In a survey taken in 2008, there were more than 35 million Americans who were hearing-impairment. More than 25 million of those people who were hearing impaired did not have hearing aids. It is estimated that by 2025 there will be 40 million hearing impaired Americans. With that being said, it is obvious that there are many ways for the deaf to communicate with each other and also with hearing people. Just to list a few there is: sign language, lip reading, Braille, and, the one I will elaborate on, Text Telephone (TTY). Seeing that only about 28.5% of Americans who need hearing aids actually wear them, it is very helpful to be educated on how to help them ease their way through everyday life.
What is a TTY?.
I have researched and found TTY to be an interesting method of communication for the deaf. It can also be referred to as a TDD (Telecommunication Device for the Deaf). However this term is not widely used because deaf people are not the only ones who use a TTY. A TTY is a superior device that helps not only the deaf, but also the hearing-impaired, and the speech impaired use the telephone almost as easily as a hearing person. The TTY makes it easier for the hearing-impaired to use a telephone and also make emergency calls. This device could be described as a typewriter without paper. Although the telephone was introduced about 100 years earlier, the modern TTY was not introduced until the 1960's.
History of the TTY.
Until the TTY was invented it was virtually impossible for the hearing impaired to share the conveniences of the telephone and also life-saving capacities with the hearing people. Robert Weitbrecht, who was deaf, is the man responsible for inventing the TTY in the 1960's. The very first TTYs were very large and had paper coming out of them. They were kind of like a fax machine so they were immobile which restricted use in many places. They were also very expensive which kept many of the deaf from purchasing one.