Cellphone – JustCare

Language barrier? Your smartphone can help

Jason Rich writes for the AARP Bulletin on four ways your smartphone can help you communicate. The technology is amazing. With an iphone or android phone 1. you can communicate with people who speak a different language 2. you can listen to the text on your phone’s screen so you don’t need to read it; 3. you can read what someone is saying to you on a video call 4. you can hear sounds you would not otherwise be able to hear but want to hear.

Your cellphone can help you understand someone who does not speak English. It can translate what that person is saying. And, it can do so in real-time. You do not need to google each word the person is speaking. All you need to do is set up your phone to translate by activating an app that’s already installed on your phone. The app both allows you to understand what that person is saying, and will translate what you say into that person’s language.
Your cellphone can read you anything that is written on your phone’s screen. You can set the pace at which your phone reads out loud to you. You can even choose the voice that speaks to you. If you have an iphone, go to the VoiceOver option in settings. If you have an android phone, go to the Select to Speak option.
Your cellphone can put in writing on your screen the words someone is speaking on a video call. The phone can do automatic close-captioning. To activate this feature, go to settings on your phone and activate the live captions option.
Your cellphone can help you hear things you might not otherwise be able to hear. For example, if you need help hearing the doorbell, or a child crying, or a dog barking, you can set your phone to detect those particular sounds and to let you know when it hears them. Go to the accessibility menu on your phone and look for sound recognition or sound notifications.

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June 26, 2023

Warning: Some cell phones can cause implanted medical devices to malfunction

If you are among the millions of Americans with a pacemaker or defibrillator, you’d best keep your cellphone or smartwatch away from it. The FDA just issued a warning that cellphones and other smart technology can cause your implanted medical device to malfunction.

According to the FDA, the risk of your cellphone triggering your pacemaker to stop functioning is low. But, high-strength magnets in the iPhone 12 and other such devices can have harmful side effects. In short, they can cause the implanted device to turn on its magnetic safety mode.

For example, your cellphone could cause your implanted cardiac defibrillator to stop detecting irregular heartbeats or situations in which your heart is beating more than 100 times a minute. If your cardiac defibrillator stops working, you might become dizzy or unconscious. And, your cellphone could cause your pacemaker to make your heart beat improperly, which could cause ventricular fibrillation, a potentially deadly outcome.

What to do? If you have an implanted medical device, keep your cellphone and other electronic products that operate through high-strength magnets at least six inches from it. Do not carry your cellphone in your shirt’s upper chest pocket. And, talk to your doctor about other ways to protect yourself and stay safe.

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May 18, 2021

Cellphones may cause cancer

California just issued public safety guidelines for cellphones because evidence suggests that cellphones may cause cancer. Studies have found links between people who use cellphones over a long period of time and cancer, along with other health risks. Here is what the California Health Department advises people do to lower health risks from exposure to cellphone radio frequency (RF) energy.

A cellphone uses RF energy when it sends and receives signals to and from cellphone towers. That RF energy goes into the head and body of the person using the cellphone. Some data suggests that RF energy from cellphones over a long period of time may increase the risk of brain and salivary gland cancer as well as lead to lower sperm count and headaches.

RF energy from cellphones is lower when you use Wi-Fi or Bluetooth.

A Kaiser Permanente study of hundreds of pregnant women in California found that women more exposed to cellphone radiation and radiation from wireless networks and power lines were three times more likely to have a miscarriage than women who were less exposed.

To reduce your risks from RF exposure, when using a cellphone:

Use the speakerphone or a wired or Bluetooth headset; do not hold the phone to your ear if possible.
Avoid or minimize use of your cellphone if you have two bars or fewer, or you are in a fast moving car or you are downloading data because your phone is emitting more RF energy in these situations.
Remove headsets when you are not on a call because they are still emitting a small amount of RF energy.
Do not carry your cellphone near your body, in your pocket, bra or belt holder.
If possible, use the cellphone to send text messages instead of to speak with someone.
Do not keep the phone in your bed or by your head when you sleep; it should be at least a few feet away.
Do not use a “radiation shield;” the shield forces the phone to emit more RF energy.

California is the second state to issue cellphone use guidelines. Connecticut issued similar guidance in March 2015.

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December 19, 2017

Tag: Cellphone

Language barrier? Your smartphone can help

Warning: Some cell phones can cause implanted medical devices to malfunction

Cellphones may cause cancer