If you're a customer service rep, and the person on the other end of the phone explains that he has hearing loss and asks you to speak up...SPEAK THE FUCK UP!

Take a step closer to the goddamned phone, adjust the mike on your headset...whatever it takes but FUCKING DO IT!

I'm still working with the VA (thanks, COVID) to get some hearing aids, but meantime talking on the telephone is difficult at best and if you're going to do it like you're whispering in church it's just plain impossible.

I asked her twice and couldn't detect any change, sounded like she was talking to a speaker phone from across the room.

I hope you get your hearing aids. I just got mine from the V.A. and they are awesome. They connect to my phone by bluetooth. I can even stream music from my phone which stops when I get a call and resumes when the call is ended..

My wife said I couldn't hear her. I explained to her that there is a difference between hearing and listening .

Hey, Paul -- you're probably aware that I can't hear worth a poop, especially telephone.

Florida has a program to help with this, I would guess that Maine has something similar, since I believe that it is funded with federal dollars. It might help you, pending delivery of your hearing aids.

I use it for "phone calls." It's a relay service. The way it works, I connect via internet to a relay operator, who place the call. The relay operator and I type back and forth, the relay operator reads what I type, speaks to the person I am calling, listens to that person's response, and types it to me.

There's a side benefit too. I can keep a transcript of the call, which resolves the problem of a "he said, she said" dispute arising at a later time.

Two points, it is only good for outgoing calls, not incoming, and in order to use it I need to be someplace where I have an internet connection and can type.

quote:

I'm still working with the VA (thanks, COVID) to get some hearing aids, but meantime talking on the telephone is difficult at best and if you're going to do it like you're whispering in church it's just plain impossible.

^^^^^^^^^^
The VA is opening back up in certain zip codes. I am sure they will require mask wearing a temperature check and several simple questions. Most people I know are happy with what the VA provides. Good luck.

I was supposed to get my aids in April and was delayed to June 26. Yes, temp check, 40leven questions.

Yeah, nothing worse that a foreign CS representative that can't speak english and talks really fast. I got a new land line phone with a speaker button that helps a bunch though.

quote:

Originally posted by ZSMICHAEL:

quote:

I'm still working with the VA (thanks, COVID) to get some hearing aids, but meantime talking on the telephone is difficult at best and if you're going to do it like you're whispering in church it's just plain impossible.

^^^^^^^^^^
The VA is opening back up in certain zip codes. I am sure they will require mask wearing a temperature check and several simple questions. Most people I know are happy with what the VA provides. Good luck.

I had an appointment for June but they canceled and said they'd call when things open up.

With the agenda-driven "spike" in virus cases, I get the feeling it'll be a while. I can get by (most of the time) in face-to-face conversations, it's just phone calls that are really troublesome. Texting is a blessing.

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:
Hey, Paul -- you're probably aware that I can't hear worth a poop, especially telephone.

Florida has a program to help with this, I would guess that Maine has something similar, since I believe that it is funded with federal dollars. It might help you, pending delivery of your hearing aids.

I use it for "phone calls." It's a relay service. The way it works, I connect via internet to a relay operator, who place the call. The relay operator and I type back and forth, the relay operator reads what I type, speaks to the person I am calling, listens to that person's response, and types it to me.

There's a side benefit too. I can keep a transcript of the call, which resolves the problem of a "he said, she said" dispute arising at a later time.

Two points, it is only good for outgoing calls, not incoming, and in order to use it I need to be someplace where I have an internet connection and can type.

An older lady I used to do odd jobs for (she's since passed) had a phone with a display on it. Not sure how it worked but I think it was some sort of speech-to-text function. Worked seamlessly for ALL calls. Probably should look into that.

quote:

Originally posted by PHPaul:

I can get by (most of the time) in face-to-face conversations, it's just phone calls that are really troublesome. Texting is a blessing.

My situation, exactly, with hearing aids.

Without hearing aids, even face-to-face conversation is almost impossible.

The damage to my hearing started back in the Navy, the jet engines in the Regulus missiles. The Navy was not real big on protection back in the 1950s. Also, we never had ear protection when we were shooting, to qualify with the 1911 which we carried on watch.

Then, fifty-plus years of flying, the first half of which was without benefit of headsets. Cockpit noise levels were high, mostly wind noise and some from the engine, so the overhead speaker for the radio had to be really cranked up in order to hear radio communications. Twenty-five years of flying like that did not help.

The final straw was the day I went to a range and realized when I got there, that I had left my headset on the work table where I packed my range bag. I had the foam plugs but it was the first time that I had ever used them and I did not insert them properly. Outdoor range, but still pretty loud.

Hearing aids would have been helpful before that range day, after that day, they moved from the "helpful" category to "absolutely necessary."

There is an app InnoCaption that will transcribe live calls on a cell phone. The app assigns an agent to transcribe and it's very accurate. Both incoming and outgoing calls can be used through the app. Note they assign you a phone number to use with the app so incoming calls you want transcribed need to use that number.

I have bilateral Meniere's and hearing aids, thus far, have not really helped and sometimes made it worse given masking with tinnitus plus when the "stuffiness" in my head causes distortion. I was tested yesterday for a cochlear implant; I did not meet the threshold but they tested me with new hearing aids which showed marked improvement. Looks like recent technology improvement with hearing aids has caught up with me.

I see the VA in a month.

