Options for telephone use for HOH Rn's

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Hi everybody! I am new to All nurses after being referred here from a fellow nursing student to hopefully get some insight to a problem I am having. I am in my fourth semester of nursing school. Like most of you posting, I am hearing impaired. I have bilateral cochlear implants. Because of this I am not able to use a regular stethoscope and I have gotten through the program by using a stethoscope that hooks up to a PDA which graphs the sounds coming through. I then visualize the heart and lung sounds and have become quite good at deciphering the different sounds. Those of you that have prior hearing would probably have a much easier time than I did in learning to distinguish the different sounds with your eyes. The new problem that I am facing is using the telephone. I am aware that there are many avenues to nursing that do not require the use of the telephone but I am really set on working with patients on a hospital unit. I am able to use my cell phone to talk to friends and family and my instructor but unable to use a landline as it is analog, I do much better with digital service. The problem in the hospital is that my cell phone is not in line with the intercommunication system, as well as overwhelming background noise and Dr's with little patience. In the past I have used a relay service with VCO (voice carry over) which allows me to speak directly to the other person and when they respond an operator would type it to me. I am at a loss with finding any products that are mobile and allow the user intercommunication features. So my question is have any of you ever had a similar experience? I am fully functional in communication in person just lack the telephone ability..... Any suggestions?

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Specializes in ER, ICU, Tele, Geri Psych.

actually there is a mobile choice, but it depends on which carrier you have and where you work (signal wise).

If you have every heard (pun not intended) of CapTel. It is a service very similar if not the same as your VCO. The Apple iPhone is capable of performing the same function, but has to be in the "3G Network". Otherwise, you would need to separate cellphones to perform the same function. Also, you can do the same function through a laptop with Hamilton CapTel.

HTH

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Thank you so much for your help! I had not heard of the company before but after checking out their website it appears to be exactly what I was hoping for. Hopefully you can shed some extra light for me on how exactly this device works? From the looks of it, its a landline that works through a relay service that is an automatic connection. Is this correct? If so it states on there that it is not able to be used on a digital server which is what cell phones are. So how does it work on an iPhone? I realize that the site could have been outdated and I dont want to get my hopes up as this appears to be the answer to my problem. I do not have an extensive understanding of all of this new technology. Nursing school has really been my first exposure to having to work with PDA's and laptops, and as impressed as I am with all of the technology available I have so much to learn! So really any information you can share is greatly appreciated. I'm guessing the next step is to contact the captel company....?

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Specializes in ER, ICU, Tele, Geri Psych.

its a simple procedure in logging in to the specific website via your iPhone, submitting your personal cellphone number and the number you are trying to reach. the website server does the rest. It will call you first, you answer, then the number you are trying to reach will be dialed automatically. It's quite ingenious and works well on the "3G" network. But it has to be that network, or it won't work.

try this website and give them a call via your cellphone....

http://www.hamiltoncaptel.com

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I currently have a blackberry , not an iPhone... Does that work as well?

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Also, what about intercommunication in a hospital?

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Specializes in ER, ICU, Tele, Geri Psych.

in time, I assume the blackberry will have that capability. It probably could, but from the way it was explained to me, you might need a second cellphone to do both functions. But, I may be wrong or misguided on that.

I don't have an answer for the interhospital question. Since, I am just getting started back in the hospital myself for the first time since losing my hearing. Plus, in my situation, my city is not in the "3G" network and for some reason, AT&T has poor signal strength inside the building.....but not Verizon, arrrrrrgh!

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