diff --git a/drivers/staging/speakup/speakup_dectlk.c b/drivers/staging/speakup/speakup_dectlk.c
index af848686be71..c07c9670eef4 100644
--- a/drivers/staging/speakup/speakup_dectlk.c
+++ b/drivers/staging/speakup/speakup_dectlk.c
@@ -267,7 +267,7 @@ static void do_catch_up(struct spk_synth *synth)
 		else if (ch <= SPACE) {
 			if (!in_escape && strchr(",.!?;:", last))
 				spk_serial_out(PROCSPEECH);
-			if (jiffies >= jiff_max) {
+			if (time_after_eq(jiffies, jiff_max)) {
 				if (!in_escape)
 					spk_serial_out(PROCSPEECH);
 				spin_lock_irqsave(&speakup_info.spinlock,