The RNID use C3's bespoke IVR software to provide self help hearing checks
Deafness is a problem that affects people the world over. In the UK almost 9 million people suffer from hearing loss and statistics show that deafness affects one-in-two people over the age of 65.
In order to create awareness about the severity of the problem, the Royal National Institute for Deaf People (RNID), Britain’s largest charity working with people affected by deafness, launched a “self-help” telephone-based hearing check on Christmas Day 2005. Since then almost half a million people have completed the check and have taken the first steps towards getting appropriate help. In March this year, the service was made available for the first time in Welsh and was launched by the popular folk singer Max Boyce.
The service has been developed using bespoke IVR technology provided by C3 and BT agilemedia. At the time an IVR based solution was the only cost effective way for the RNID to provide such a service to a potential 9 million callers.
The test itself only takes five minutes to complete and can be accessed via any land line. The service is not available from mobile phones because of high interference levels.
To take the check, callers dial a number promoted by the RNID and listen to a pre-recorded message that tells them how it works and what to do. Before beginning the test, they are asked to confirm their age and gender using their telephone keypads.
The test itself is very straight-forward: callers listen to sequences of randomly selected numbers and confirm their answers by pressing buttons on their phones. The check has been designed to replicate noise levels people might experience in real life, such as a crowded room, and it becomes increasingly difficult to discern the numbers as they work their way through because the back-ground noises are increased for each level. All the answers are stored on the IVR system’s back-end database so that appropriate results and advice can be given to callers at the end of the test and usage reports can be generated for the RNID.
The hearing check is also available online and can be found by visiting the RNID website, www.rnid.com
Comments Mark Downs, Executive Director, Science and Enterprise, for the RNID, “We are really pleased with the IVR solution provided by C3 and BT because it allows people to take the test from the privacy of their own homes. People who suffer from hearing loss are often reluctant to take action but this system allows them to check their hearing anonymously and get the help and advice they need. It takes, on average, 15 years for someone to accept that they may have a hearing problem - we are very keen to reduce these time scales and provide the appropriate help and advice!”
The service has been so successful with the general public that the RNID has been asked to develop tailor-made “self-help” hearing tests for a number of commercial organisations.
In principle they are very similar to the standard check. Employees dial a dedicated phone number provided by BT, or internal extension to access the service. For companies that operate across multiple sites, employees are requested to enter their location code, provided by human resources.
Again, as with the conventional test, employees listen to some basic instructions, provide relevant employee information, (their work group or department), and have to correctly identify groups of different numbers. They are given appropriate advice about what they should do at the end, which may be to contact human resources.
These phone-based hearing tests are very important for industries with high noise levels because they help them comply with health and safety legislation and the Noise at Work Act, by ensuring that employees are monitored regularly and that appropriate measures are put in place to protect people’s hearing.
The RNID hopes that one million people will have taken their “self-help” check by the end of 2009.
