Dear List Family......

Well, "ya win a few, lose a few," and in this case, after 24 hours
of using the Bruce Hands Free Speech Amplifier, I've found the
product to be a good idea, but it;s been so poorly designed
designed that I am forced to return it to the maker.]

Mind you, if someone is handy with basic electronics and prototype
construction, it  COULD be redesigned and made to function in a
more useful manner - tho there IS a model using a head set and
mike.  That would  certainly would be more conspicuous than  an
alternative feature with an old fashioned headset with an attached
microphone which WOULD get rid of the problems I ran into;

Basically, the unit I had bought was clumsy.  It was so top heavy
that the wannbe clip that slid onto the top of the belt and didn't
really have a true "clip-like-device" to keep the unit securely
affixed to my belt.  I found that in with my every move, the unit
would start to slide off the belt.  By constantly having to push
the unit back into my belt,,the unit would SHRIEK <picture
magnifying  the sound of fingernails sliding down a chalkboard and
with the sound seemingly being broadcast in Dolby Surround Sound
like a movie! <grin>

ALSO.. the microphone had to be moved MANUALLY consistently, in
order to track your mouth as you moved your head naturally in
speech - turned and tilted your head unconsciously in
conversation - your head rigidly in order to speak in into the
mike and have your voice picked up enough to be heard.

It seemed to me that the design problem that caused the device to
repeatedly drop off my belt would be very simple to fix and the
shrieking could also be fixed if the effort was made by the Bruce
Company (and I could be entirely wrong about this)

A\Anyway, I called BRUCE this a.m., and they were most  gracious
in permitting me to return the unit, which I'll do today.

FYI.... I'm planning on ordering the other  company's $159 speech
amplifier today and'll report back to the List on how well THAT
unit functions and meets my expectations..

Barb (down, but not out) Mallut
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--Original Message-----
From: Barb_MSN <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Friday, November 12, 1999 11:57 PM
Subject: GOT VOICE AMPLIFIER TODAY!!! (Long!)


