Did you know that you can loop your TV room for the best experience available to the hard of hearing.  Your spouse and neighbors will be happy that the volume is not turned up full blast!  And you will be ecstatic at how well you can hear the TV without having to wear a headset.  The only thing necessary is the hearing loop system, available for around $200 and your own t-coil equipped hearing aids!

Just imagine, turn on the TV and flip the T-coil switch or program on your hearing aid, then sit back and enjoy the program.  My own father has extolled the virtues of the loop system which made me a believer, along with the tears of joy and smiles ear to ear I’ve seen from the many loop users. 

How do you loop your TV room?  It is quite easy for one to install themself, or ask a friend or family member or even hire a handy-man.  The Univox DLS-50 and Oval Window Microloop III home loop systems come with 100’ of loop wire which can be run around the perimeter of the TV room, either under the carpet or pushed under the baseboard.  Where the wire must cross a doorway, just use a coat hanger or something stiff to feed the wire under the carpet.  If the floors are hardwood, you can put the wire on the baseboard or if there is a crawl space or unfinished basement below, just tack the wire underneath since the signal travels up and down.  The wire could be put in the ceiling but this is more difficult with insulation.

With the wire run around the room (less than 100’ perimeter), just put the wire ends in the back of the amplifier, like hooking up speakers.  Then use the supplied RCA plugs to connect your TV through the Audio Out jacks and plug the other end into the back of the loop amplifier.  NOTE:  Many of the newer TVs do not have RCA Audio Out jacks but have Digital Audio Out.  In this case, you will need a Digital to Analog Converter such as the Gefen, available for about $65.

The sound through the hearing loop is nothing short of amazing, according to most users.  The sound is transmitted directly from the TV to the user’s own hearing aid that has been programmed for their hearing loss.  There are no headsets or neckloops to wear.  Just flip the switch to turn on the t-coil program in the hearing aid and enjoy.

For more information about residential and home loop systems, visit www.assist2hear.com or www.hearingloop.org.

Advocacy on the part of the hard of hearing population is an imperative part of gaining equal access in venues across the US.  Most of the 36 million Americans with hearing loss are reluctant to speak up and let venues know that they need accommodation.

Some businesses and venues recognize the need and the goodwill that goes along with accommodation for the hearing impaired, but others need a push to see the light. 

What is an effective advocacy plan?  A personal conversation or a letter informing the venue of the benefits to them by accommodating those with hearing loss is a step in the right direction.  Businesses need to be aware that improving hearing access can increase business and/or attendance, not to mention the favorable publicity.

Let the business or venue know what it means to be hard of hearing – many people have no idea because it is not a visible disability.   Hearing aids increase the volume but don’t always help with clarity and understanding due to background noise, distance to the speakers and ambient noise in large rooms.  Explain that most hard of hearing individuals do not know sign language, so an interpreter is ineffective.  FM or Infrared systems work but no one wants to wear a headset.   

Besides helping hard of hearing people and their families (who don’t have to repeat what is missed), imagine the interest hearing accommodations could capture in the special needs-sensitive media and with certain special interest groups, not to mention the publicity it could gain with groups devoted to cutting edge technology! 

We all either have hearing loss, live with someone with hearing loss, or know someone with hearing loss.  Imagine the feel good factor of being able to provide a family member, friend or customer who may have hearing loss, the chance to fully engage in the event or program.  Instead of sitting idly without making sense of the sights and sounds, they can sit back and relax, able to enjoy the presentation or show without straining to hear or missing much of the audio.

Consideration should be given to the installation of induction hearing loops which magnetically transmit sound directly to one’s hearing aids or cochlear implants.  The crystal-clear transmission from the sound system is nothing short of amazing.  Hearing loops have no limit as to the number of people that can use the system.  Literally everyone in the audience can be using the system at the same time, unlike FM or Infrared systems which require a headset or neckloop.  No fuss with extra equipment and no muss of the hair!  And, hearing loops use those hearing aids that are programmed for each person’s own hearing loss.  Just a quick switch to the T-coil program on the hearing aid brings in the sound loud and clear.

