Telecoil for Hearing Impaired Users: the Blackberry Bold 9700

BLACKBERRY BOLD 9700 & TELECOIL:  A user’s perspective

By Jody Lee Bell 
 

I had had my Cochlear Implant (CI) a year before I decided that I needed to find a cell phone that I could use together with my CI.  We did a bit of research and also spoke with other CI recipients to find out which phones they were using.  One person in particular, Andrea, from Hear2Day (www.hear2day.co.za) loved her BB Bold and was using it very successfully.  My mom set up an appointment with the representative of Blackberry (BB) at Bayside Mall and I got my first experience of using its telecoil functionality.  You must remember that before this I had never been able to use a cell phone at all.  The BB rep went into the Options settings of the phone, then to Hearing Aid Mode and selected “Turn On”.  The BB bold has the following Hearing Aid (and/or CI) compatible rating:  M3 and T3. 

Understanding Hearing Aid Compatible Ratings:

The FCC in America defines Hearing Aid Compatibility (HAC) for cell phones in terms of radio-frequency (RF) emissions—the "M" (microphone) rating, and telecoil coupling—the "T" (t-coil) rating.  The rating scale ranges from 1 to 4. The four possibilities are: M1 or T1 (poor), M2 or T2 (fair), M3 or T3 (good) and M4 or T4 (excellent).  Only phones rated 3 or 4 are allowed to be sold as hearing aid compatible (HAC). Phones that would have only been rated 1 or 2 are deemed unacceptable.

• "M" (Microphone) Rating

If you use your cell phone while wearing your hearing aids in the microphone ("M") mode, look for one that is rated M3 or M4. (M4 is better.) This does not guarantee that these phones will be interference-free with your specific hearing aids. However, the higher the rating, the less likely you will be to experience interference. Also, note that just because a cell phone is not rated does not mean it will cause interference—they may or may not—but unrated phones are much more likely to do so. (How much interference a cell phone causes depends to a large extent on the transmission technology used: i.e. CDMA, iDEN, TDMA or GSM with CDMA being the best and GSM the worst.)

• "T" Telecoil Rating

If you use your cell phone while wearing your hearing aids and/or CI in t-coil ("T") mode, look for a phone that is rated T3 or T4. (T4 is better.) Again, this will not guarantee that these phone will be interference-free when using your t-coils, but the higher the rating, the less likely it is that you will experience interference.  Note that phones rated as T3 or T4 must also be rated either M3 or M4. Therefore, phones rated as good for t-coils will also have been rated good when used with hearing aids in the microphone mode.

• Possible Ratings for Rated Phones

There are only 6 possible ratings allowed by the FCC for cell phones rated as being hearing aid compatible (HAC). The phone could be rated (from worst to best):

• M3

• Phones rated M4/T4 have the best chance of being interference-free whether used with your hearing aids in microphone or t-coil mode.

  M4
• M3/T3
• M4/T3 (or M3/T4)

• Source:  http://www.hearinglosshelp.com/articles/hacphones.htm

  M4/T4

Okay, so now that the explanation is finished; back to the story.  My mom called the BB reps cell number (as I had his phone) and despite being in a very noisy shopping mall environment and being quite a distance away from my mom, I heard and understood what she was saying.  Amazing – I had my first cell phone conversation!  Below is a picture of the BB Bold.

As I was not yet due for a cell phone upgrade, my mom decided to buy the BB Bold in Dubai as it was much cheaper.  I also need to mention that my CI is on 100% telecoil so that when I am using the T-coil I do not hear any other noise; this makes the listening experience a bit easier.  Using the cell phone, even with T-coil, did not just happen overnight.  I still struggle with certain people’s voices, but it does get easier over time.  One really has to practice to use the cell phone on a regular basis.  All I can say is, thank goodness for technology!

HearAbility installs Loop System in Cape Town

On Friday the HearAbility team installed an inductive loop system at the Pinelands Baptist Church so that members of their congregation with a hearing loss could more easily listen to Sunday and Wednesday sermons.  Click here to view the installation: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lXTv_ybcDk&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Univox Loop Systems now available from HearAbility

Bo Edin started Univox 1965. He was challenged by the fact that the needs of people with hearing loss were constantly overlooked in public venues as well as in their own homes. He developed the very first specially designed constant current hearing loop amplifier and received his first order for 100 pieces shortly after.  Since that moment Univox has been the industry leader in hearing loop design and today more than 15,000 Univox hearing loop amplifiers are sold annually.  HearAbility is proud to be associated with a company such as Bo Edin with their superior product range, both in terms of manufacturing quality and the installation outcome for the end user.

Univox offer standard, professional,domestic, over the counter and portable loop systems.  Contact us at info@hearability.co.za to discuss your needs.

Inductive loop systems are both cost-effective and unobtrusive.
Unlike FM systems, induction loop systems are easy to maintain and are compatible with telecoil-equipped hearing aids — already owned by many hard of hearing people all over the world — so you don't need receivers or headphones for each hearing impaired individual.
They give the hearing aid users a convenient wireless system as the built-in receiver in the hearing aid draws no extra current from the battery.

The 'T' Symbol
Induction loops are all around us in this modern world. But chances are you have never heard of them.you will have most likely seen the 'T' symbol (shown right) in all public buildings, including banks, shops, churches and meeting rooms.
This symbol is used to indicate that the building uses induction loop technology to aid their customers/employees with hearing difficulties.

What is an induction loop?
An induction loop is a coil of wire through which an electrical signal is passed from an Induction Loop Amplifier. This may be connected to a public announcement system or simply a microphone. This coil then gives off a magnetic signal which regular hearing aids can pick up and amplify for the user, when they switch their hearing aids to the 'T' position.