10 Days Without Internet When You're Hard of Hearing

For those of us with hearing loss, technology is sometimes the only way we can communicate. Getty Images Facebook Twitter LinkedIn

This past week, we moved to another apartment and I found myself without high-speed internet — no DSL or a Wi-Fi connection at home — for 10 (long) days.

It was an uncomfortable reminder of how vitally important the internet is for people with hearing loss. I did have a smartphone, so I was not completely cut off from communication, but it

was very limited.

Here's what no home internet meant for me:

No captioned telephone. I hear on the phone, but not well. Even using the telecoil setting on my hearing aid does not make the speaker's voice completely clear. Captioned telephones depend

on DSL or Wi-Fi for the captioning part of the call, which appears on the screen of your special phone. Two of the major manufacturers of these captioned phones are CapTel and CaptionCall.

They are available free of charge to people who can provide proof of their hearing loss, and oftentimes their representative will come to your home to set it up. But you do need a high-speed

internet connection.

For captions on cellphones, a company called Innocaptions has been developing a system to provide simultaneous voice and captioning. It's still got some kinks to work out, but when it works,

it's terrific. Unfortunately, at least on my phone (an iPhone 5S) and with my carrier (Verizon), I cannot get voice and captions at the same time unless I have DSL or Wi-Fi. (Innocaptions,

which has very responsive consumer support, confirmed this in an email: "Unfortunately, Verizon supports voice and data at the same time from iPhone 6, not iPhone 5/5s.") I need that

connection to Wi-Fi.

This is a problem anywhere outdoors, but I live in a big city, and without captions my cellphone is close to useless on the street. This is because electromagnetic interference produces a

buzz in telecoil mode that drowns out talk. I guess I need to spring for a new iPhone.