Nebraska Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (NCDHH) offers an Assistive Devices Loan Program to individuals/consumers who live in Nebraska. The loans are made for a period of three months. If you live outside of the Lincoln area, NCDHH will mail you the equipment. At the end of the three month loan period, it is the consumer’s responsibility to mail the equipment back to NCDHH at their cost.
- Amplified Phones are devices used by people who are hard of hearing who have some residual hearing and use their voice. The amplifier makes sounds louder and clearer.
- Personal listening devices are small, battery-operated, wireless and portable devices that use radio transmissions to send auditory signals from speakers (microphones) to listeners (receivers). These are best for personal one on one communication.
- A teletypewriter (TTY), which is sometimes referred to as a TDD or TT, is a device that allows people who are deaf or hard of hearing to converse over a landline telephone line. Instead of speaking, a deaf person types his or her message on a TTY, which is simultaneously sent to another TTY.
Items That Are Loaned
1. Amplified Phones / Corded & Cordless - loaned for a three-month period
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Telephone amplifiers are devices used by people who are hard of hearing who have some residual hearing and use their voice. The amplifier makes sounds louder and clearer. There are several different ways a telephone can be amplified; a volume control in the handset, an in-line amplifier that is attached to the telephone and a phone that has built- in amplification. Public pay phones have a button to press or a sign explaining how to increase the volume.
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Phones manufactured after Jan. 1,1989, must be hearing aid compatible. If a person’s hearing aid has a T-coil switch, the conversation can be amplified without having to use an amplifying device with the phone. The Hearing Aid Compatibility Act of 1988 required that telephones located in workplace commons areas and credit card operated telephones be compatible with hearing aids
2. Personal Listening Device - loaned for a three-month period
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Personal listening devices are small, battery-operted, wireless and portable devices that use radio transmissions to send auditory signals from speakers (microphones) to listeners (receivers). These are best for personal one on one communication.
3. Teletypewriter (TTY) - loaned for a three-month period
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A teletypewriter (TTY), which is sometimes referred to as a TDD or TT, is a device that allows people who are deaf or hard of hearing to converse over a landline telephone line. Instead of speaking, a deaf person types his or her message on a TTY, which is simultaneously sent to another TTY.
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A TTY looks like a small typewriter keyboard. It has a telephone modem and a small LCD screen. To use a TTY, a person dials the phone and places the handset in the TTY’s couplers/modem. An electronic signal is then transmitted across the phone line to another TTY. Other types of TTYs are directly connected to the telephone jack. With this type of equipment, the telephone number is dialed either through the telephone or through the TTY. The telephone handset is placed on the table instead of in the TTY’s couplers. TTY software is also available that can be installed on a computer, which can allow a person to use a computer to place and receive TTY calls.
If you are interested in obtaining an item through our Assistive Devices Loan Program please call 402-471-3593 or 800-545-6244.
