Category Archives: telecoils and hearing loops

May – the Month to Showcase Hearing Loops and Telecoils!

Loop Minnesota Posted on by

Every year, the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) dedicates the month of May as Better Hearing and Speech month. The purpose is to raise awareness about communication disorders.

Loop Minnesota wants to broaden the focus of this message as far as Better Hearing is concerned. People with hearing loss struggle to hear and understand speech in background noise. For them, communication and learning are seriously hampered in loud places. While hearing aids and assistive devices can help, they too have their limits.

Better Understanding Speech in Noise Means Better Hearing

To this day, the assistive system of Hearing Loop & Telecoils is the most effective and predictable way for overcoming speech-in-noise challenges. This is why the month of May is also a good time to showcase the technology that enables those with hearing issues communicate a lot more efficiently because they Hear Better in noise.

And so, it makes sense that the discussion about Better Hearing should also focus on Better Understanding of Speech in noisy venues.  For those with telecoils in their hearing aids or cochlear implants, hearing loops manage background noise in venues, such as churches, conference halls and meeting rooms. As counter loops, they make life easier at store check-out counters, information desks, ticket counters, bank teller windows and more.

In the end, let the month of May be a time of advocating for Better Hearing by means of Hearing Loops and Telecoils in public places, no matter what their size.

  •  Ask hearing specialists about Loop Technology and Telecoils (T-coils). Do my hearing aids have telecoils? Are they activated? Why not?
  • Ask venues, businesses, churches, and libraries what kind of access they provide for visitors, customers, and members with hearing loss. Let them know how and why Loops could help.
  • Get involved! Become a member of Loop Minnesota. Learn about hearing loops, and about other access technology choices.
  •  Help spread the word on Hearing Loops and Telecoils in your communities.
  • Let Loop Minnesota know about places with existing loops or access technology so that they can be added to our website list.
  •  Where would you like to hear and understand better? Contact us. We can help.

The world is getting louder by the day. Expecting life to play itself out in quiet, accommodating environments is fast becoming an unrealistic expectation. No matter what time of the year, at Loop Minnesota we aim to help people hear and understand and communicate better. Join us. Be bold!  It’s the Month of May and it’s O.K.

After a Hearing Loop is Installed, Train Staff and Volunteers

Loop Minnesota Posted on by

 

Hearing loops make businesses and venues accessible to customers and visitors with hearing loss who have teleoils in their hearing aids or cochlear implants.

After the successful installation of a hearing loop, the next important step is to train staff and volunteers in the use of the loop. Such training is usually done by the loop installer at the completion of the project but before the loop is put into service. Ask the installer to provide a list of trouble-shooting questions-and-answers, just in case that there might be an issue.

By the way, who will be your on-site company or venue loop expert or guru?

Staff and volunteer training should cover the following items:

  • recognize the loop sign and be able to answer basic questions
  • know the purpose of the loop and how it helps the business & clients
  • have a simple explanation for how the loop works
  • know when the loop is in service – around the clock or only at times? If it is activated on request or as needed, know how to turn it on
  • know how the loop interacts with the PA system and with other audio-visual equipment
  • know about other accessories, such as loop listeners for those who do not have telecoils in their hearing aids. These are used with light headsets. Those items require some maintenance such as battery and ear pad replacements and wiping the units after use.
  • know where these accessories are kept
  • know whom to call if there is a problem with the loop or with the accessories

 

Note: A new loop monitoring sign is now available that indicates whether the loop is on, off or has signal issues. Older loops may not have these. Check with your installer if a retrofit is possible.

In the end…

Loops are only effective if they are correctly designed and installed, if the customers know that they are available and if the staff and volunteers are trained in their use.

For more information, please contact us.

****

Note: Any links to websites or mention of products or technology are for information and illustration only. Loop Minnesota does not favor or endorse one brand, manufacturer or distributor over others.

 

Grocery Store Hearing Loops!

Loop Minnesota Posted on by

Contactainc.com: Grocery Outlet, Springfield, OR

Is my dream of Loops for Daily Living becoming a reality? Things are looking up!

Grocery store hearing loops are becoming increasingly popular across the United States. Even a single hearing-loop-enabled check-out counter is a valuable business investment. To customers with hearing loss, it means “Access.” It tells them that they too are recognized and appreciated.

Announce the presence of active, certified loops on your website! Tell Google Maps. Edit your organization/business “Accessibility” attributes to include Assistive Hearing Loop. How to edit or add: https://t.co/cxtvhWqh1E

In Springfield, Oregon, all checkout counters of the Grocery Outlet store now have hearing loops! Thanks to owners Tracy and Tom Hogan, customers can use the telecoils in their hearing aids and cochlear implants to help them understand speech so much better in the background noise of the store.

Checkout counters can be daunting. So many questions! Found everything OK? Do you want your receipt? Cash or credit? Got any coupons? All I usually hear is something like WhoaWhoa.  While trying to guess at body language, I run my credit card through the reader. Did they ask for my email to send me stuff? Very frustrating!

Tracy Hogan shares that she has bilateral hearing loss and so she can relate to the struggle of trying to hear in a sound-confused environment. Listen to her as she explains how the loop works in her store. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jI0vhf9HjqA

Then, along the East Coast Wegmans Food Markets, a company with over 100 stores across 7 States also has installed hearing loops  in their stores.

And of course, there are more grocery stores that have also been in the news for making the shopping experience for the hard-of-hearing easier with hearing loops. Check your local store. Encourage the owner/franchisee to consider a checkout loop.

The important thing for us to remember is that hearing loops are not dead, retro or antiquated. On the contrary, their popularity is on the rise. The travel industry is no longer the only major industry that recognizes the importance of communication access with loops.

As hearing loops spread in the communities, are you ready to use them? Do you recognize the blue-and-white sign with the T in the right-hand corner?  Do you have telecoils in your hearing aids? If so, are they activated? Do you know how to use them? There is no time like the present to ask your audiologist/hearing specialist for details.

In the end, hearing loops do not appear miraculously. For loops to happen we have to learn about them, ask for them and advocate for them. That’s what we do at Loop Minnesota. Join us!

*****

Also visit my website https://hearing-loss-talk.com/ where I post blogs on all sorts of issues concerning hearing loss.

 

 

 

Telecoils and Hearing Loops Education PSA

Loop Minnesota Posted on by

With heartfelt gratitude! 

On behalf of Minnesotans with hearing loss, Loop Minnesota thanks the Minnesota Commission for the Deaf, Deafblind and Hard of Hearing (MNCDHH), the Minnesota Broadcasters Association as well as all of the stations who donate valuable airtime for making this Telecoils and Hearing Loops PSA possible.

Thank you for helping raise awareness on this important technology, which can greatly ease the understanding of speech in loud places. The following 30 seconds might change lives – for better hearing and maybe for embarking on a mission of telecoils and hearing loops advocacy.

So, what does listening through telecoils and hearing loops sound like? Try this sound demonstration taken in a New York Subway station, which is a very difficult sound environment.  For now, the only way to understand speech-in-noise more clearly is by means of telecoils and hearing loops.

Pretty amazing! I remember the first time that I listened through a loop by means of my hearing aid telecoil. No more straining to understand. The Loop Minnesota website has a list if loops in and around Minnesota. Would it not be wonderful to grow that list?

In the end, it is up to those with hearing loss to determine what they want and what helps them.  Again, thank you to all who make it possible for people to learn about this technology with a much-needed Telecoils and Hearing Loops PSA.