>Oh Joy!  Oh Wondrous Joy!   Today my hand-free
>speech amplifier was delivered and lo and behold, j
>just like magic, I CAN BE HEARD *NORMALLY once
>again!! (Mopping up tears by the bucket with a BIG
>smile on face...)
>
>Personal PD-voice History:    After approximately
>22 years (now over 25 years)  living  with Parkinson's
>and a successful unilateral pallidotomy in Oct.
>of '94,  three year ago began to notice that everyone
>around me was getting hard of hearing. (Ok... ok.... be
>honest , now, Barbie) Well let's say about 3 year ago
>I noticed wherever I went and whoever I was with at
>the time had a terrible time HEARING me.
>
>And it wasn't THEM that had the problem - it was ME.
>Whenever I spoke, folks were saying "What?
>WHAT??? I can't HEAR you."  What was even worse,
>SOME people, in an effort not to embarrass me, just
>sat there without a CLUE as to what I was talking about,
>and never ever commented that they couldn't hear me,
>until _ I _ happened to notice the blank look on their
>respective and collective faces.
>
>Lack of ability to COMMUNICATE, when I had SO much
>to say, began to frustrate me, and I became desperate.
>
>In an effort to be heard, I had speech therapy at Kaiser
>Permanente, my HMO, and realized by the second
>lesson, the therapist knew little about PD and
>PD-related speech problems.
>
>Next I went to UCLA's famed Throat and Neck Clinic,
>headed by Dr. Gerald Berke, who injected collagen
>into both vocal cords and successfully restored my
>speaking voice for about 5 months, and $500 (which
>IS picked up by Medicare, unless you, like me had
>assigned your Medicare to an HMO, in which case
>you're out of pocket is you want this procedure
>performed on your vocal cords immediately.
>
>FYI.... Even if I was willing to pop more money in five
>hundred dollar chunks every 3 to 6 months indefinitely,
>which I'm not economically able to do (I'd prolly have to
>cut out FOOD from my daily regimen!), that would make
>no difference because my body began to absorb injected
> collagen within hours of getting the injections.
>
>Sooooo.... NEXT I tried the Lee Silverman Voice Therapy,
>and found myself totally HOARSE within minutes if shouting
>into voice decipal counter, while being coached by a
>friend who'd completed the Silverman  course.   While
>she can and did instruct me, HER voice could barely be
>heard because like so many who've paid $1600 for a
>Silverman-method therapist she eventually stopped the
>mandatory daily exercises with the voice decipal counter,
>and her voice returned to it's whispery self.
>
>In desperation (and I was becoming VERY desperate!),
>I began searching for companies who either made or
>sold VOICE AMPLIFIERS.  Eventually, I found three
>companies,  two of whom produced two different types
>of voice amplifiers in that they each had a "cheapie"
>unit selling around $159.95, and a more expensive unit,
>at about $650.   The only difference in the two was clarity,
>and a bit of a size difference,  The third company made a
>unit that is absolutely crystal clear and filters out ALL noise
>extraneous but the voice of the person wearing the unit.
>This l'il wonder is about the size of a cigarette box, and
>the OTHERS are a bit more "chunky" looking - more boxy.
>And IT'S a cool $6000 (that's right, six THOUSAND dollars!)
>I figured, that tho the units SHOULD be covered by Medicare,
>since my Medicare-paid HMO, Kaiser, would first put me
>thru a round of in-house referrals  - to assorted voice
>therapists, throat specialists, and goodess only-know-what,
>I began to accept the idea that I'd somehow personally
>absorb the cost of the cheapest unit ($159), and not go thru
>Medicare, after months of dancing around the sacred halls
>of Kaiser till I FINALLY, if ever, received a prescription for
>a voice amplifier.
>
>Last week I ordered the "BRUCE Hands Free Voice
>Amplifier," which arrived today. And it WORKS!!!!!
>
>Initially there was a "shriek," which I soon learned
>meant the little machine didn't like me holding it in
>my HAND (which might be why the unit is called the
>"Hands Free Speech Amplifier, huh?"  DUH!)
><giggle>  while I was speaking into it.
>
> No biggee.... I hooked it over my belt like a pager or
>cell-phone, since it comes with a somewhat ungainly
>hook for that purpose.  Again, o biggee... I can make
>a variety of cute and/or colorful holders to house the unit.
>
>FYI.... I got the feeling from reading the super-thin
>operating instructions (Reading something like
>"Plug-in and talk') <grin>, that it was a really big
>"battery eater," so plan to stock up with a 50 year
>supply of 9-volt batteries (the unit uses one at a time,
>and I have no idea how long a single battery will last.
>Be advised tho, that I *DO* like to talk, and have a LOT
>of talkin' to make up for! <smile>
>
>You can order a flyer for general information on the
>Hands Free Speech Amplifier or order the unit itself by
> contacting the following:
>
>BRUCE Medical Supply
>411 Waverly Oaks Road, Suite 154
>Waltham, Massachusetts 02454
>(800) 225-8446
>
>(Barb grabs Scooter-cat and begins to happily dance
>'round her wee 8x8 foot office singing in  NORMAl voice
>for a change! (uhhhhhh..... Scooter has a VERY startled
>look on her cute little cat face at her "mom's"
>shenanigans! <giggle>
>
>I've put everything I can think of about the speech
>amplifier and assorted speech/vocal cord treatments
>and/or therapies I've tried in the last few years, but if
>someone has any questions 'bout what I've said here,
>please feel free to email me at  [log in to unmask]
>
>I *WILL* respond, but please keep in mind that I'm
> moving this coming Thursday, so my replies might be on
> the brief side, 'cause there's still lotsa packing to do.
>
>Barb (YIPPEE!  I can TALK!!) Mallut
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