Has anyone experienced diminished hearing from transcribing with headphones/headsets? sm
Posted By: T on 2005-11-29
In Reply to:
I don't think I hear as well as I used to as I'm always asking DH to turn up the voice on the television, and he used to play in a rock band! He would be more likely to have hearing loss. Just curious as there has been a lot said lately about MP3 players and hearing damage.
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transcribing and hearing aids
My daughter wears hearing aids and tried to just listen to some transcription years ago to see if it was possible - for her it was not - she tried multiple headsets and just could not hear without the background noise, etc. She wears a very expensive, computer-correctable hearing aid (2) that can be changed with a change in the chip as her hearing changes - but as for transcribing - for her it wouldn't work. Good luck for those who are able to wear them and also work.
well, he did say he has diminished memory!
get TV headsets
Here's one link: http://www.devices4less.com/TV.html
Used headsets...
I worked for a company where many MTs sent back the used headsets with ear wax on them when returning equipment. First of all, I didn't understand why they would even send back a used headset...but with ear wax on them?!?! Disgusting!
headsets
I like the stethoscope kind - fit right in your ears.
Tell me about headsets! Which do you use/like best?
I have to invest in a new pair, my are crackling and the sound quality is getting very poor.
What are the best sets out there? The stethoscope style that go in the ear, stethoscope style that only go against the ear, tubular style, ect?
I have a toddler at home and need to be able to hear her, so I don't think the noise canceling ones would be a good option for me.
THANKS!
need new headsets
I am in need of new headsets and was wondering what everyone uses. Thanks for your input!!
for those using DC-10 headsets
I was all ready to purchase this headset on-line when i noticed they appear to be monoaural (1 stripe) rather than stereo (with 2 stripes on connector). I plug into my PC -- do i need a headset with a different connector, or is there an adaptor of some sort? thanks.
Headsets
I went with the cheaper set. They are glorious. I can't live without them. I definitely recommend investing in a pair.
headsets
I find I have a lot less white noise when I plug directly into the computer than plugging into the speakers.
Headsets / Speakers
Anyone know of good headsets that provide clarity? I am looking for that rather than volume.
I have also thought about just using good speakers (no headset), but I am wondering if it would cause more errors of sublte wording. It seems like it would be better on the ears but not as good for hearing.
Input is appreciated.
Office Max headsets
Has anyone ever bought the stethescope headsets from Office Max? They have clear plastic tubes leading to the ear pieces and a center cord. I can't find a brand name stamped on them anywhere and my OM doesn't carry them anymore. They cost about $21.97. I need to know if someone has a pair and/or if another Office Max locally to anyone is still carrying them that I could get the brand name/model # so I could order them online.
TIA!
I have tried many headsets over 20 years, but
I find the very best clarity are USB based. Forget about the ones that you plug into your speakers. USB are the best headsets.
I recently purchased a Plantronics DSP-500 USB headset. No noise whatsoever and the audio is the best I have ever heard. Also very comfortable. Average cost is $50.00.
To those with good headsets
Do the better quality headsets allow you to not have to crank the volume so much? I don't like blasting my ears but with the poor quality recording and the way the dictators speak, I often have to.
Have you noticed that is not so much the case once you have purchased good headphones?  - Thanks for any feedback.
I have Bose headsets
LIke some of the other posters said, bad sound files are bad sound files. I have noticed a huge difference though in what constitutes a bad sound file for me since I got my Bose headphones. Yes, they were pricey. I spent about $150 for them. I rarely have to crank the volume and I hardly ever get the staticky white noise sound that I did with regular "transcription" head phones.
http://www.bose.com/controller?url=/shop_online/headphones/audio_headphones/around_ear_headphones/index.jsp
To those with cheap headsets
Just wondering if any of you have tried the "quality" sets? I only ask because if you have not compared, you might not know what you are missing.
I keep bugging you all because it seems when I make investments that are supposed to help, it is about a 50/50 success. Some help; some were not worth the money.
I need to get faster. I am okay with certain accounts, but others slow me way down, so I need to make every improvement I can to make the slow accounts a moot point (at least).
