Voice to Text for Carpal Tunnel
Typing with carpal tunnel syndrome means choosing between your wrists and your work. The numbness, the tingling, the pain that shoots up your arm every time you reach for the keyboard. Blurt gives you a way out. Instead of typing, you speak. Hold a button, say what you need to write, release. Your words appear wherever your cursor is. No wrist movement. No pain. You can write emails, documents, messages, and notes without putting pressure on the nerve that's causing all this trouble. It's not a cure for CTS, but it's a way to keep working while you heal.
The Typing Problem
Every keystroke feels like a gamble
You know that dull ache that starts in your wrist and creeps up your forearm. Some days it's manageable. Other days, ten minutes of typing leaves you shaking out your hands and wondering how much longer you can do this. The fear isn't just about today's pain. It's about what happens if this gets worse. You've seen the braces, heard about the surgeries, watched coworkers take medical leave. Every email you type feels like you're spending from a limited account.
Nighttime symptoms that follow you from work
You wake up at 3 AM with numb fingers again. That tingling sensation that won't go away no matter how you position your hand. You spent eight hours typing at work, and now your body won't let you forget it. The symptoms have started bleeding into your personal life. Cooking dinner, holding a book, texting friends. Everything that involves your hands reminds you that something is wrong.
Ergonomic solutions that only help so much
You've tried everything. The split keyboard. The vertical mouse. The wrist rest your physical therapist recommended. The standing desk, the sitting desk, the careful 90-degree angles. And they help, a little. But you're still typing thousands of words a day, and no amount of ergonomic optimization changes that fundamental fact. The repetitive motion continues, just with better posture.
Watching your career while worrying about your hands
Your job requires typing. Reports, emails, documents, code, analyses. Without your hands, you can't do what you're paid to do. And that terrifies you. You've spent years building expertise, but none of it matters if you can't physically do the work. You find yourself calculating how many more years of typing you have left, wondering if you should change careers while you still can.
The guilt of taking breaks when deadlines don't wait
Every article says the same thing: take regular breaks, stretch, stop typing when it hurts. But your inbox doesn't take breaks. Your deadlines don't care about your median nerve. So you push through, knowing you shouldn't, feeling the pain build, telling yourself you'll rest after this project. Then the next one starts. The cycle never ends, and your wrists pay the price.
How It Works
Blurt works everywhere on macOS. Any app where you can place a cursor, you can use voice instead of typing. Email, documents, Slack, anywhere.
Hold your hotkey
Press your chosen shortcut. A small indicator shows Blurt is listening. Your hands can rest.
Speak naturally
Say what you want to write. Blurt handles punctuation and formatting. No special commands needed.
Release and done
Text appears at your cursor. No copying, no pasting, no additional wrist movements required.
Real Scenarios
Writing emails without aggravating your wrists
Your inbox has 47 messages that need responses. Normally, that's an hour of typing and a day of aching wrists. With Blurt, you click into each reply, hold your hotkey, and speak your response. 'Thanks for sending the report. I reviewed the numbers and have a few questions about the Q3 projections. Can we schedule 30 minutes this week to discuss?' Released. Sent. Next email. Your wrists stay still while you clear your inbox.
Getting through documentation without the pain
You have a 10-page report due Friday. That's thousands of words of typing you're dreading. Instead, you outline the sections, then speak each paragraph into existence. Your thoughts flow faster when you're talking anyway. Two hours of speaking replaces six hours of typing, and you finish the day without reaching for the ice pack.
Slack and Teams messages that don't add up
It's the small things that accumulate. Fifty Slack messages a day, each one just a few sentences. But fifty times reaching for the keyboard, fifty bursts of wrist movement. With Blurt, quick replies become truly quick. Hold, 'Sounds good, I'll review that this afternoon', release. Your chat history fills up without your pain level rising.
Working through a flare-up without falling behind
Bad days happen. You wake up and know immediately: today is going to hurt. But you have meetings, deliverables, people counting on you. Blurt lets you work through the flare-up without making it worse. Keep your hands still, speak your work, get through the day. You're not typing through the pain. You're talking around it.
Taking notes in meetings without the strain
Meeting notes used to mean thirty minutes of rapid typing while trying to follow the discussion. Now you hold your hotkey during key moments and speak a summary of what was just decided. 'Action item: Sarah will send revised proposal by Thursday. Marketing team approved the new timeline.' You stay present in the meeting without punishing your wrists.
Journaling and personal writing you'd given up
You used to journal every evening. You used to write for fun. Carpal tunnel took that away. The last thing you want after a day of work typing is more typing at home. Blurt brings it back. Open your journal app, hold the button, and talk about your day. Personal writing doesn't have to be another source of strain.
Responding to important messages when you need rest
Your doctor said to rest your wrists for a few days. But your boss just sent a message that needs an answer. Your client is waiting for feedback. Life doesn't pause for carpal tunnel. Blurt lets you respond to what matters without sabotaging your recovery. Brief replies, quick approvals, short updates. All without touching the keyboard.
Why people with carpal tunnel choose Blurt over built-in dictation
| Blurt | macOS Dictation | |
|---|---|---|
| Activation | Single hotkey, no clicking required | Requires clicking the microphone icon |
| Speed | Text appears in under 500ms | 2-3 second delay, sometimes longer |
| Reliability | Consistent transcription accuracy | Frequently fails silently or mishears |
| Wrist-friendliness | Designed for minimal hand movement | Often requires mouse interaction to use |
Frequently Asked Questions
Start Typing Faster Today
Free to try — no credit card required
Download Blurt