Summer99news

SHHH in Kentucky

Newsletter - Summer 99

Note from MaryLee

This seems to be a technology related issue. So much keeps happening to make our constant search for understanding the spoken word easier. Many of us were in New Orleans in June for the national convention While there were over 800 people registered for the convention, it was the most user-friendly place in the country for hard of hearing people! All meetings were captioned and everyone who needed an assistive listening device was able to borrow one for the duration of the convention. FM's were everywhere and many people were even seen Signing. And we all had a wonderful time!

The advances in technology are happening almost too fast to keep up with. Hearing aids have been improving with ways to zero in on the speaker in noisy places, ways to transpose high sounds down into lower frequencies we can handle better, and precise computer assistance for settings geared specifically for a person's individual hearing loss. There are many different FM's that expand on the capability of the hearing aids and make it easier for us to follow a speaker even in the convention hall!

One of our greatest concerns is in using the telephone. For those who can use their residual hearing, many improvements in the quality of sound have been made. Sounds are made clearer and more precise, even on cell phones.

Relay users have the added advantage of Voice Carry Over so they can talk while using a TTY. Now with 2-line VCO, they can not only talk but listen to the speaker's voice, while also having a printed version roll past at the same time. This is an invaulable aid, especially for business calls when we don't really want the intrusion of a relay operator between us. With out-going calls, the person we call will be completely unaware of the relay. Incoming will be aware of a slight hold. See page two for more on this.

And those of us who love captioned movies were excited about the new idea of putting the captions in your glasses. Honest! It works. We tried them on. The captions seem to just float in front of your eyes. While this is still in the development stage and not for individual sale just yet, the idea is fascinating. We can see movies this way, or have our own private captioning!

So read on about the changes in relay services both in Kentucky and Missouri. And do notice the article about how the Canadians got ahead of us - - page 5.

2-line VCO calls now available in Kentucky

Wouldn't you love to have a captioned phone call, just like we do with TV? We listen, and someone gives us the captions at the same time. Well now it is possible with 2-line VCO!

The following is a description of 2-line VCO sent by Henry Brinkmann, Relay Program Manager for Hamilton, Kentucky's relay provider.

During the past few weeks the Communication Assistants in the relay center have been practicing their skills with 2 Line Voice Carry Over Service (2LVCO ). 2LVCO is a service that allows deaf and hard of hearing people with intelligible speech to initiate a relay call with a hearing person without the need to use relay conversation markers like "GA and "SK".

Two Line VCO calls require the use of two separate telephone lines in your home or business. One line for your TTY or computer modem and another telephone line for your telephone which must have conference calling features.

To place a 2LVCO call a person calls the relay on an ASCII TTY (preferably with enhanced speed or turbo code option available). When the CA responds to your call state that this will be a 2LVCO call and then provide the phone number to your conference telephone.

Listen for the ringing or signal light that will tell you the conference telephone is ringing. Pick up the receiver and make a verbal statement of your choosing that will tell you if the CA can now hear everything you are saying. Some people will say " Hello can you hear me" (speaking to yourself) and the CA will type out on the TTY or computer screen what you just said.

Once you are satisfied that the CA can hear you on the outgoing phone line place the incoming call (from the CA) on hold. Press the hold button , which cuts the CA off from contact with you and and then open another line out and dial the number of whom ever you wish to call. After you dial out the phone number push your conference/ transfer button and open the line for the CA to now listen in on the line you just dialed out. You should now see the rings and if someone answers the phone the CA will quickly type what she hears. From whatever the CA says take your cue to announce who you are or just address someone you know.

The entire conversation is between you and the person you called. The only role of the CA is to type what the other person is saying so you are in control of the call, with no need to say "GA" or "SK".

Our CAs are working hard to improve their skills with this service and we welcome your calls. Placing 2LVCO calls will make a difference in our performance during this training phrase so we welcome your feedback to improve quickly.