Thanks again for all the help!
Lanier headsets
I hear ya! Lanier headsets are the best and I found this website that appears to have the original headset by Lanier with a little volume control gadget added to it.
http://www.martelelectronics.com/1209.html
I may just order a couple of them myself as the one I have is old but still is the best one and works like new and never hurts the ears.
An audiologist told me earphones and headsets will sm
cause hearing loss. He was quite alarmed that I did this all day long, day in and day out. He said it would be much better to use the speakers.
I think $.07, $.075, $.08, or $.085 are all way too low for experienced MTs.
I truly love interviewing with these companies, then trying not to spew coffee out my nose at the line rates offered. Some of those rates were even for IC with no benefits or tax withholding. I'm about ready to quit MT and let them offshore because rates have dropped so much since I started. It's wonderful being offered the same rate to do ESLs and upper level work as what I made 10 years ago as a newbie. It's getting to the point where you can't make a decent, honest living anywhere any more.
Well, that's what MQ does. If are not an experienced MT,
nm
If you are experienced and don't have to SM
look a lot of things up, then the answer is macroing the daylights out of you machine. Macro just not large words, but medium and small words, such as "n" for "and" and "w" for "was", and so on. Try not to type anything out, if you don't have to.
I have also experienced that.
Did tell her that she might not have realized it but I felt there it sounded condescending and as our goal was to put out as perfect a product as possible, it was not helpful. Also told her that I appreciated constructive criticism as that would help us both.
Things did change. Sometimes I don't think they realize the importance of the way they phrase a sentence.
new MTs vs. experienced MTs
Dear MT Pundit,
Thank you for taking the time to write your thoughts about experienced vs. new MTs. I think you're right-on. I see myself in the set-in-my-ways attitude sometimes. I'm not speaking for anyone else, of course. I can only speak for myself. Change isn't easy for me, but I've tried very hard to adapt and think I'm doing okay. This industry is changing fast and furiously, and if I want to stay in it, then I need to be able to go with the flow. Otherwise, my job may well end up in India.
Too experienced? sm
Looking for a little advice. While applying for MT jobs recently I have been told I am too experienced to "just transcribe" because they see that I have held supervisory and other positions in the industry - along with many years of actual transcribing experience. I realize these days about 8 cpl is the going rate and although I wish it were higher, I wouldn't apply to these postings if I wasn't willing to work for that rate. Just looking to supplement my income. I would hate to leave all this experience off my resume, but maybe I should? Any ideas for a different way to spin this?
If you are experienced, you don't need to
look at the keys, whether characters are there or not.
Experienced ICs, please help.
I am an experienced Transcriptionist but I have always worked as an employee. I now have the opportunity to pick up a side account as an IC.
I really need some help and guidance on how to create a contract and what needs to be in that contract. Can someone please give me some advice?
Thanks In Advance!!
Even the most experienced MTs can
have trouble with new accounts. As long as your company has not said anything to you, don't sweat it.
experienced MT
Companies tend to want to hire newbies with the mindset that they can pay out cheaper. We all have to start somewhere, of course. Experience needs to continue to be worth something, including a deserved pay to go with it, and this notion seems to be whittling away...
In this profession, we all learn something new continuously.
I have experienced this...
before. There are many clients who operate in a similar fashion. If that's what they want, give it to them. After all, they are paying for our services, right?
yes, dnh.... I am experienced
I have been doing this for 15 years. Did my time in the office before going home and still learning every day.
I feel that I am above average at what I do, in the past 11 years on my current job, not one QA audit below 98%. I also have a 2nd job to make ends meet and in the past year, my monthly QA audits have been above 99%, twice at 100%. The 2nd job is OPs only and paid less than the 1st job.
I work a schedule at both! I do not complain and take pride in what I do. Of course I look things up. I do not abuse QA.
Thanks for you advice about trying to find a job like yours that never posts ads because no one leaves. That should help a fellow MT find a home.