For more information about advocacy and hearing loops, visit www.hearingloop.org or www.assist2hear.com .

Do you have suggestions for effective advocacy to share?  Please comment or contact us at Assist 2 Hear. 

 The loop movement is progressing across the US.  In Colorado, the City of Fort Collins has issued a proclamation that all new public buildings and any renovations of public buildings must include hearing loops.  And, the City is retrofitting existing buildings as money allows.

The media has caught on to the loop movement with articles in the New York Times, AARP magazine, National Geographic and even the Costco Connection.  NPR has run a couple of pieces about hearing loops over the past 18 months.

Consumers are beginning to realize how impressive the sound can be in a looped venue.  Audiologists are getting on the loop train and educating their customers about the mighty but small t-coil.  Even with Bluetooth and proprietary wireless interfaces in hearing aids, the T-coil adds one more option to increase customer satisfaction.

Assist 2 Hear is leading the charge in Colorado with professional installations by trained loop installers.  Companies are popping up across the country to help professionally install loops.  With new ADA standards effective March 15, 2012, many venues and businesses that were formerly not included in ADA requirements now fall under the revised standards.  It is not just about disability rights, but just good customer service. 

With the hard of hearing making up about 17% of the American population, it is a huge group that businesses should be working to help improve communication.  Improved customer satisfaction is the goal of any business and communication is integral to most business.

So let’s loop Colorado – and the USA – for children, adults and seniors with hearing loss.  Give them the opportunity to enjoy presentations, concerts, sermons and any business communication without embarrassment and frustration.

Assist 2 Hear, LLC is available for a no-cost consultation to see about looping your business or venue.  Call us at 720-210-9653 or visit us online at www.assist2hear.com .

Congratulations go out to the City of Fort Collins, CO for embracing hearing loop technology to improve access for the hard of hearing population.  This was done through advocacy by local members of the Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA).   The City has looped the City Council Chambers and is looking at installing hearing loops in other City buildings.  Assist 2 Hear installed the loop in a phased array design to provide an even sound across the room. 

Just imagine if more individuals advocated for hearing access in all venues!  Good examples have been set in Michigan, Wisconsin, New York, Florida, New Mexico and Arizona.  The City of Fort Collins is the first city in Colorado to officially embrace the hearing loop technology to serve its citizens and comply with revised ADA standards effective in 2012.

We urge other cities in Colorado and across the nation to step up and provide access to the large population of hard of hearing Americans which number over 36 million!  It is a process of education and determination by the consumer, audiologists, government and businesses to achieve the goal of recognizing the “silent disability” and making the world more communication friendly.

Hearing loss has many faces and nearly everyone has hearing loss, lives with someone with hearing loss or knows someone with hearing loss.  Untreated hearing loss often results in isolation, depression and safety risks.  Hearing aids don’t cure hearing loss but can improve quality of life greatly along with assistive listening devices to supplement in certain situations. 

At this time, hearing loops are a huge benefit to those with hearing aids in venues that typically have background noise, poor acoustics and ambient noise.  Hearing aids have come a long way but still have difficulty distinguishing sounds from noise.  In a hearing loop, the sound is transmitted directly from the sound source to the t-coil in the hearing aid.  Users describe the sound as nothing short of miraculous!

Assist 2 Hear is proud to support the “Get in the Hearing Loop” movement in Colorado and across the USA.  Feel free to contact us for more information on how your venue or business can provide better customer service to the hard of hearing and comply with ADA for communication access.

Is my business ADA compliant for the hard of hearing?  Do I really care? 

ADA compliance for hearing access has been nearly non-existent.  Why?  Because most hearing impaired individuals do not speak up and let businesses and venues know that they cannot hear because they don’t want to draw attention to this “silent” disability. 