 
I used a TTY device to "talk" to my Dad for over 20 years. He was deaf and had his own TTY. His first one was supplied by some deaf organization, and was a refurbished full sized teletype machine, as used to be used by news wire services. It took up a sizable amount of space. As time passed and TTY machines improved, we both upgraded to small machines that you could plug in directly with a modular phone cord (no more ear cups needed). They have their own keyboard, too.
 
The TTY can be used to connect to your state's relay service. And I've noticed in passing that some businesses and especially governmental agencies have special TTY numbers, so you can call them directly.
 
And, as I'm sure V-Tail knows, you can set up your iPhone for TTY mode. It's under the Accessibility settings.

quote:

Originally posted by henryaz:
 
I'm sure V-Tail knows, you can set up your iPhone for TTY mode. It's under the Accessibility settings.

I am aware of that, but have never used it. Might be OK with a bluetooth keyboard, but I think it would be really frustrating to deal with a "phone call" using the phone's keypad. I place my relay calls from a computer with a real keyboard, and I keep a TextEdit window open to type ahead, then use copy / paste into the relay window.

I can also keep a SIGforum window open while I'm on hold, as I was for an hour and eight minutes yesterday, waiting to make an appointment for routine blood draw -- the hospital outpatient lab is no longer accepting walk-ins, appointments are now required for this three minute procedure, because virus.

quote:

I can also keep a SIGforum window open while I'm on hold, as I was for an hour and eight minutes yesterday, waiting to make an appointment for routine blood draw -- the hospital outpatient lab is no longer accepting walk-ins, appointments are now required for this three minute procedure, because virus.

^^^^^^^^^^
Now that is something that should be done via computer scheduling. They could add the disclaimers and requirements on the web site.
You should suggest that to them but I am sure they will not listen.

quote:

Originally posted by ZSMICHAEL:

quote:

I can also keep a SIGforum window open while I'm on hold, as I was for an hour and eight minutes yesterday, waiting to make an appointment for routine blood draw -- the hospital outpatient lab is no longer accepting walk-ins, appointments are now required for this three minute procedure, because virus.

Now that is something that should be done via computer scheduling. They could add the disclaimers and requirements on the web site. You should suggest that to them but I am sure they will not listen.

Advent Health System in this area, formerly known as Florida Hospital, is a huge operation, 26 locations in the Orlando area alone. Making a suggestion to a "worker bee" you're speaking with is useless; s/he has no power to change anything, and if even passed up the line, the suggestion will probably not make it past the first (lowest) level of supervision.

The way to get anything noticed is to work from the top down, instead of the bottom up. Now, the question is how to identify somebody high enough in the food chain for the suggestion to be effective, and how to communicate with that person. And, having done all of that, the suggestion will still probably fall on deaf ears.

Re the lab -- my preferred location for outpatient lab is not open for business right now, because virus. Another location near me that the appointment setter tried (once I had waited on hold for well over an hour) did not have any appointment slots available until afternoon, something I am not willing to tolerate unless there is no other choice because this blood draw requires fasting and I do not want to go hungry all day.

The third one that the appointment setter tried was the only one in the area with an appointment slot open in the morning on the day that I need it, but it is a bad location because it is not staffed by hospital personnel, it is a contract lab, Quest if I'm not mistaken, and they royally screwed up the last two times I used that location, which is why it now goes to the bottom of my list and is only used if no other location has an appointment slot available. This is the one I'm scheduled for this week; can't wait to see how they fuck it up this time.

I feel for you. My appointments for blood draw are easily made over the phone with my primary doc. Even the specialists provide the service. I try to avoid the hospital outpatient due to long waits.

quote:

Originally posted by ZSMICHAEL:

I feel for you. My appointments for blood draw are easily made over the phone with my primary doc.

This is for my primary doc. I have a semi-annual "how's it going" visit with him next week. He gave me a lab order to have blood drawn.

When I do see him next week I will let him know what a royal pain in the ass it has become, and ask if there is any way that they can do the vampire thing in his office.

quote:

Originally posted by PHPaul:

quote:

Originally posted by ZSMICHAEL:

quote:

I'm still working with the VA (thanks, COVID) to get some hearing aids, but meantime talking on the telephone is difficult at best and if you're going to do it like you're whispering in church it's just plain impossible.

^^^^^^^^^^
The VA is opening back up in certain zip codes. I am sure they will require mask wearing a temperature check and several simple questions. Most people I know are happy with what the VA provides. Good luck.

I had an appointment for June but they canceled and said they'd call when things open up.

With the agenda-driven "spike" in virus cases, I get the feeling it'll be a while. I can get by (most of the time) in face-to-face conversations, it's just phone calls that are really troublesome. Texting is a blessing.

I had an appointment with the VA in April for hearing aids the got cancelled and still trying to reschedule as well.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Keep after them in a nonpushy way. I guess they consider fitting hearing aides in the same department as pulmonary medicine and dentistry. There is really no rhyme or reason. When they do open it will be at a moment's notice. The funny thing is that most specialists in the private sector are running full bore with screening in place. Good luck

quote:

When I do see him next week I will let him know what a royal pain in the ass it has become, and ask if there is any way that they can do the vampire thing in his office.

^^^^^^^^^^^
Good. Doctors often have no idea of these issues. When they do blood draws in their office they usually schedule an appointment. For a fasting blood sugar you want earliest possible.

quote:

Originally posted by ZSMICHAEL:

For a fasting blood sugar you want earliest possible.

I usually don’t finish throwing up until after 10:30.