A Hearing Loop Can Help You Hear at Public Places

When placed at entrances, the sign informs people that the venue is looped. Logo courtesy of  http://www.hearingloop.org/logo.htm

If you have difficulty hearing as well as you’d like in various public venues, you will probably benefit from hearing loops. More and more auditoriums, train stations, sports stadiums, museums, and concert halls offer this easy-to-use technology.

To use a hearing loop, you turn on the t-switch on your hearing aid or cochlear implant to activate the telecoil. If your hearing aid doesn't have a telecoil, you will need a headset plugged into a loop receiver to achieve the same effect.

A hearing loop is a wire that encircles the room and is connected to a sound system. The loop transmits the sound electromagnetically. The electromagnetic signal is then picked up by the telecoil in the hearing aid or cochlear implant.

Using a telecoil and hearing loop together is seamless, cost-effective, unobtrusive, and you usually don't need any additional equipment.

Long Islanders: we have just learned that a hearing loop is now available in the auditorium at Huntington Town Hall. This is the first Town Hall to have a hearing loop installed in Suffolk County, New York. This loop was installed to meet the needs of residents who have experienced difficulty hearing at events that take place in the auditorium.

Check out this website for an up-to-date list of facilities in the metro area that are “looped” – keep your eye out for the logo of an ear with audio waves. Remember, it may be necessary to ask your audiologist or hearing instrument dispenser to activate your telecoil to access help from a hearing loop.