Hearing access has always been part of ADA.  Revised ADA Standards effective 3/15/12 continue to list hearing loss as a disability and have increased requirements in many venues that were not previously included.  ANY venue with public access and a sound or PA system must provide assistive listening for the hard of hearing.  And, 25% of required assistance must be hearing aid compatible, such as a hearing loop or personal neckloop. 

So, ADA requires access but many businesses either don’t know that they must comply, or they don’t care – it is just another government mandate that they must pay for.

But what if your venue or business installed a hearing loop to improve customer satisfaction?  In an induction hearing loop, the customer or patron can hear by discretely activating their t-coil equipped hearing aid.  All of a sudden, the largest group of disabled Americans – yes, the largest – may choose your business or venue over others because they can understand what is heard! 

It seems like good customer service and just good business.  An investment in a hearing loop will bring in customers that have isolated themselves because they could not hear in public venues and businesses.  Customer satisfaction is important to businesses, so why not make it easy for customers to do business with you? 

For more information about hearing loops, ADA compliance and hearing loop installation, contact Assist 2 Hear, LLC.  

For those that have heard the accolades about hearing loops in churches, auditoriums, theaters, airports and sports arenas, few know the many other uses for hearing loops.  The possibilities are endless!

Very important transient uses for hearing loops include pharmacy windows, bank teller windows or drive-ups and information desks.  Where do people really need to hear clearly?  Prescription information can be a matter of life and death if not understood.  Loops eliminate having the pharmacist raise his or her voice to try and communicate, so privacy is maintained along with better understanding of the prescription details.  At bank windows, certainly privacy is an issue which the loop can help maintain.  Every bank or financial institution should have at least one window that has a loop for hearing access along with a handicapped window. It is not only about disability rights for ADA, but just good business and great customer service!

 Information desks, cash windows and reception desks can also be looped with a simple loop to help the hard of hearing understand directions and important information. The NY Subway information kiosks are being looped. For all of the above uses, a small loop can be easily installed on a wall or desk and the pharmacist, teller or receptionist has a microphone to speak in to.  As always in loop settings, the user must turn on their t-coil in their hearing aids to hear the speaker loud and clear.

How about taxis and tour buses?  New York City has been looping their taxis.  Tour buses are being looped in Michigan.  Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to actually understand what the tour guide is saying and enjoy the tour?

With a substantial number of hearing impaired children, loops can improve their learning ability without having to wear obvious paraphernalia.  The Children’s Museum of Manhattan just recently installed loops in their new exhibit, Eat, Sleep and Play.

Portable personal loops are perfect for ambulances, doctors, hospitals and professionals.  The portable loop can be carried from location to location to better communicate with the hard of hearing patient or client.  Professionals who are hard of hearing can also use these portable loops for their own satisfaction.  The clipboard loop is perfect for use in the office, clinic or out on the job such as a construction worker.  Feedback from the clipboard loop users is that it becomes their new best friend!

So loops can serve the hard of hearing literally anywhere without any external streamers, headsets or accessories – just the underrated T-COIL.  This inexpensive part of a hearing aid can increase satisfaction of hearing aids many fold. 

Do you have suggestions for hearing loop installations?  Contact Assist 2 Hear for information about hearing loops and how to advocate for hearing access in your community.

Thanks to a recent front page article in the NY Times, hearing loops have received long awaited national press.  The article profiles composer Richard Einhorn and his sudden hearing loss.  He had given up hope of ever hearing music again.  But a temporary loop installed at the Kennedy Center for a performance of Wicked during the HLAA convention in June of this year allowed him to clearly hear the performance, which brought tears to his eyes.

Dr. David Myers, the man behind the loop initiative in America, is also quoted in the article.  Dr. Myers has worked tirelessly to educate and advocate for hearing loops after first experiencing them while traveling in the UK several years ago. 

