QUESTION: I can hear and use a standard telephone. How can I call customers, patients, clients, friends or family who are deaf, hard-of-hearing and/or speech-disabled who use a TTY?

ANSWER: As a hearing person, you can use your standard telephone to place a relay call and easily converse with your deaf, hard of hearing, or speech-disabled friends and associates.

1. Dial the 7-1-1 or 1-800-201-7165
   
   
2. A Maryland Relay Operator (OPR) will answer and ask you for the number you would like to call.
   
   
3. Talk to the OPR as though you are speaking directly to the person you called. The OPR will relay your conversation word for word.
   
   
4. So that the conversation flows smoothly, say "Go Ahead" or "GA" each time you have finished speaking. This lets the OPR know that you are ready for the TTY user's reply.
   
   
5. If the person you are calling speaks for him or herself, you will hear their voice over the phone. If your party does not voice for themself, the OPR will voice the typed conversation to you.
   
   
6. Confidentiality is the law. The OPR is required to keep all conversations private.
   
   
7. If you would like to make another call, don't hang up. The OPR will remain on the line, ready to assist you, the moment your prior conversation ends.
   
   

Keep in mind that when relaying your call, the OPR will type everything you say and anything that is heard. OPRs are trained and instructed in conveying the full content, context, and intent of the relay conversation they translate. Every effort is taken to maintain functional equivalence for both parties during a relay call. All secondary activities that would normally be known to a hearing person engaged in a telephone conversation (i.e. background noises, side conversations, other people coming on the line, etc.) are relayed to the extent possible. For example, the OPR may type background noises that are heard such as "baby crying", "loud radio", "noisy", etc.

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Click here for a list of long distance carriers available through Maryland Relay.