HEARING
I have noticed a hearing change. But it is weird as my hearing is better in my right ear where I listen to the dictation. It is my LEFT ear that isn't so good anymore. I guess old age is catching up with me; unfortunately, in many ways, not just one !!
hearing
the latest buzz about hearing and earphones was more related to ear buds that fit in your ear, which puts it much closer to your tympanic membranes.
hearing
Have a hearing problem, anyone know if or where I can get a headset specifically for hearing deficit.
you should be hearing from them again soon.
nm
hearing
Get your ears checked. Mine accumulate ear wax regularly and there is a huge difference when the wax is removed. Good luck!
I am an experienced transcriptionist, and have no more need sm
to proof every word of every report that the doctors have a need to actually listen over to their own dictation. Speed and quality go hand in hand in making a good MT. If you don't have both, then you will never make any more and never have any confidence in your skills. I think I already told you, above, that I have a QA score of 99.4. Good enough for me.
Everyone must pay their dues....we experienced MTs sm
worked in the office in the beginning of our career. I am not as old as one might think, 38 years old, but I started MT while still in high school in the 10th grade on a typewriter. I paid my dues many times over before I could have a career at home. I have to tell you, the experience and knowledge gained in that time is priceless. Yes, we learn something new every day, but in the office you have the doctors, nurses, OMs, and other MTs to offer their assistance. If you don't know a word or can't understand it, you go right to the doc himself. So, the next time you hear it, you know what the heck he/she was talking about. That is how you learn. Sorry to say it, but an office job or MT job in one specialty is where you should start. These schools tell you that you can work at home after you finish their course. That just is an outright untruth!
Just had to give my 10 cents worth.
Experienced MTs Needed
AccuStat Carolinas is seeking experienced MTs to work on many multispeciality accounts. All MTs must have high speed internet acess to apply. All MTs must reside within the US. NO OFFSHORE NEED APPLY!!! Each MT will need to have a 9-pin (serial port) foot pedal. The client will provide all software needed to perform work. All work must be 98% or above in accuracy to remain with our company. AccuStat offers statutory employee or IC status with no restrictions on scheduling for either status. Pay is sent via mail or direct deposit twice a month. Pay is 7.5 cpl per line for all transcribed work and 2.5 cpl for all edited work. The program that you will work with is a VR program so you will have both transcribed and editing work. Please cut and paste resume into email. Only eligible MTs will receive response.
unbelievable... 6.5 to 8 cpl for EXPERIENCED ONLY
that was an ad in the job seeker's board. UN-freakin' believable.
Experienced MTs, please see New MT/Student
.
It may be pitiful but consider how much experienced MTs are
making. Not much more. 8 to 9 cents per line, maybe 10 if you agree to transcribe heavy ESL. Yeah, it's sickening, but then service owners have to edit newbies reports and still show a profit margin without losing their shirt. It's a quandry.
And they always saddle the experienced with these. sm
And then wonder why few really experienced MTs apply for the jobs.
Anyone experienced with ExText? (sm)
This is a new account and we're still on dial-up, and don't have the help function. I have 2 questions: 1) How can you bring a normal you have made for yourself into the document without having to go through the entire list? 2) How can you stop an expansion from expanding on a 1-time basis. Let's say you have PT as prothrombin time, but you need just "PT" -- how could you get it to stop at PT? Many thanks!
That is the norm from what I have experienced - sm
this gives the bride and groom time for pictures, etc. between the wedding and the reception. Every wedding I have ever been too, it's been about 90 minutes between the 2 events. Unless the reception is at the same place as the wedding, I'd expect some sort of gap between the two.
I have experienced all of the postings
below and they are my pet peeves too, but I have one doc that sometimes will not use the call in system, but uses his tape recorder to dictate and he does it while he is in a train station waiting for train, riding on the train, and leaving the train with his wife and kids talking right beside him, not to mention the noise from the train station, whistles and all. I get two 30 minute tapes a week of this guy and I seriously have a headache when I am done listening to it. Wish he would STAY HOME!! lol
I have experienced similar.
