"One woman hadn't used the phone for years because she didn't hear well. Then she got phone equipment from MTAP, and her son said she had to stop calling him at work so much," Martell said with a chuckle.

Martell, who retired from teaching earlier this year, is hard of hearing himself, and has used an amplified telephone through the program for several years. His particular phone has a built-in volume control to make incoming sounds louder. Some amplified phones come with tone and frequency adjustments and adjustable ringers. Others come with large number keys to make reading and dialing numbers easier.

According to Bowen Greenwood, outreach coordinator for MTAP, the phone Martell has is the most frequently used piece of equipment the program distributes.

Because hearing loss typically affects a specific frequency range, higher sounds such as a woman's voice might be more difficult to hear than low sounds like a man's voice. In some cases, just the opposite is true.

MTAP also offers other equipment: A phone that flashes lights when it rings; "CapTel," which allows the caller to read a captioned version of the conversations on a text screen and listen to the voice of the person they are calling simeltaneously; and a text telephone, commonly known as a TTY or TDD. This device allows a deaf, partially deaf or speech disabled person to use the telephone by typing messages back and forth and reading responses on the display.

To communicate directly, a TTY is required on both ends of the phone line. The parties can also communicate through a service called Montana Relay by having an operator translate between the two different phones. The operator speaks aloud whatever is typed, so the standard phone user can hear it, and then types whatever is spoken, so the text telephone user can read it.

"On the cutting edge of technology right now is the video phone," Greenwood said. "It works over a high speed Internet connection, and the deaf are able to use sign language to each other. Technology-wise, it's a fascinating time for profoundly deaf people."

MTAP, which is administratively attached to the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services, was established in 1989.

"Over the lifetime of the program, it's served about 10,000 people," Greenwood said. "We've got about 5,000 active files right now."

According to a recent census, Greenwood said, about 70,000 people in Montana are hard of hearing. It's just a matter of getting information about MTAP out there.

"We do different things. We give presentations at senior centers and assisted living centers," Greenwood said. "We also work closely with the Montana School for the Deaf and Blind."

MTAP is available to all Montanans over age 5. With a "hands-free phone" and "artificial larynx" equipment, the program is also geared toward people with speech and mobility disabilities. Some equipment is free to Montanans who qualify under income guidelines. For those who don't qualify, MTAP can still assist with equipment selection.

Kristen Kober, an audiologist with the Indian Health Service in Billings, has become a new advocate for MTAP. Kober was recently appointed to the Committee on Telecommunications Access Services For Persons With Disabilities. The 13-member committee is chosen by the governor for a three-year term.

"One reason they asked if I'd like to be on the board was so I could help get this equipment to the Native American population," Kober said.

Martell is another committee member.

"MTAP does training, awareness and outreach," he said. "I've just been overwhelmed by the current staff and what they're trying to do. When I make a referral, they contact people who need this equipment right away."

By Suzanne Kydland Ady
http://www.billingsgazette.com/index.php?id=1&display=rednews/2005/12/14/build/health/20-phones.inc