Oh Sh*t!

So, the ALS patient that I have is a pretty tech savvy guy. He's been working on ways to amplify his voice at work, since his volume is very decreased. Today, he brought in this FM transmitter that he had rigged to work through a regular radio. It wasn't working very well, so I suggested that we try out this device that I had been given at a conference.

The device I have looks like a fanny-pack, but it is a speaker you wear around your waist. It has a corded microphone on a headset that the patient wears. The patient then speaks into the microphone and his voice is amplified at his waist level.



Now, my patient has gotten quite used to his voice being soft. As he was leaving, I reminded him that he would have to get used to his louder voice. His balance isn't so good, and now he's using a cane. As he was leaving my office, he stumbled a bit - not too much though - and through his waist speaker I hear "Oh Sh*t" really loud! Needless to say, he turned down the volume just a little!

Oh the problems you encounter as a speech therapist!