Captioned Phones for Hearing Loss in Arkansas
What a captioned phone does
CaptionCall® is a revolutionary new telephone and service for anyone who has trouble hearing on the phone. With CaptionCall, it’s easy to communicate confidently with friends, family and colleagues.
CaptionCall is available only to people whose hearing loss makes captions necessary to use the phone effectively. Schedule a hearing evaluation at any Natural Hearing Centers clinic and we’ll help you determine whether a captioned phone is right for you.
A CaptionCall phone works like any other home phone, you pick it up, dial, and talk. The difference is the screen. As the person on the other end speaks, their words appear as text in real time, so you can listen and read at the same time. The captions come from speech recognition software over an internet connection, and the text is large and adjustable. You can turn up the volume, tune the sound to your own hearing loss, and scroll back through a conversation. Nothing about the way you make or answer a call changes.
How captioned phones work
Similar to captioned television, CaptionCall uses advanced technology and a communications assistant to quickly provide written captions of what callers say on a large, easy-to-read screen. It works like a regular telephone – simply dial and answer calls as usual – speak and listen using a phone handset like always. Plus, CaptionCall offers exceptional sound quality with audio and frequency settings that can be customized to each person’s hearing loss.
CaptionCall Mobile App for iPhone and Android
Not everyone wants another phone on the kitchen counter. If you do most of your talking on a cell phone, CaptionCall Mobile puts the same captions on the device you already carry. Sorenson offers CaptionCall Mobile for iOS and Android alongside the home phone, and both are positioned as no-cost, federally funded options for eligible users who need captions to use the phone effectively. The app runs on iOS 15 and later and Android 9 and later. The eligibility rules are identical to the home phone: you register, certify your need for captions, and the service costs you nothing.
CaptionCall Phone Features
- Large text – 7″ screen with adjustable text sizes makes it easy to read every word of every call.
- Touch to call – make calls quickly and easily with a simple touch of the screen.
- Saved conversations – You can choose to save the captioning from conversations for later review.
- Customizable audio – easily adjust ringer and handset volume – also customize frequency amplification.
- Telecoil loop connection – for hearing aids with a telecoil option.
- Secure captioning – enjoy a safe, encrypted, FCC-regulated transcription process.
- Visual Ringer – the CaptionCall phone screen can flash when the phone is ringing.
Captioned phone vs. amplified phone vs. hearing aids
These three get confused often. A captioned phone lets you read the call. An amplified phone makes it louder. Hearing aids help you hear everywhere, not just on the telephone. Many of our patients use more than one.
| Captioned phone | Amplified phone | Hearing aids | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it does | Shows what your caller says as text on a screen | Makes the caller's voice louder | Amplifies the sound around you all day |
| Best for | Loss that makes captions necessary on a call | Milder loss, where volume alone is enough | Most degrees of loss, in every situation |
| Cost to you | None, for qualified users, paid by a federal fund | Out of pocket | Varies; insurance and financing available |
| What you need | Home internet, or a smartphone for the app | A standard phone line | A hearing evaluation and fitting |
Hearing aids are the foundation. A captioned phone solves the one situation they struggle with most, because a telephone strips away the lip-reading you rely on without realizing it. CaptionCall also connects to hearing aids with a telecoil, so the two work together.