If you are learning about about 2LVCO for the first time. Please call me at 225 3193 TTY, 225 291 4500 Voice/TTY or 1 800 699 6869 to request customer service information on 2LVCO service features and required equipment. Do call us for assistance and we will be happy to explain how it works and how to set up your computer as a TTY to ensure you can use your other phone line to call people with. Thanks for your interest.

2-line VCO
2 phone lines:
1. TTY or computer
2. phone with conference capabilities

What you do -

1. Call the relay on the TTY
2. Relay calls your conference phone.
3. On the phone you call your friend and listen to the voice.
4. Relay types to you on TTY while you listen.

Voice recognition technology instead of relay?
You knew this would happen and here it is!

Most of us are dependent on various forms of interpreting and captions to stay in touch with the hearing world and try to make sense out of it. We have captioned TVs, interpreters for Sign language, or others for oral or cued speech interpreting. Some of us have seen captioning in live theater, and of course we use the relay services on the phone. In the last few years captioning has become more real for many of us due to the use of court reporters who go with us to classes or public functions. We sit beside them with a laptop in front of us and are able to take part in the most complicated meetings and classes this way. It seems that we have the problem about solved.

And now there is another technology that just may make all of the above obsolete in a short time. Have you used, or seen, ads for the speech recognition technology by which you can talk to your computer? More recent computers came packaged with the software. All you have to do is read a short passage into the microphone to train your computer to recognize your voice. Then you can do all your word processing without ever typing a single letter! These programs have been around for a few years and are gradually getting better and better. The first editions were a little rough and not terribly accurate. Now they accuracy is reputed to be close to 100% for a clear voice. Still they are not perfection in that they have to be reprogrammed for each speaker.

But just recently, Sprint announced that they have joined forces with Ultratec, the TTY makers, to put a speech recognition program on the telephone relay in Missouri. Ultratec designed the Fastran technology in use to accomplish this. When a person calls into the relay, his words will actually be translated into typing by a computer. The Calling Assistant will still monitor the call but will only have to type proper names or some unusual words. The speed of the translation will be much faster that a person can produce, allowing for a smoother call with a more normal speed of conversation. Sprint will start using this technology in Missouri in September.

Starting from there we can dream on! Someday perhaps you will just carry this little laptop or palm-sized computer. Flip it open, turn it on, and it will tell you what the speaker facing you is saying. Far fetched? No way. The technology is here now. A little tweaking here and there and it will be as common as a TTY.

What did the teacher say???

Anyone who has spent any time in a classroom knows they are noisy places at times. And a recent study showed that nearly 15 percent of our children have some form of hearing loss. If you link these two thoughts, we realize that classrooms might not be a very good place to learn!

Even students who have no hearing impairment at all may have difficulty hearing what a teacher says in the classroom. Many things work against ease of hearing in the classroom: Inadequate acoustical design, noise from heating, ventilating and air-conditioning systems. Any student with a language problem, whether from hearing loss or just as a second language, will have difficulty following every word.

Modern classrooms don't always have carpet or drapes. The hard surfaces, along with high ceilings and typical classroom furnishings of chalkboards and bulletin boards cause sound to reverberate. This reverberation distorts the sound we hear. The sounds are bouncing off the walls, ceilings and floors. Add to this the sounds from the air conditioner or heating system, books, papers, and feet shuffling, chairs scraping and doors opening and closing - - it is a wonder anyone understands anything at all in the classroom! And in some schools where rooms are arranged in pods around open spaces, the problem is compounded.

In a recent study of this subject it was found that students with normal hearing understood 71% of what was said by the teacher, but the hearing impaired students understood only 48%! One wonders if parents are aware that the reason Johnny doesn't do well in school maybe simply because he can't follow what is going on.

Scientists tell us that to understand speech where there is background sound, the speaker's voice has to be 15db above the sound of the noise. So if the teacher's voice could be projected to a level that is 15 db louder than the room sounds, the students could understand her - - if they have normal hearing. A simple solution for this that has been tried and found somewhat successful is to put a headset microphone on the teacher. Using a wireless FM transmitter, the sound is sent to receivers built into speakers around the room. Actually tests of using this over a period of years did increase the success rate of the students. If we consider this in relation to our hard of hearing students, we can see the absolute necessity of both improving the acoustics in classrooms and also providing assistive listening systems to every student with even a mild loss.

