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Nationally acclaimed disability rights champion and inventor, Jo Waldron, has announced that a preliminary field study found that Able Planet(TM) new micro-technology, which provides access to telecommunications for people with mild to severe- to-profound hearing loss, can be used without a hearing aid in some persons for successful telephone access. Able Planet's micro-technology was unveiled in June 2003, when it was originally believed that all people with hearing loss needed a hearing aid to take advantage of the technology.
"This advancement in hearing technology expands the applications of this invention," said Waldron. "As a person who is deaf, I was amazed when I could hear and understand speech clearly without using my power hearing aid. I tried using both the Able Planet(TM) wireline phone and hands-free system with a digital cell phone without even wearing my hearing aid. I was truly in shock. I had always used my micro-technology while switching my hearing aid to the T-coil setting."
"In an initial field study, individuals with varying degrees of hearing loss, including some with severe-to-profound hearing impairments, reported successful telephone communication using Able Planet, Inc. micro-technology without the use of their hearing aid and switching the aid to the T-coil position," said Waldron. "This means that these individuals could understand speech very effectively via a telephone handset without the use of their hearing aid. Interestingly, none of the participants could successfully understand speech while using a regular phone, a hearing aid compatible phone, an amplified phone or even a dual amplified phone without wearing hearing aids."
The auditory system is highly complex and hearing loss is very specific to the individual. Therefore, continued research will be important to further explore this phenomenon.
"It is truly phenomenal that I am able to use a telephone and clearly understand the conversation without my hearing aid," said Linda Jaffee, Colorado resident and field study participant. "Gone...