Hear your doctor’s office when it calls
Find the volume that actually matters during a call, turn on live captions, and know what to ask about connecting a hearing aid.
Almost everybody who cannot hear a phone call has already pressed the volume buttons and found nothing improved. There is a reason, and it is not the phone being difficult.
A phone has four separate volumes: the ring, the voice in your ear, music, and alarms.
Key points
- Name the four separate volumes and say which the side buttons are changing
- Turn a call up while it is happening, once, and have the phone remember it
- Switch on live captions and speakerphone without hunting for them
- Ask your hearing clinic about connecting your aids, and your doctor’s office to record how you hear best
What to remember
- Four separate volumes, on purpose. Turning one up says nothing about the other three.
- Turn a call up while it is happening. And “I am hard of hearing, could you speak more slowly” outperforms every setting on the phone.
Try this
Next time anybody calls, press the volume buttons up while they are still talking. That is the one volume you have never adjusted, and the phone will keep it.
Practice: Hear your doctor’s office when it calls. Your first lesson is free, with no account or card; the rest are part of a Lantern plan. Interactive lessons require JavaScript.