Voice Amplifier

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AzBabs

Active member
Joined
Aug 30, 2012
Messages
63
Reason
PALS
Diagnosis
08/2012
Country
US
State
AZ
City
Glendale
Hi All, went to speech clinic today at the local university. The SLP suggested I purchase a speech amplifier. I am still talking but slower and at times gravely. Still understandable with only having to repeat my self couple times a day. I tried one out at the clinic and it was much easier to be heard with little effort. They didn't have any specific one they recomended, the one in the clinic was $300 and she said you can get a good one for around $80. Any one with experience with these?
 
I had one—with two different microphones, one with super thin wire, and unobtrusive (tiny!) headset. The wires with both are thin though, and neither lasted me very long, sorry to say.
However, in my case, my voice has never completely disappeared, it still just fades in and out. If I talk much, (as in multiple sentences) its gone, but for short things, phrases, a sentence here and there, I'm still good to go. If I rest not only my voice, but my diaphragm, by taking short naps with my bipap, my voice will be much stronger afterward too.

I learned to just not talk much, for which some people possibly are grateful lol.

If you have to use your voice frequently on a daily basis, and you are careful to not do things like buckle the wire in your vehicle's seatbelt, ha ha, then this is a good way to go. It will definitely save your energy as well as your voice; but, pay out of pocket, save insurance for more expensive speech equipment down the road.

Here is what I had/have:
http://www.brucemedical.com/adkitplfepro.html
 
Thanks Rose for the info. I am bulbar onset, diagnosed 3 months ago. Voice problems for over a year. My voice sounds rough off & on all day. Still working 10 hours a week as a home health nurse so I have to talk. My patients are very understanding of my ALS. I have looked some up on amazon but there are so many.
 
Rose, thank you for your response & the link. Sorry to hear about the headsets. I'm bulbar onset and still working 10 hrs a week as a home health pediatric RN. So i have to talk a lot. My voice fades in & out & i speak very slow. Tongue atrophy & FVC is 70%. Was your amplified voice clear with the device? I have been on amazon and found smaller ( half the size of yours) ones with great reviews ( $60) but worry about quality & clarity. Hate to buy a $60 one then have to turn around & buy a professional one like yours.
 
azbabs i borrowed two different ones from als a. i didnt think either worked very well but that could be a matter of getting use to them. check and see if you can borrow one to try
 
I have had a very slow progression, and my voice is much more affected than my speech. So, for me, it made sense to try a more costly version of a voice amplifier. Even now, my speech only gets slurred if I'm overly tired, on a good day speech itself is clear.

I was satisfied with how well my voice was amplified. I was not satisfied with the fragility of headset wires. If your speech is slowing, it might be wise to go for an inexpensive voice amplifier, as a temporary measure, and move toward something like a Dynavox.

eBay shows some portable voice amplifiers for less than $40. Right now, there is one used Addvox7 for sale, (seller says in perfect condition) but, I don't think the asking price is all that good considering you'd still have to pay for shipping. It ends up being only like 10% less than what you'd pay new at a medical supply store.

The MDA loaner closet at the ALS clinic you attend should have something for you to borrow. For speech devices they may only have the older Dynavox machines, which are nothing to compare with the newer non-clunky sized models. And, medicare will cover 80% So, on one hand, its an investment, and they'll only pay for one (I think). Hence, its good to figure out what one is best for you.

However, on the other hand. for those who are bulbar onset, waiting until "later on down the road" because you are looking toward when you may need an eye-gaze system probably isn't the way to go, because the time to start using any piece of assistive technology is when you need assistance. rather than waiting until its your only option.

Now would be a good time to focus on researching what features you want, and comparing current models. If you have an iPad, there are text to speak apps available. I personally don't know much about which ones are better than others though.

There have been several threads in the past on this forum discussing the Dynavox and other brands. The newer models will allow you to add custom recordings in your own voice.