Hearing loops turn one’s own hearing aids in to “wireless speakers” to improve understanding and clarity of the spoken word and music.  Loops installed in places of worship, auditoriums and theaters bring smiles to those with t-coil equipped hearing aids.  Loops can help bring back worshipers and customers who have quit attending because they could not hear or understand in these venues.

A t-coil is an inexpensive copper coil that is already installed in many hearing aids, particularly behind the ear (BTE) and in the ear (ITE) aids.  It is estimated that around 70% of hearing aids have t-coils and this number appears to be growing along with the popularity of hearing loops.

Induction hearing loops, or audio frequency induction loops (AFILS), are simply a wire configured in a room to create a magnetic field.  The loop wire is connected to a loop driver which is connected to the sound system or TV in the room.  A signal is sent directly to the hearing aid when set on the “T” or “MT” setting.  The result is clear sound through the hearing aid which is already set for the user’s own hearing loss.

User reactions range from “incredible” to tears and smiles from ear to ear.  Anyone seeing these positive reactions wonders why this technology is not required in public venues.  New ADA standards effective March 15, 2012, include hearing loops as one of the three approved technologies for hearing access and the presence of a hearing loop reduces the number of required headsets for hearing assistance.  Most venues have Infrared or FM systems with headsets.  However, few, if any of the headsets get used because most people do not want to advertise their hearing loss and there are sanitation issues with headsets.

Installing hearing loops in public venues takes ADVOCACY on the part of the hard of hearing.  We need to let venues know that we cannot hear in their venue.  Suggesting hearing loops and offering to help raise the necessary funds will speed up the process. 

Professional installations are important to make sure the loop experience is good in every venue. A poor installation does no one any good.  Look for installers trained specifically in loop technology.

Assist 2 Hear is committed to professional installations using quality equipment.  Let us know if we can help your venue to become hearing friendly! 

Veterans and active duty military of all ages are suffering from hearing loss at an alarming rate.  According to a Veterans Health Initiative study course released March, 2002, “Hearing loss is one of the most common service-related injuries. Because of their history of noise exposure and advancing age, veterans are likely to complain of hearing loss. However, hearing loss is not only a problem among veterans; it is a significant public health problem. Over 35 million Americans have hearing loss. Hearing loss is the most common occupational injury and the second most common self-reported occupational disease. Hearing loss is insidious in its presentation but devastating in its personal, family, and social impact. However, a veteran need not be severely hearing impaired to suffer from the effects of hearing loss. A veteran with a high-frequency hearing loss, the most common type of hearing loss resulting from noise exposure, may have difficulty understanding speech in noisy environments, including those found in health care settings. Even mild hearing loss can have a significant effect on quality of life if left untreated.”

A CBS News Healthwatch posted July 16, 2009 reports that “U.S. soldiers and Marines caught in roadside bombings and firefights in Iraq and Afghanistan are coming home in epidemic numbers with permanent hearing loss and ringing in their ears, prompting the military to redouble its efforts to protect the troops from noise.
Hearing damage is the No. 1 disability in the fight against terror, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs, and some experts say the true toll could take decades to become clear. Nearly 70,000 of the more than 1.3 million troops who have served in the two war zones are collecting disability for tinnitus, a potentially debilitating ringing in the ears, and more than 58,000 are on disability for hearing loss, the VA said.”

Hearing protection is important for all of us and the military is addressing the issue by handing out ear plugs.  However, it is rather difficult in many cases to stop and put in the ear plugs!  One can hardly stop when suddenly under attack, so ear plugs may not get used when they are most needed.

Access for the hard of hearing is becoming more important and advocacy for this access is on the rise.  We can only hope that businesses and public venues become aware of this growing problem and provide access for this large group of Americans – it is not only about disability rights but it is good for business!

Hearing loops can be a large part of improving access for the hard of hearing population.  Assist 2 hear is in full swing to educate, advocate and professionally install induction hearing loops in Colorado.  Grass roots initiatives supporting induction hearing loops are growing across the US.  For more information, visit www.hearingloop.org.

