I'm not sure that I'm using the proper terminology, but is there any way to dial in to a TDD line using an Internet connection? I had my first conversation over Skype not too long ago (with an old friend all the way over in Germany), and with my hearing taking a bad turn lately, I was just thinking how nice it would be if I could make phone calls by typing into my computer. After a bad inner ear infection, my hearing has gotten a bit worse, and I'm more and more reluctant to use the telephone. However, I can still type right well. Rather than getting a special TDD device, I was wondering if there was any software application available so that I could enter a TDD phone number on my computer and then connect to a relay station (rather than struggling to hear over the phone). Many businesses offer an alternative TDD phone number to call for customer support, but not an email address or means to chat or instant message.

So, does that make sense? Is anyone aware of software like that? Is any company working on developing an application like that? Would that be technically possible (dialing a phone number on a home computer and sending a TDD signal over the Internet)?