Jo Waldron is a nationally acclaimed disability rights champion and inventor. She recently announced that a preliminary field study found that Able Planet™ new micro-technology can be used without a hearing aid in some persons for successful telephone access. Waldron's product provides access to telecommunications for people with mild to severe-to-profound hearing loss. Able Planet’s micro-technology was unveiled in June 2003, when it was originally believed that all people with hearing loss needed a hearing aid to take advantage of the technology.

"This advancement in hearing technology expands the applications of this invention," said Waldron. "As a person who is deaf, I was amazed when I could hear and understand speech clearly without using my power hearing aid. I tried using both the Able Planet™ wireline phone and hands-free system with a digital cell phone without even wearing my hearing aid. I was truly in shock. I had always used my micro-technology while switching my hearing aid to the T-coil setting."

Waldron isn't the only one praising her company’s advancement. Linda Jaffee is a Colorado resident who took part in the field study. She says, "It is truly phenomenal that I am able to use a telephone and clearly understand the conversation without my hearing aid. Gone are the days of my hearing aid pinching my ear while I am trying to decipher what is being said on the phone."

The breakthrough application from Able Planet, Inc. provides the opportunity for greater telephone or headset access to individuals with varying degrees of hearing loss. Waldron claims cellular phones can now provide unlimited opportunities to people with hearing loss. She thinks the long-standing problem of hearing aid interference can literally become a non-issue.

Several schools in Colorado are experimenting with the micro-technology system. Jonathan Fidrych is a High school senior in Ft. Collins, and he has severe hearing loss.

Here's his assessment. "For the first time I can clearly understand and participate in a phone conversation. I was not excited to try the Able Planet technology, as I have used many other things and they have not helped. I felt that I was lucky to be able to use the old TTY phone and read the words, hearing them was not an option. I was very happy when I realized I wouldn’t have to live like that forever."

The patent-pending technology was invented this past year by Waldron with technical guidance and testing by hearing industry veteran Dr. Joan Burleigh. The technology could eventually help 34 million Americans and 500 million individuals worldwide. People with mild to severe-to-profound hearing loss will now have the opportunity to effectively communicate with others via telephone as well as hear speech more clearly using a hands-free system and other devices.

Sam Cheris is an attorney in Denver. He has profound hearing loss after an accident, but he says the technology helps a lot. "With the flip of a switch I can now use a telephone as much as I did before my hearing loss. The clarity is remarkable– I never thought I would be able to use a normal phone again. You have no idea how important the phone is to your daily life until you can’t use it. The Able Planet micro-technology ™ is truly a miracle."

Able Planet's micro-technology measures just 1mm, about the size of a grain of rice. The technology is so small that it fits in standard telephones or payphones or in any hands-free headsets such as those used with cellular phones, cordless phones, multi-media computers and laptops, MP3 players, CD players, stereos, and more.

Once installed, the micro-technology is transparent; those who do not use a hearing aid will not know it’s there. People with or without hearing loss can use the same phone or hands-free system. This recent study found that people with varying degrees of hearing loss reported successful telephone communication using Able Planet Inc. micro-technology with or without the use of their hearing aid.

Waldron has been deaf since birth, but she has become one of the nation's leading advocates for people with disabilities. Waldron has more than 26 years of experience in executive level, corporate America, as an entrepreneur and an experienced inventor of accessible products for people with disabilities. She spent more than 11 years as a powerful civilian force in the creation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Civil Rights Act of 1991 and Section 255 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996.

Visit www.ableplanet.com for more information or to order products