Category Archives: cochlear implants

Hearing Loops for Businesses

Loop Minnesota Posted on by

Hearing Loops for Businesses

Shortcomings in equitable access

Although totally necessary, COVID-19 safety precautions have led to serious communication issues for those with hearing challenges ─ over 20 percent of the population.

While all customers and clients need equitable access to communication at any time, the Coronavirus has uncovered the fact that many businesses have few if any ways of accommodating hearing loss for everyday business transactions.

No more lipreading

Speechreading (lipreading), an important communication method for those with hearing loss has become pretty much impossible these days. Keeping at a distance weakens sound signals, which are further muffled by facemasks and plastic or glass barriers. Facial expressions are no longer visible. And then, there is no other accommodation!

Even as the COVID pandemic rages on and safety precautions are all important, tending to daily business should not be a dreaded chore because of lack of access. And that access should be discreet, wireless and touchless while providing sound clarity.

Counter Hearing Loops can help.

These have been around for some time and are very common overseas. They are simpler, faster and less expensive to install than whole area loops. There are even portable versions.

Clients can tune into the loop sound signal by activating the telecoils in their hearing aids, cochlear implants or portable T-coil devices. No yelling. No overly amplified, embarrassing cacophony. No need for unhygienic access devices.

Get information

When it comes to sound access, every situation is different. Therefore, it is important to do some research and to get information from knowledgeable sources. Get started by Contacting Us.

Advertise!

Once counters or kiosks have been made accessible, include this information in your advertising material. Let people with hearing loss know that you are inclusive and that equitable access is an important business concern.

The blue-and-white hearing loss symbol marked with a prominent “T” (for telecoil or T-coil), tells customers that they have loop access and which waiting line or service desk to choose.

Disclaimer: The above web address links are provided for information and illustration only. Loop Minnesota does not favor one manufacturer, company or supplier over another.

COVID-19? Need for Hearing Loops & T-coils

Loop Minnesota Posted on by

COVID-19? Need for Hearing Loops & T-coils

Growing communications challenges

As the COVID-19 pandemic rages on, communication challenges of all kinds have turned into an acute issue for those with hearing loss. Speechreading (lipreading) has become impossible during these times of social distancing, masked outings and muffled conversations. Being talked to through plastic or glass partitions contributes to the further dulling of sounds.

As society gradually reopens ever so hesitantly, continued distancing and mask requirements will remain in effect and so will the communication hurdles. Sitting up front, close to the speaker is a thing of the past. “Up close” is a lot further back these days.

Now is the time to advocate for communication access

Wouldn’t it be nice to connect via telecoil or T-coil to hearing loops installed at bank and pharmacy windows, at information desks, in class rooms, libraries, places of worship and in health facilities? Gone would be the background noise and speech would be so much easier to understand – without the struggle, the fatigue and the embarrassment. Hearing loops are especially helpful in large, noisy venues such as convention and meeting rooms.

It is often said that anybody who has ever listened to speech through a correctly installed hearing loop does not want to turn back. As we go forward into a shaky communication future, it is more important than ever for people with hearing loss to get involved and to stand up for communication access. Let’s not be left out – again!

Visit this website and learn about it

The problem is that many people do not know much – or anything at all -about this technology. Non-proprietary hearing loops are different from proprietary, short-distance Bluetooth. A hearing loop is a special electrical wire that is installed throughout or around the area that is to be made accessible.

Telecoils or T-coils are tiny wireless antennas that can be found in cochlear implants, hearing aids and hearing devices large enough to accommodate them. They allow the user to tap into the sound energy carried by the magnetic field that surrounds a hearing loop that is in active service. Together, loops and telecoils act as assistive listening “systems.”

Do your hearing aids have telecoils?

Find out! Now is also the time to ask hearing specialists if the hearing aids that you plan to buy – or have already bought -have telecoils. Most people do not know because they have never told about them. Yet, in order for them to work, the hearing specialist must “activate” the telecoils and tune them to the hearing needs of the client. He/she must also instruct the client on how and where to use them.

The future of access is up to the people

In the end, do people with hearing loss want to be connected and included as communication snags pile up? If yes, it is time to act. Hearing loops do not magically appear. The technology needs advocates and believers who make the case for much-needed accessibility.

And so, what will our communication future look like? As President Abraham Lincoln told us “The best way to predict the future is to create it.” And the time to become “creative” and motivated is now.

Monique Hammond, VP Loop Minnesota

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Also, visit my website: hearing-loss-talk.com. I blog about all sorts of topics related to hearing and hearing loss.