US Patent 7365766 Video-assisted apparatus for hearing impaired persons

There is described a method for providing audio and visual communication between a speaker and at least one hearing impaired person. The method comprises the steps of providing the speaker with a headset frame having a camera attached thereto and positioned to capture images of the speaker's mouth; providing the hearing impaired person with a display; capturing continuous video images of the speaker's mouth using the camera; and transmitting the images in the real-time to the display for the hearing impaired person to view such that movement of the speaker's mouth coincides with sound emitted by the speaker.