One of the things I love about my job is the range of people that I get to meet and help solve a problem for, through the use of assistive technology (AT). One such example involved a young woman who stopped by the office looking for a way to make her whisper-soft voice more audible. The underlying problem was polyps on her vocal cords, which were being addressed medically, but were going take some time. In the interim, she wanted to continue her work as a certified nursing assistant (CNA), but was in danger of losing her job because those she was caring for could not hear her. The AT solution recommended was to have her use a portable voice amplification device while on the job.
These devices are designed to amplify the vocal output for people with temporary or permanent voice disorders. They typically consist of a lightweight headset microphone and body-worn amplifier. They allow the user to be hands-free, and run on rechargeable batteries. For the CNA with the quiet voice, the voice amplifier proved to be a job-saver. If you are having trouble being heard, or are at risk for voice over-use due to teaching, coaching or presenting for hours at a time, look to a voice amplification device to be heard. IPAT has a number of them available for trial-use, let us know if you would like to try one out.
I have a client that uses this but she wants to work in an office and the voice amplifier doesn’t seem like the perfect choice for answering phone calls. Any ideas?
Hi Marylynn, an option to consider would be a handset that provides outgoing amplification. Here are a couple to consider:
Clarity handset: http://goo.gl/KW3jw
Walker/Clarity handset: http://goo.gl/gX4mK
Harris Communications is a great company to work with to make a decision. One thing to think about with a handset like this is whether it will sit in the phone cradle.
My father suffers from Parkinson’s diesese and one of his major symptoms is not being able to speak at a level that is easy to hear. I have been trying to find a simple device that will allow him to carry on a conversation without constantly repeating himself. Can you direct me to where to buy a device like the AT to amplify device?
Hi Luke! Harris Communications and Zygo-USA are where we obtained our voice amplifiers. Below are the links to those websites and a blog post by Trish that explains the devices in detail. Please contact us by email if you have further questions. ipatinfo@ndipat.org
https://ndassistive.org/be-heard-with-voice-amplification/
https://www.harriscomm.com/chattervox-6-voice-speech-amplifier.html
http://www.zygo-usa.com/usa/index.php?page=shop.browse&category_id=104&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=11&vmcchk=1&Itemid=11