So, searching by the word "Dynavox" should bring up a good bit of information. Also, BarryG had many posts on the subject.


As for voice synthesizers, such as ModelTalker, even though this great to do if your voice is still strong, once projection and clarity is compromised, trying to make adequate recordings can be frustrating and exhausting. IMO adding your own recorded words to a Dynavox is going to be more successful, and later, everyone will enjoy being able to hear some words said in your very own voice. Which, of course is another reason to move forward with getting a Dynavox (or another brand of speech generating device).

Here is a helpful link about what Medicare will and will not pay for:
http://www.asha.org/practice/reimbursement/medicare/sgd_policy.htm
 
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Thank you all for your help. I have left a message at the local als closet to check on a loaner. She is out of town till next Monday.

Rose thank you for the great insight. As of now I have full use of my extremities. My voice is fading quickly due to tongue atrophy. I have an ipad but looking at an ipad mini for when my voice fails (love the app Verbally). It is small and will fit in my purse. I have had a chance to use a PRS & Tobii aac devices and used the eye glaze. Also played with a dynavox with touch controls. I don't qualify for any of them right now and they are too big to carry around. I'm sure I will need one eventually. There is speech clinic every other month at the local university and I confer with the Slp and master level students. All the reps from the 3 major aac devices are also there with their machines. I am seriously considering the the addvox from your link. They have a sale on right now with the upgraded mic for under $250. Will keep checking amazon. We are taking a family vacation to Disney world over Christmas and want to be clearly heard over the crowds.
 
Thank you for the posting. My husband's voice is weaker and it is a bit slurred. I kept the web site for info in deciding what to do to help him.
 
Hi folks. This subject peaked my curiosity. In short, I'm a retiring (this month) engineer looking for something to give. Audio is a field in which I have some expertise. May I ask if whispering is a faculty that remains beyond loss of vocal cord function? I understand that some tongue and lip functionality would be critical, but is there a period in the progression where whispers without vocal cord modulation are still possible? I would like to research ways to electronically modulate whispered speech. Don't know if it's possible or if it's been done, but I know how to start. Anyone see any value?
 
After a bit of research, I found there are tons of patents on such devices. Most of them seem to have major practical problems as far as interfacing to the mouth. One interesting patent though was something used by Peter Frampton (remember "do you feel...") and Joe Walsh among others. It involves forming words with a tube carrying an amplified guitar sound into the mouth. Not everyone is a Peter Frampton on guitar, but a tone generator running at a typical larynx frequency could be substituted. Switching the tone on and off for word/phrase boundaries would be the major hurdle. I'll go back to thinking and lurking.
 
I am a slow progresser and I worked for 6 years after my diagnosed. An amplifier worked for only for a short time for me. My speech then became slurred and hard to understand. I used a palmtop dynavox for a while, then just switched to a Boggie Board from Brookstone.
I can still write and it was much faster to communicate using the Boggie Board. I still use it and the smaller one fits neatly into my purse.

I also use the iPad with the Ispeak! App or the verbally app. I like the Ispeak because I can slow the speed down at which words are spoken. (useful on the phone or with my mom) You have to upgrade the verbally app to do this $100
You can get a tiny Bluetooth speaker to use with the iPad for talking in a crowded room or ( I use it with my 88 year old mother who is hard of hearing)
 
After a bit of research, I found there are tons of patents on such devices. Most of them seem to have major practical problems as far as interfacing to the mouth. One interesting patent though was something used by Peter Frampton (remember "do you feel...") and Joe Walsh among others. It involves forming words with a tube carrying an amplified guitar sound into the mouth. Not everyone is a Peter Frampton on guitar, but a tone generator running at a typical larynx frequency could be substituted. Switching the tone on and off for word/phrase boundaries would be the major hurdle. I'll go back to thinking and lurking.

Love him. Thanks for the reminder. It is called a vocoder. I feel like you do! :D
 
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