Hard of hearing children are do not have to be in special education rooms or even referred for special education services to have the needed assistive listening devices supplied for them. Every parent of a hard of hearing child should visit the classrooms his child uses. Visit while class is in session. If the child wears a hearing aid, an FM system can be supplied for him that will have a microphone on the teacher. If he doesn't wear a hearing he can still use an FM system with a different type of ear piece. In either case, the school will be required to supply the needed assistive listening device.

In the future it is hoped that schools will be built with more attention to the acoustic properties of their rooms. Even the US Access Board is looking into the question of how to improve acoustics in classrooms.

Johnny absolutely can't learn if he doesn't know what the teacher just said!

I See What You Say . . .

Two Canadien computer specialists developed a way for their son to speechread his teachers lips, from anywhere in the classroom! Marie LaPalme and Luc Ducas were concerned about their deaf son's need to speechread when he started school.

Their solution for their son's problem is now in use with other hearing impaired students in Canada. The AudiSee 1.0 allows the student to see his techers's lips even when she isn't facing him. The teacher wears a wireless headset with a miscrophone. Embedded in the microphone is a camera. The picture is transmitted to a tv screen. Students who move from class to class as in a high school, carry a little fold up screen.

This was tested in six schools in Quebec this past spring and will continue testing in twelve schools this year. They are planning to market it by January 2000.

A simple solution to a very complex problem? Lapalme said,``When you're emotionally implicated in your research, it's an extra motivation."

TTY Distribution Program

It seems we have to keep saying this because we keep finding people who have not been told about it! This program provides a free TTY or VCO telephone to every hearing impaired person in Kentucky who requests one.

Outreach specialist, Drew Weldon, with the KCDHH manages the distribution of TTY's, amplified phones, flasher signaling devices to deaf and hard of hearing persons. It is still common to find new people in Kentucky, or those who are recently deafened, who do not realize that they can have one such device, just by applying for it.

If you are hearing impaired and need a TTY or VCO-type phone, contact Drew at 1-800-372-2707 (voice or TTY) or e-mail at dweldon@mail.state.ky.us. You will be sent an application to fill out, requiring a statement from you audiologist, a copy of your phone bill and general information. You will also be given a choice of what kind of phone or TTY, and signaler you need.

Kentuckians in New Orleans . . .

The summer of '99 will be remembered as the year of Cajun and Creole cooking served in The Quarter amid the historical background of New Orleans. The SHHH family gathered from all over the country in what has become a sort of yearly reunion. For many the social side is more important than the educational and technical. There were over 800 people and we had at least 12 from Kentucky. Considering the size our population, that was good!

The research day and the exhibit hall are both big attractions. The research this year was about genetics. We all learned about the recent discoveries in how our hearing losses are passed on from generation to generation It would be hard to find a topic of greater interest to many of us. We now know how to find genetic counseling and what can be uncovered about our prospects for the future.

The exhibit hall is worth the trip itself. This year many of us were interested in trial fittings of a hearing aid that transposes high sounds down to a lower level. This was fascinating. Afterwards, we compared notes on our reactions to the fittings.

There were many new phones on the market this year and a noticeable difference in the quality of the volume controls. They are getting much better and clearer. And almost every hearing aid made is available for a trial. One gets a very good idea quickly of the usefulness of a certain brand by trying it on in the background noise of hundreds of people all talking at once! Of even greater interest to some of us was an Internet website that sells all brand name hearing aids at a discount through a local hearing aid dispenser in you area.

We even saw a presentation by a pair of Kentuckians! Patty Conway and Lori Bishop told about rehabilitation services in Kentucky that are provided by counselors who are specifically trained to serve hard of hearing clients. Leaders from all over the country were seen scribbling copious notes to take home! We were proud to be from Kentucky.

If you would like specific information on any of the above products or services, contact the editor. Next year the convention will be in St. Paul. Start saving your pennies . . .