What Is a TTY Call?
TTY, which stands for "teletypewriter," is a system that allows a hearing or speech impaired person to make and receive telephone calls on a normal telephone line. Scientist Robert Weitbrecht, who was deaf himself, developed TTY technology in the 1960s. Those first machines were cost prohibitive for most people. By the 1980s TTY technology became more affordable, and today they are an important tool for the hearing impaired to connect with the world.
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What Is It?
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Instead of speaking a conversation, the user types what he or she wants to say into a TTY device. If the recipient of the call also has a TTY system, two people can communicate directly If the recipient is not a TTY user, the call is translated by a live operator through the Telecommunications Relay Service.
Telecommunications Relay Service
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An operator reads what the hearing or speech impaired person has typed. In turn, the recipient speaks slowly into the phone and the operator types what the hearing impaired person will read. Often a person who is not completely deaf is able to speak. If so, he or she can simply talk normally into the phone and the recipient can listen. The operator will type the response so the hearing impaired person can read it. This service is available to those with TTY equipment 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Each state has its own toll-free number to call to use the TTY system.
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Appearance
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The TTY machine itself looks like a small typewriter or personal computer. Some units are equipped with a printer, while others just have a simple screen.
TTY vs TTD
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TTY technology operates manually. A TTD device is considered computer-assisted or digital. TTD stands for Telecommunications Device for the Deaf.
Call Indicators
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A TTY device can be calibrated to a pitch or volume that a hearing impaired person can detect. For those who are completely deaf, a blinking light indicates that a call is coming in.
Receiving a TTY Call
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When a hearing person receives a TTY call, the operator will first ask if the recipient has received a call before. If it is the recipient's first TTY call, brief instructions will follow. Next the operator will speak the words typed by the hearing impaired individual. The recipient speaks normally to the operator, who will type out the words for the hearing impaired person. After a phrase is completed, the recipient should say "go ahead."
TTY Etiquette
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The hearing person should always communicate with the hearing impaired person directly, never referring to them in the third person. A TTY conversation requires some patience and takes longer to complete than a normal conversation, but it is an essential form of communication for the hearing impaired.
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