Guides
for Deaf & Hard of Hearing Communication
Practical guides on apps for deaf and hard of hearing people,
how to communicate in everyday situations, and using live captions in daily life.
Do You Still Need a Hard of Hearing App If You Already Wear Hearing Aids?
Aids fix volume, captions fix clarity, and they are answers to two different questions. The five rooms where aids run out of road, how to run both together, and the honest limits of each.
Read the guide →How to Hear at Family Gatherings When You’re Hard of Hearing (2026 Guide)
Holiday dinners, reunions and birthday parties are the hardest listening job of the year. Where to sit, the three things to ask the table for, and how to read the conversation in big live captions.
Read the guide →How to Hear in the Car When You’re Hard of Hearing (2026 Guide)
Road noise, no faces to read, and everyone pointed at the windshield. The seating and cabin changes that help most, and how to caption the drive safely as a passenger.
Read the guide →How to Hear Phone Calls When You’re Hard of Hearing (2026 Guide)
A call strips out the face, the lips, and the room. The free FCC-funded captioned calling most people have never heard of, real-time text, and how to read a speakerphone call in big live captions.
Read the guide →How to Hear at Work When You’re Hard of Hearing (2026 Guide)
Meetings, hallway questions, and shop floors are all spoken. What to tell your employer, which accommodations you can ask for, and how to read the room in big live captions.
Read the guide →All Six ReadTalk Language Apps, and Which One You Need
From the project behind RoomTalk: Spanish, French, Portuguese, Italian, German and Japanese, each its own offline app you read instead of hear. What each one is for, and how ReadTalk differs from RoomTalk.
Read the guide →The Offline Spanish Translator You Read, Not Hear (2026)
From the project behind RoomTalk: ReadTalk Spanish turns live Spanish speech into big English text on your phone, fully offline. No robot voice, no subscription, both sides read.
Read the guide →Best Apps for Deaf and Hard of Hearing People (2026)
The 6 best apps for deaf and hard of hearing people in 2026: free live caption tools, FCC-funded call captions, AI meeting captions, and one-time-purchase offline apps.
Read the guide →How to Travel When You’re Deaf or Hard of Hearing (2026 Guide)
Gate changes, safety briefings, and front desks are all spoken. How to get announcements as text, ask for what you need, and read the trip in big live captions, even in airplane mode.
Read the guide →How to Hear at Church When You’re Hard of Hearing (2026 Guide)
The sanctuary echoes and the sermon slips away. Where to sit, how to use a hearing loop or telecoil, and how to read the message in big live captions on your phone.
Read the guide →How to Order at a Drive-Thru When You’re Deaf or Hard of Hearing (2026)
The speaker box is nobody’s friend. Order ahead in the app, ask to order at the window, show a written order, and read the worker’s reply in big live captions.
Read the guide →Live Captions for Real Life: Following In-Person Conversations (2026)
Captions are everywhere except the rooms that matter most. How a speech to text app captions family dinners, parties, and doctor visits, plus setup tips for gatherings.
Read the guide →Best Apps for Hard of Hearing Seniors (2026 Guide)
The best apps to help an older parent follow conversations, from free live caption tools built into the phone to big text caption apps made for reading the room.
Read the guide →Live Captions for Video Calls and Meetings When You’re Deaf or Hard of Hearing
Turn on the built-in captions in Zoom, Teams, and Google Meet, and use big live captions on your phone for any call that has none.
Read the guide →What to Look For in a Deaf and Hard of Hearing App
The 6 things that actually matter when choosing a deaf or hard of hearing app, from readable captions to offline use and privacy.
Read the guide →How to Hear at the Doctor’s Office When You’re Hard of Hearing
Don’t miss a diagnosis or dosage. What to ask for, and how to read the visit in big live captions.
Read the guide →How to Hear in a Loud Restaurant or Bar When You’re Hard of Hearing
Why noisy rooms are so hard, where to sit, and how to read the table in big live captions when the noise wins.
Read the guide →Best Apps to Talk Without Speaking (2026): An Honest Comparison
RoomTalk vs Cardzilla vs Live Transcribe: big text, live captions, offline use, and price compared honestly.
Read the comparison →How to Communicate With a Deaf Person Without Sign Language
Get their attention, face them, write it down, and use a big text app to caption speech in person.
Read the guide →More guides coming soon.
Read the Room
With RoomTalk
The big text app that turns the speech around you into big, clear live captions so you never miss a word. One-time $4.99, iPhone, iPad, and Android.