For employees with hearing loss, phone calls can be one of the hardest parts of the workday. And with approximately 1 in 6 working-age adults experiencing some degree of hearing loss, the need may be more widespread than many employers realize.
Bridge was created to make workplace communication fully accessible for people with hearing loss. The compact hardware device connects to VoIP phones and computer softphones to deliver real-time captions for every call, helping employees participate on equal footing without changing how the rest of the team works.
But accessibility is only part of the story. In practice, Bridge is seeing the benefits extend further than expected. Captions can improve comprehension and retention even for people without hearing loss, and they can make it easier for employees to follow fast-moving conversations in a non-native language.
In other words, the Bridge captioning device can be a valuable accessibility tool while also bringing broader productivity and inclusion benefits to the workplace.
In this article, we take a closer look at this clever device and why it’s worth considering for virtually any unified communications or business telephony deployment, regardless of whether hearing accessibility is the primary need.
Traditional captioned phones and amplified phones were designed for residential use, and it shows when you try to use them in a business environment. The limitations can be significant. These devices typically require an analog RJ11 phone jack, don’t support hold, transfer, or other basic call-control features, and weren’t built to integrate with modern VoIP phone systems.
Bridge takes a different approach. It connects to the phone infrastructure the business already uses, including VoIP desk phones and computer softphones, without requiring backend system changes. Users keep their existing extensions and full call-control functionality, and IT doesn’t have to reconfigure the phone system.
Bridge connects to a VoIP desk phone in one of three ways: USB, Bluetooth, or RJ9.
USB is the most popular and most stable option. A single USB cable handles both power and audio, keeping setup clean and simple while eliminating the pairing and interference variables that come with a wireless connection.
Bluetooth works well as a secondary option on higher-end VoIP phone models that support it, although the Bridge unit still requires a USB connection for power.
RJ9 provides legacy compatibility, allowing Bridge to work with older phone systems that don’t offer USB or Bluetooth headset ports. That can enable organizations to provide captioning without requiring them to upgrade their existing infrastructure.
Bridge also works with computer-based communications.
For online meetings and softphone calls, Bridge connects to a PC or Mac through USB or Bluetooth. Once connected, it appears as an available audio source on the computer. The user simply selects Bridge as the microphone and speaker within the meeting platform, just as they would select any other headset or audio device. Captions then appear in the Bridge app.
How the user listens to the call is up to them. Some route the audio directly into hearing aids or cochlear implants through Bluetooth, while others use a speakerphone, AirPods, or a headset.
This also gives users a captioning option that isn’t tied to a single meeting platform. Built-in captions in applications such as Zoom, Teams, or Webex can be useful, but they work only within their respective platforms and don’t address ordinary business phone calls.
Bridge, by contrast, is designed to provide captioning across the different ways employees communicate by phone.
Bridge currently streams captions to iOS devices. A browser-based version is also slated to launch later this year that will allow captions to be viewed on a computer screen without requiring an app, broadening compatibility for enterprise environments.
Bridge was built for employees with hearing loss, and that remains its core mission. But in practice, the company is seeing the benefits extend further than originally expected.
There is a generational shift underway in how people consume information. Millennials and Gen Z have grown up with captions as a default on Netflix, Instagram, YouTube, and other digital media. Research has also shown that captions can improve comprehension and retention even for people with no hearing loss at all.
Bridge has shared with us that when the device is deployed for one employee, their colleagues often find themselves benefiting from the same real-time captions on calls.
The company is also seeing meaningful adoption among employees for whom English is a second language. Bridge captions in more than 75 languages, which can make a significant difference when someone is trying to follow a fast-moving business conversation in a non-native language.
So, while accessibility and accommodation remain the primary mission, the broader productivity and inclusion case is real. For employers, Bridge can be a workplace investment beyond simply a compliance checkbox.
Bridge can benefit virtually any employee who relies heavily on phone calls, no matter what industry they are in.
Customer service and contact center employees are obvious candidates because of their call volume. Legal is another strong fit: attorneys spend a significant portion of their day on client calls, and having accurate real-time captions fits naturally into that workflow.
Retail operations provide another good example. Reception and customer service employees may have hearing loss that barely affects face-to-face interactions, but becomes a much greater challenge when the phone rings in a noisy environment.
Healthcare, education, and government also come up frequently as sectors where Bridge fits well. For healthcare customers, it is worth noting that Bridge is HIPAA compliant.
For telecom resellers and integrators, this creates an opportunity to look beyond the phone system itself and ask another question: Can everyone who relies on that system use it effectively?
Real-time captioning naturally raises privacy and security questions, particularly when confidential business conversations are involved. The good news for IT and security teams is: the audio is processed only for the purpose of generating captions. Bridge does not retain call audio or transcript content on its servers.
Audio from the user’s desk phone or computer is routed through the Bridge hardware to the Bridge companion app. From there, the audio is sent to Bridge’s servers exclusively for captioning purposes and returned to the user’s screen in real time.
The transcript is also designed to clear automatically from the app after each call. When a call ends, a 10-second countdown begins. If the user does nothing, the transcript clears once the timer expires. If the user taps the screen during the countdown, the timer pauses, giving them time to scroll back through the conversation, review anything they missed, or take notes before the transcript eventually auto-deletes.
This approach gives IT and security teams the confidence that sensitive business conversations aren’t being stored somewhere outside their control. Bridge welcomes compliance and security reviews from organizations that need to validate the solution for their environment.
Bridge was designed to be plug-and-play for organizations of any size.
The hardware ships from TeleDynamics, and setup is self-service. The user opens the box and scans a QR code on the device, which takes them to Bridge’s website to select a plan and enter their information. The system then sends a temporary password and setup instructions by email.
From there, setup consists of connecting a cable or two, joining the Wi-Fi network, and making a call.
Bridge is effectively a headset, but it doesn’t look like one. Because it is a small black box rather than something worn on the head, users may instinctively reach for the handset when the phone rings. With Bridge, the right move is to press the headset button on the phone, just as they would with any other headset. Once that habit forms — usually after a call or two — it becomes second nature.
For organizations managing multiple users, the Bridge admin portal gives IT and HR teams control over user provisioning, including adding accounts, removing users, and managing access. As additional features become available, administrators will also be able to determine which features are appropriate for their environment and which users should have access to them.
TeleDynamics is proud to be Bridge’s exclusive distributor for the traditional telephony market. Order today from our website.
Bridge’s published compatibility list reflects testing completed to date by an independent third party, but the list is not comprehensive, and new phone models are being added regularly.
If a customer’s particular phone isn’t listed, that doesn’t necessarily mean Bridge won’t work with it. Customers can contact Bridge directly for guidance or use the company’s 30-day risk-free trial to test the device in their own environment.
Bridge addresses a very specific need: making phone-based workplace communication accessible for employees with hearing loss without requiring businesses to replace the communications systems they already use.
But its potential value doesn’t necessarily stop there.
Employees working in a second language, people who comprehend information more easily when they can read along, and others who simply prefer having visual reinforcement during important conversations may all find real-time captions useful.
That makes Bridge worth considering not simply as an accommodation for a specific employee, but as another capability businesses can add to a modern communications environment.
And for employees who truly depend on it, the impact can be substantial. As Bridge customer Grant Longland of Triad Bank put it: “Getting Bridge set up has been one of the biggest quality of life improvements for me. Now I feel more confident at my job.”
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