BUENA PARK, Calif., Nov. 02, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- InnoCaption, a mobile app-based provider of real-time captioning of phone calls for the deaf and hard of hearing, in partnership with The Hearing Journal, today released a comprehensive report of the state of assistive hearing technologies from the clinicians’ perspective. This is the first report to highlight current patient perspectives, the dynamic impact clinicians have on the efficacy of assistive technology adoption, and how collaboration between providers and clinicians will play a significant role moving forward.
The new report titled, The Hearing Journal/ InnoCaption Survey: Shifting Technological Recommendations for Audiologists, is based on a survey of over 700 subscribers of The Hearing Journal, the leading publication in hearing health care. The report found smartphone-based phone captioning mobile apps, and in-person captioning mobile apps showed the highest increase in the proportion of clinicians who will usually or always recommend them to patients over the next five years (from 34% to 49% and from 14% to 27%, respectively).
Through the lens of the front-line clinicians that connect directly with patients seeking assistive hearing technologies, this report explores not only the levels of awareness to specific captioning technologies but, more importantly, the barriers that clinicians face in recommending captioning options. To that end, other key findings from the respondents look at the specific challenges experienced when recommending the newer app-based captioning options:
- 51% of respondents feel that their patients aren’t technologically savvy enough;
- 42% of clinicians are not familiar with the newest technologies;
- 39% of clinicians feel that their patients aren’t interested in the new captioning options or don’t have a perceived need.
Further adaptation will require broader technology adoption by patients and clinicians and patients’ education on the available tools.
“Remote communication increased exponentially over the past few years and showed no signs of slowing, posing a significant shift for the deaf and hard of hearing community in particular,” said Joseph Lee, co-CEO of InnoCaption. “Assistive hearing technology is at a tipping point given the remote nature of our personal and working lives. While traditional resources are still popular, new app-based technologies are gaining traction.”
Telehealth has played a significant role in the increased use of app-based assistive technology with 47% of respondents expecting telehealth usage in their future interactions. The increase in technology is not rooted in captioning alone—80% of respondents indicated that newly diagnosed hearing patients are more willing to use hearing aids than five years ago, showing a continual increase in the broader use of assistive technology.
“InnoCaption’s mission is to serve the members of the deaf and hard of hearing community. As we’ve seen how impactful captioning technology can be in the lives of our users, we found that it was also our responsibility to reach as many people within this community as possible,” said Joe Duarte, founder, and co-CEO of InnoCaption. “The Hearing Journal is one of the most widely trusted and read publications of hearing clinicians. We are grateful to be able to share their expertise with the entire assistive technology community to not only better our services but also assist the clinicians directly.”
Further adaptation will require broader technology adoption by patients and clinicians and patients’ education on the available tools.
To read the report in more detail, click here. The Hearing Journal is published in the Lippincott portfolio by Wolters Kluwer.
About InnoCaption
InnoCaption is the only FCC-certified caption phone service to offer real-time captioning of incoming and outgoing calls on smartphones through stenographers. InnoCaption also provides the option for captioning through best-in-class automated speech recognition (ASR) technology when users prefer not to have a live assistant during calls. Users can easily make and receive captioned calls through the InnoCaption mobile app, which is available on both iOS and Android phones and tablets. This captioning service is federally funded and provided free-of-charge to people whose hearing loss makes it hard to understand phone calls.
InnoCaption is committed to offering the best telecommunications accessibility solution to the deaf and hard of hearing community. The leadership team behind InnoCaption has always focused on putting the accessibility needs of users first and foremost, enabling them to drive innovation since launching the InnoCaption app in 2016.
Visit www.innocaption.com and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube for more information.
Media Contact:
Laura Kubitz
E: InnoCaption@merrittgrp.com