When I was working in a physicians office using a tape transcriber, if someone drove by the office using a CB radio, it came in loud and clear. I have never heard a regular radio through mine. I just assumed the ear phones were a type of receiver.
I think for me and what I am reading, these are mainly experienced MTs and ....
I have been doing this for 17 years and what causes the burnout is the stress, not from the job but all the changes in the last 5-6 years, with major companies having people just to figure out how they can make more profit and the constant changes with line counts, different platforms to the company's advantage, dictation maneuvering, on and on and on. I worked for one company that gave me a secondary I fell in love with, told them I wanted it for my primary, it reminded me of the hospital dictation I was used to, it wasn't a week later that I was doing almost 95% ESLs, that was bull - then to be making less than I was 5 years ago and working more hours to make less, VR that is not trained and takes longer to change than to type and make half per line, all these things contribute to burnout - sometimes I work sporadically all through the day to get my lines in because I am so discouraged of such a skilled profession making less than minimum wage with some companies. Yes, I agree it is great to be good with ESLs but it does slow you down and if you want to work 2 more hours a day or more because you are on an accout that is mainly ESLs, then you are doing it because you are lowering your standards, again, and again and again. That is the nature of this profession anymore.
In bowling good bowlers have a handicap for less experienced bowlers but that is a game, this is not a game. I do not like being handicapped in this profession bacause companies have to handicap the more experienced transcriptionists to be able to have less experienced transcriptionists do the work. Too many experienced transcriptionists are getting out of the profession because of that stress, not the stress of transcription, that is not the stress. The cherry pickers are the team leaders having to get their lines in and doing the easier dictation, they can do that, I don't think they have favorites they give it too, most are faces they don't see or know - they give the more experienced MTs the hard dictation, take the cream for themselves, and maneuver other dictation for the more inexperienced transcriptionists, and probably for not much different pay.
Is it hard for an MT experienced in - sm
general surgery or radiology or to transcribe neurosurgery/neurology? The EEG studies seem okay. What are the nuances of neurosurg? Any info you have would be great.
i have experienced the same thing you are. sm
some will "get it" in the MT world and some just won't because they lack the dedictation and care it takes to produce quality work. i had it happen not too long ago to me. i gave a month to get the act together after a year of working for me. it didn't happen. same mistakes over and over again even though i did compare documents and sent it back to them and then long expanded emails with every mistake. i am talking DOBs wrong, pt spelling wrong (when given pt lists), just complete nonesense typed. i had to let them go. why pay someone to do the work when basically you are doing it all anyway so you are giving them "free money". don't put up with it. move on to someone else until you find someone who takes pride in their work. there is a difference in not knowing and researching to figure it out just like there is the pride in work and wanting to do it right. some just don't have that. they want easy, work from home, money, but not putting in the effort to do it accurately. i think you should have done something long before you let them slid by for five years!! has it happened for five years with quality or just gone downhill recently?
Experienced versus New
I have to admit that even though I have 19+ years of experience, this article is strikingly true. I am not saying that a new MT has the experience in that they can make a decision in an instant as some of us with many years, but they are trained now to follow AAMT, which I had never heard of until I set out on my own and came online to find work. I also have seen posts on this board of people that have worked in a clinic setting for 10+ years and have no idea about what else is available to them online or how to set that up for themselves. How many times have we seen posts that someone has worked on one platform and never anything else. I don't think that article is a plug for that school. I think that article speaks for what is going on today in the MT industry. I think someone who has just finished school has been shown a lot more than what we all have had to learn on the job. I could probably type faster and know more about terminology than any new MT, but a new MT should know BOS and be more computer savvy than I was starting out.
Agree with Experienced MT
This is great advice and probably the same I would give. This is definitely a career where the skills and knowledge it takes to perform the job well are not commensurate with the wage scale in most instances. Being in the field myself for more years than I can to mention, there is never totally smooth sailing. Rough waters ensue almost on a daily basis. Eventually with a lot of hard work, you can pretty much do the gamut the industry has to offer but I don't ever think you ever get to the point where you call it "easy."
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