HLAA Exhibits - Part Nine
By Bonnie O'Leary
October 2009
Editor: One of the best things about the HLAA convention is the
opportunity to see all the latest and greatest technology. For those who
can't make it to the convention, Bonnie O'Leary does an OUTSTANDING job of
reporting on the exhibits.
More coverage of this great convention is at: http://www.hearinglossweb.com/res/hlorg/shhh/cn/2009/2009.htm
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Silent Call Communications
SoundAid Hearing Aid Warranties
AT&T
~~~~~
Want to know when someone is at the door or calling on the phone? Want
to be alerted if there's a fire in your home or if your baby is crying or
calling for you? Silent Call Communications has a new alerting device, the
Signature Series Silent Call Sidekick II. This device can monitor up to
three smoke detectors in your home as well as the doorbell, telephone or
any continuous sound like a baby crying. It comes with one receiver and
three transmitter units, and it's compatible with all older Silent Call
devices. It can monitor the battery power for your smoke detectors, and
comes with back-up battery power of its own.
The Signature Series also offers a new Silent Touch SS Receiver Watch
Kit. This is a wearable alerting device which works with all 418 MHz
Signature Series silent Call transmitters, and will monitor your
telephone, smoke detector, doorbell, and baby monitor.
To learn about these and many other alerting devices offered by Silent
Call Communications, visit their website at www.silentcall.com, or call
1-800-572-5227 (Voice or TTY).
I have to admit I knew very little about available warranties for
hearing aids, so I was very interested to talk to Dick Kaiser at the
SoundAid exhibit. It was good to learn that there is a resource for
warranties once the manufacturers' warranties expire.
SoundAid offers three types of warranties: A. Comprehensive, B. Loss &
Damage, and C. Damage and Component Failure. The annual rate for these
warranties depends on the sophistication of the instrument technology. For
instance, I checked the SoundAid hearing aid chart to locate my hearing
aid, which is a GN ReSound Canta 7 series. Since it is an "advanced high
technology digital sound processing instrument," my hearing aid falls into
the highest annual rate category, so I would have to pay $240 a year for
the "Comprehensive" coverage until the hearing aid was 5 years old, then
it would cost me $395.00 per year. (There is no warranty coverage for
hearing aids that are over 8 years old.)
If you are a member of the Hearing Loss Association of America, you can
qualify for a 10% discount by giving SoundAid your HLAA membership number.
Another nice feature of having a SoundAid warranty is that they let you
know 30 days in advance of your warranty's expiration date so you can
renew without risking a lapse in coverage if you so choose.
To check out the rate schedule for your hearing aid and learn a lot
more about SoundAid's coverage, rate options, terms and conditions, visit
www.soundaid.com, email warranties@soundaid.com, or call 1-800-525-7936.
Talk about a bustling exhibit! I had to return three times before I was
able to corral a representative who wasn't surrounded by an eager
audience. An interpreter stepped up to assist me as I talked with Doug
Burasco whose smile lit up the whole exhibit hall in spite of my feeble
efforts to communicate in sign language. Doug wanted me to be sure to
remind VRS and IP Relay users to register their address and obtain a ten
digit telephone number. The deadline has been extended from June 30 to
November 12, 2009. You can learn how to get your own 10-digit number of
sign up at www.att.com/relay. If you have questions about the process, you
can email at rm-attcustomercare@att.net or call 1-800-682-8706 (V), or
1-800-682-8786 (TTY).
Doug also showed me the large selection of cell phones on the display
table, many with M (hearing aid compatible) and T (telecoil compatible)
ratings. Here are a few of them: Samsung Propel Pro, M3, T4; RIM
BlackBerry Curve 8310, M3, T3; Samsung Blackjack II, M3; Motorola Tundra,
M3, T3; Sony Ericsson W760, M3, T3; Nokia 6650, M3, T3. AT&T also offers
an iPhone cell phone which is usable with CapTel.
AT&T and the AT&T Labs continue to develop products and services that
address the needs of customers with disabilities. To learn more about what
AT&T has to offer, visit their website at www.att.com.
~~~~~
(c)2009 by Northern Virginia Resource Center for Deaf and Hard of
Hearing Persons (NVRC), 3951 Pender Drive, Suite 130, Fairfax, VA 22030;
www.nvrc.org. 703-352-9055 V, 703-352-9056 TTY, 703-352-9058 Fax. You do
not need permission to share this information, but please be sure to
credit NVRC.
