Stay in the "Loop"

A recent article in the New York Times on "hearing loops" is sparking significant interest among my patients (and others). Hearing loops are systems that are installed in certain public venues that allow for hearing aid users to pick up a direct, clear transmission of sound. They may be installed in places such as theaters, houses of worship, museums, and train stations. New York City has been slow to adopt this technology, but there are now plans to install hearing loops in a number of subway stations. Loops can also be installed in the home and connected to a television or other audio source. However, there is a catch: in order to pick up the loop transmission, the user's hearing aids must have what is called a "telecoil" (or "t-coil" for short), and not all devices offer this feature. In particular, the small behind-the-ear devices with a thin wire that have become so popular in the past several years often do not have a telecoil, primarily due to space limitations. Likewise, the very small custom-fit aids as well as the Lyric extended-wear aids do not offer telecoils. Hopefully the loop technology will become more prevalent here in NYC. And hopefully the hearing aid manufacturers will follow suit and offer telecoils in more of the mini-BTE hearing aids. Here's a link to the article: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/24/science/24loops.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=hearing%20loop&st=cse

Comments

[Rebecca Kavel]

That will be great news for New Yorkers who are hearing-impaired, as this will allow them to finally have a voice every time they have public meetings and discussions. I don't know when it will be completed, but I do know that this will permit the deaf to hear the sounds around them, even with their disability.