Assistive technology for hard of hearing students

Assistive Technology for College Students
who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing

Assistive Listening Systems
Many times students can use their hearing aids effectively in a quiet environment, but when they are placed in a classroom, the teacher's voice becomes muffled with the background noise, room echo and distance. Therefore, the intelligibility of the instructor's voice is degraded by the poor room acoustics, as well as the hearing loss. Most assistive listening systems use a microphone/transmitter positioned close to the instructor's mouth to send the instructor's voice through the air or by the cable to the receiver worn by the student. By placing the microphone close to the instructor's mouth, assistive listening systems can provide clear sound over distances, eliminate echoes, and reduce surrounding noises.

FM Systems: An FM system is a wireless, portable, battery-operated device that uses radio transmission to send auditory signals. The instructor wears a microphone connected to a transmitter that is attached to their body. The student either wears the receiver clipped to their clothing or connected to their hearing aid via an induction loop system or audio input cables. An FM system's range is from 30 feet to more than 200 feet depending on the power of the antenna. An audiologist can assist with selecting and fitting the correct FM system.
Product
Vendor
Website
Personal ALD
Comtek
www.comtek.com
Personal ALD
WilliamsSound Corporation
www.williamssound.com
Phonak
Phonak Hearing Systems
http://www.phonak.com/
Phonic Ear
Phonic Ear
http://www.phonicear.com/


Services for the Deaf or Hard of Hearing
C-Print: C-Print ® is a speech-to-text system developed at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID), a college of Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), as an access service option for some deaf and hard-of-hearing students in educational environments. It was developed by researchers to improve the classroom experience for students at both the secondary and college levels. The basis of C-Print is printed text of spoken English displayed in real time, which is a proven and appropriate means of acquiring information for some individuals who are deaf or hard-of-hearing. http://www.ntid.rit.edu/cprint/what_cprint.php

Notetaker Online Training: C-Print online training is a distance education program designed to give individuals the core preparation for a providing speech-to-text services. The training incorporates a variety of topics that are essential for promoting success, not only for the captionist, but also for the client receiving services. The skill-building portion of the program includes training in a newly modified C-Print abbreviation system, condensing strategies, preparing real-time text and notes, and in using voice with automatic speech recognition to input text. http://www.ntid.rit.edu/cprint/captionist_online_training.php

Assistive Listening System Library Loan Program: For people who want to try out an assistive listening system, or for organizations that need to use one for a specific event, the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Awareness Program at the New Jersey Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped recently launched a program to lend assistive listening systems for up to one month. The devices are available at the following NJ public libraries: Gloucester County, Montclair, Morris County, NJ Library for the Blind & Handicapped, Ocean County, and Piscataway .

Deaf and Hard of Hearing Assistive Device Demonstration Center (800) 792-8339: At the Center, people who are Deaf, Hard of Hearing, Late-Deafened, and Deaf-Blind can receive hands-on training/demonstrations in how to use the various equipment including alarm clocks, door beacons, smoke detectors, phone flashers, baby cry signalers, wireless pagers and blink receivers. The Center also holds Demo-Days on a quarterly basis for the public.

Products for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
HEARMORE.com: Extensive inventory: includes alert systems, communication devices, computer products, electronics, videos, books, watches and clocks. www.hearmore.com

Freedom Communications: Product line includes, but is not limited to TDD/TTY text telephones for those with hearing and speech impairments, voice carry-over telephones (VCO), extra loud phone ringers, flashing and vibrating phone and door signals, remote controlled speakerphones for those with mobility loss, amplified phones, phone amplifiers, alarm clocks, smoke detectors, notification systems for those who are deaf or blind, caller ID, and closed captioning devices for your TV. www.freedomcomm.org

Centrum Sound: Centrum Sound is a principal provider of assistive listening devices for personal applications, assistive listening systems for hearing assistance and ADA compliance in public facilities, including simultaneous language translation. www.centrumsound.com
http://adaptivetech.tcnj.edu/resheet/deaf.htm