In late June, 235 people from eleven countries converged on Crystal City, VA, for the second International Hearing Loops Conference. Most attendees seemed excited about a future in which hearing aids and cochlear aids could serve an important second function as customized, wireless loudspeakers.
This vision--of a single assistive listening that is, via hearing loops, "directly hearing aid compatible"--has become a reality in my world. Hearing loops support my hearing needs across venues that range from my office phone (which broadcasts via both my hearing aids) to my home TV room to my place of worship and campus auditoriums to the airport that broadcasts its concourse and gate announcements through both my hearing aids.
Alternative wireless technologies, such as Bluetooth, can, for those willing and able to master the pairing and recharging and to wear extra equipment, work for phone and TV. And perhaps someone will someday invent a more directly hearing aid compatible assistive listening technology that work in such small situations, in large venues, and in transient locationssuch as the London taxis and tens of thousands of British post office and ticket windowswhere one now finds hearing loops. If so, bring it on! All we (many of us attendees at the recent conference) would ask is that it be:
-
simple (no fuss with extra equipment),
-
affordable (telecoils cost manufacturers $2, on average),
-
available with most hearing instruments,
-
inconspicuous,
-
demanding little or no battery power,
-
enabling simultaneous mic use, and
-
covering both small and large areas with a
-
universally accessible signal.
For now, hearing loops offer all these advantages, which explains the enthusiasm and advocacy of conference attendees, and of the sponsoring Hearing Loss Association of America and American Academy of Audiology (whose just-retired president, Dr. Patricia Kricos, plans to continue her wholehearted support).
