Assistive listening devices

By the Rev. Raymond Meester, Consultant for Hearing

Assistive listening devices have changed and improved over the last few decades. As a child in the 60’s, I remember seeing persons with hearing-impairments using a listening device in my home church. There were some jacks in a few places in the sanctuary. A worshiper with a hearing disability would obtain a device that looked like the earpiece of a telephone headset that was attached to a handle. A cord was connected to the earpiece. The worshiper would plug the cord into a jack in the pew, and then would hold the ear piece up to their ear with the handle. This had a few disadvantages. First of all, it dictated where the worshiper would sit. In order to utilize the device the worshiper had to sit wherever there was a jack. Where we sit in a sanctuary can be very territorial! Secondly, it was quite obvious that the worshiper had a hearing impairment. There could be no anonymity about one’s hearing loss. Even today, many people are not willing to publicly admit they have a hearing loss. And it could be quite a chore holding that earpiece to your ear the entire worship hour (or longer!).

The next generation of devices was wireless receivers. A transmitter was wired to the sound system. A person with a hearing impairment would obtain a receiver upon entering the sanctuary and could sit anywhere in the sanctuary. The receiver, about the size of a small transistor radio, was small enough to put in a pocket, and a small earpiece, connected to the receiver by a wire, was placed in the ear. This allowed the worshiper to sit wherever they wanted in the sanctuary, it was easier for the person with a hearing impairment to hide their disability, and one did not have to hold it during the entire worship time. However, I have been told by many churches that have this system that many of their worshipers who have a hearing disability will not take advantage of this system and do not ask for a receiver. Again, they want to hide their disability.

We are now into the next generation of assistive listening devices called an induction loop system. This system uses technology that makes it possible for the hearing aid to act as the receiver. In this system, a wire is looped around the sanctuary, is unseen, and will not affect the appearance of the sanctuary. Any worshiper with a hearing aid that has a telecoil sensor (T-coil) simply switches his or her hearing aid to “T-coil” and the hearing aid receives a signal directly from the loop. Almost all hearing aids now have a T-coil except for the tiniest of aids. However, the T-coils are becoming more and more miniaturized, and as they are, more and more hearing aids are able to include them. If a worshiper does not have a hearing aid, or their hearing aid does not have a T-coil, they can use a receiver much like the system previously mentioned.

Europe has been using the loop system for quite some time now. It has not caught on so rapidly in the United States because the T-coils are fairly new in the United States. Until a few years ago, only about 30% of hearing aids in the United States had a T-coil. The T-coils have been used in Europe much longer. I do not have any personal experience with the hearing loop systems as they are relatively new in the United States. The church I serve recently installed a new sound system and we inquired about the hearing loop system. All three businesses that provided us with sound system proposals knew nothing about the technology. One of the businesses did some research and indicated they could add the loop for between $1,000 and $2,000. If you would like more information about the loop systems, go to the Hearing Loop Web site.

There are other assistive listening devices that are used in smaller group settings and are portable. These systems are similar, in that they have microphones, a transmitter, and the persons with a hearing impairment have a receiver. There are many different kinds of systems having various advantages and disadvantages. Some use FM broadcast, others infrared light, and others an induction loop. Each of these systems has various advantages or disadvantages. A good resource for comparing the various kinds of systems and listing their advantages and disadvantages is found on the Access Board Web site. Another informative Web site is the National Association of the Deaf.

Most states have agencies for the deaf and hard of hearing and can provide help with assistive listening devices and area vendors. If you do not know how to contact your state agency, visit the Missouri Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Web site where you find a listing of each state’s agency. As a consultant for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), I am available for any questions and welcome any advice or suggestions you may have about assistive listening devices.