The inability to access voice-mail messages can be very frustrating for people who are deaf or hard or hearing. If the individual benefits from amplification, perhaps an amplifier with a clarity function or equalizer may be effective in enabling the person to understand the messages. If at all possible, do not use voice-mail. Messages could be filtered through a person rather than the automated telephone system. If another person is not available as a receptionist, messages might go through a messaging service or paging devices as an alternative. The individual could then contact the messaging service for their messages or receive a text message on their pager. If the individual uses a TTY, perhaps they could contact the Telecommunications Relay Service to call their own voice-mail and access the messages. A last resort might be to have a coworker access the voice-mail for the individual and take down the messages.