece who has a soft voice on it. Without a problem at all!  You have no idea how this small $15 device has helped me cope with the phone.

Pass this information onto anyone you know who might have trouble hearing on the phone. It really is amazing!

Here it is; taken with my iPhone; another totally amazing but much more expensive gadget.