Learning Center
What is a TTY?
TTY stands for Text
Telephone (or Teletypewriter for the Deaf). It is also sometimes
called a TDD, or Telecommunication Device for the Deaf. TTY is the
more widely accepted term, however, as TTYs are used by many
people, not just people who are deaf.
A TTY is a
special device that lets people who are deaf, hard of hearing, or
speech-impaired use the telephone to communicate, by allowing them
to type messages back and forth to one another instead of talking
and listening. A TTY is required at both ends of the conversation
in order to communicate.
To use a TTY, you set a telephone handset onto special acoustic
cups built into the TTY (some TTY models can be plugged directly
into a telephone line). Then, type the message you want to send on
the TTY's keyboard. As you type, the message is sent over the phone
line, just like your voice would be sent over the phone line if you
talked. You can read the other person's response on the TTY's text
display.
If you don't have a TTY,
you can still call a person who is deaf, hard of hearing, or
speech-impaired by using the Telecommunications Relay Service
(TRS). With TRS, a special operator types whatever you say so that
the person you are calling can read your words on his or her TTY
display. He or she will type back a response, which the TRS
operator will read aloud for you to hear over the phone. Toll free
TRS services are available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Ultratec offers
several different models of TTYs for home, office and personal
use.