Often the special needs of the elderly can be a disadvantage when attempting to use cell phones, and these options can be especially confusing to consumers with minimal technical abilities. To help ease the problem, Motorola has patented cell phone technology adaptable for the hearing impaired.

By automatically detecting speech patterns of the elderly, the technology automatically boosts incoming and outgoing audio while simplifying menu structure and increasing font size.

The special needs of the elderly can often be in conflict with other users, such as the youth which often desire the smallest, most feature rich devices possible. Hence, the technology allows one device to adapt and accommodate to both market segments.

First the phone determines that the user is elderly by detecting speech acoustics based upon lower speech rate, and less energy and trembling within the speech utterances.

Once recognized, the cell phone adjusts incoming audio by boosting the high frequency bands through audio processors while simultaneously increasing the power of the outgoing signal to improve intelligibility.

Additionally, the graphical user interface is automatically changed to adjust based on visual characteristics of elderly users. Font size is increased and menu structures are simplified, making the phone easier to use.