Our hearing can be affected by many things including noise, genetics, disease, environmental factors and drugs.  Yes, there are known drugs that affect hearing!  These drugs are called Ototoxic and much research has been done on this subject.  According to Wikipedia, “Ototoxicity is damage to the ear (oto-), specifically the cochlea or auditory nerve and sometimes the vestibular system, by a toxin. It is commonly medication-induced; ototoxic drugs include antibiotics such as the aminoglycoside gentamicin, loop diuretics such as furosemide, and platinum-based chemotherapy agents such as cisplatin. A number of nonsteroidalanti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) such as Meloxicam have also been shown to be ototoxic. This can result in sensorineural hearing loss, dysequilibrium, or both. Either may be reversible and temporary, or irreversible and permanent.”

According to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association , “There are more than 200 medications and chemicals that are known to cause hearing and balance problems. It is important to discuss with your doctor the potential for hearing or balance damage of any drug you are taking. Sometimes there is little choice. Treatment with a particular medication may provide the best hope for curing a life-threatening disease or stopping a life-threatening infection.”

Over the counter drugs such as anti-inflammatories in large doses can cause ringing in the ears and hearing loss.  Other known culprits include some antibiotics and chemotherapy drugs.  Even Viagara has been linked to hearing loss.  Of course, sometimes the risk of hearing loss is secondary to the need to take the drug for overall health benefits.

There are some studies that link aspirin to minimizing or preventing hearing loss but aspirin in large doses may cause hearing loss. Bottom line, talk with your doctor about the drugs being prescribed with respect to side effects such as hearing loss.  There are some studies that link aspirin to minimizing or preventing hearing loss but aspirin in large doses may cause hearing loss.

An excellent resource for information on Ototoxic drugs is Ototoxicity by Peter Roland & John Rutka.  For more information on types of hearing loss and prevention, visit us at www.assist2hear.com . Share your experiences with drugs and hearing loss.

Aahh, the long awaited vacation.  Or you travel for business.  You are exhausted and hit the rack for a good night’s sleep in a hotel.  You take out your hearing aids, lay them on the nightstand and drift off to sleep.  Then the unthinkable happens, the fire alarm goes off!  But, you don’t hear it – your hearing aids are not in your ears.  This could be catastrophic! 

As the number of individuals with hearing loss rises in America, we must demand accommodation.  ADA clearly requires accommodation for hearing loss but it has been loosely enforced, if at all.  We as a society are much to blame for the lack of attention to hearing loss since we don’t want to admit this short coming.  Fortunately, this appears to be changing with the growing number of Baby Boomers suffering hearing loss and demanding better technology and access.

How can hotels, in particular, make their rooms accessible for hearing loss?  First and foremost, a strobe smoke alarm must be placed in the room.  Strobes are extremely bright flashing lights that are activated by the fire alarm system in the building.  If you have seen one of these strobes, you may agree they could wake the dead! 

Another feature that should be installed in the room is a hearing loop hooked up to the television.  The volume on the TV can be kept at a normal level and not disturb others in the building while the client enjoys the TV through their t-coil equipped hearing aid.

For deaf clients, hotels should also have TTY phones available for checkout at the desk.  Phone amplifiers should also be available either in the room or for checkout.

Some hotels have a kit available for checkout at the desk with items such as a phone amplifier and/or ring signaler, strobe smoke alarm, alarm clock with vibrating disc to place under your pillow, and a TTY phone if necessary.

How do we make hotels hearing friendly?  Simply, ADVOCACY.  If we don’t speak up and ask for accommodation, it won’t get done.  When you check in to a hotel, ASK for hearing assistance.  A recent post on You Tube shows the Courtyard by Marriott in Tempe, AZ with rooms for the hard of hearing and/or handicaps.  Hats off to Marriott for making the move – we hope this is a corporate strategy being implemented in all their hotels.

Do you know of other hotels that are hearing friendly?  Visit assist2hear.com for more information on hearing loss, ADA compliance and hearing loops.