Category: accessible Devices
I want to get a phone for a very wonderful friend of the family. She is 90-years-old and though she doesn't need a hearing aid, she has trouble hearing over the phone unless you speak in a loud and clear voice. The same holds true if you're with her in person. I want to get her something that will be louder than a typical phone but not so loud that it's overpowering. The phone also needs to be simple, as she's not into technology. But caller id would be a great feature for her and larger numbers probably couldn't hurt either, though she's not visually-impaired. It's also worth noting that she's perfectly content to sit at the kitchen table to use the phone, so doesn't necessarily require the phone to be cordless, though that wouldn't be a problem. I would also prefer it to be under $100, preferably under $60. Given these factors, here are the choices that I've narrowed down.
1. the Uniden Loud and Clear 20dB Amplified Slimline Corded Phone
2. the Clarity C200 Amplified Trimline Telephone (26db)
3. the Big Button 40dB Amplified Speakerphone
4. the Retro Style Basic Wall Phone with 40dB Handset
5. the jWIN Big Button Caller ID Phone with Black Handset
I don't know anything about these measurements. How many db does a regular phone usually have? What is the quality of these phones like, for anyone who has used them?
I just saw the Serene Universal Telephone Amplifier: 45dB and the Serene Portable Phone Amplifier: 30dB. They said that the 45db one is amplified up to 150 times! I really don't think that's necessary for her, so it seems that we're looking for something under 45, maybe under 40db but not sure. How do these amplifiers work as far as hooking them up. Another really good option seems to be the Inline Telephone Amplifier. They say that it multiplies a phone's volume up to 35 times. How many db would that be? It also seems really easy to use. So I may go with that. Thanks in advance for your help. I'm just confused.
wow tiffinitsa, you are asking a lot of questions there. well the phone will go from normal volume to a max of wahtever is listed, so the higher the db, the louder the sound, but this can be in incraments, so a louder [phone does not have to go as loud as it can, for nistance.
Thanks. That definitely clears things up. But I'm still curious what a normal amount of db would be on a phone.