Responding to Myths and Misconceptions about Hearing Loops
Some hearing loop advocates run into unexpected roadblocks in their efforts to make community more accessible for people with hearing aids and cochlear implants. They write me for help to respond to comments from AV & IT engineers dismissive of hearing loop technology.
A physician, at a large well known medical center in NYC, recently asked me if the objections from the IT engineers, when he inquired why their facility doesn’t offer hearing loops in their auditoriums, were valid. He was told “There are no hearing loops in place and the reason behind that is that there is potential interference with the wireless mics within the auditoriums.“
If mic issues prevented successful loop installations, that would long ago have been apparent in the many thousands of installations in the UK, Scandinavia, and northern Europe, and the 1000 or so auditorium/worship place installations now in Wisconsin and Michigan . . . not to mention the countless more across the country.
I asked a local audio engineer, someone who has decades of experience in the audio field and personally installed hundreds of hearing loops. He explained: ”Hearing loops operate at audio frequencies (100 – 5000 Hz) created by a magnetic field. Wireless, Bluetooth or FM systems run at radio frequencies or a carrier frequency in the “GHz” or “MHz” range and in my opinion and experience, there is no interaction or interference between the two.
Blogs on the web give some answers as well. This blog explains how interference problems can be avoided and recommends using trained loop installers who adhere to the IEC 60118-4 induction hearing loop standard. This article explains that hearing loops can be difficult to install in some venues and they are best left to trained installers.
It is my experience that the average AV or IT engineer is not up to date of recent loop equipment development, not familiar with the IEC standard, lacks the proper training and experience installing loops. Perhaps, they remember hearing loop equipment and poorly functioning installations of yesteryear? There is good news: hearing loops can be installed in the vast majority of venues and while there can be exceptions, there are very few.
Phased array loop installations can overcome effects of metal, create even magnetic fields with little or no over-spill, state of the art loop drivers are more powerful than ever, loop performance verification is made easier and more precise with smart iPad apps , some systems even offer remote monitoring and email warnings to the installer should a malfunction occur and cancellation loops limit spill into areas where musical instruments with magnetic pick-ups, that are not properly insulated, could cause an issue. As always, proper engineering of the loop is key to successful installations: no different than the need for properly installed speaker systems.
To me – there is one more argument. Why should AV engineers, who often do not know much about hearing loss and even less about hearing aids and CIs, think they can decide on the type of assistive listening technology used in a facility? Where are the studies that demonstrate that consumers like, prefer and use the FM and IR systems they install? Nothing should be decided about people with hearing loss without them. And survey after survey has shown, that loop technology is, overwhelmingly, user preferred.
Let's Loop Wisconsin 
Very True. And not just AV or IT, there are others as well, board members of a committee who are against hiring loops due to their own lack of knowledge, or ill-informed.
Thank you Juliette, for a well written article.
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Example: A gentleman came by my home the other day asking me why he could hear clearly at his Grand Junction HLAA meetings with their loop but at home with his loop, sound was raspy and distorted. I grabbed my field strength meter (FSM) and with him observing, fine tuned my home loop to 0 + or – 3 dB then had him watch my TV. Sound was pristine in my hearing aids but he said it was just as bad as the loop at his home. I had him turn down his telecoil volume and soon he exclaimed that the sound was PERFECT now. Two conclusions. #1 – his telecoils were not properly adjusted (He said his hearing provider did not have a loop in her office). #2 – The loop he found pleasant at the HLAA meeting was probably adjusted too low but with his improperly adjusted telecoils, sounded just fine.
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Thank you for making this excellent point, Lou. You are so right, with hearing loops, calibration of the hearing loop as well as the telecoils are critical. They work as a system and both have to be adjusted right and allows use of hearing loops the world over. I, and many others, advocate the provider verify the telecoil with in a test box ( a procedure that takes less than a minute) or allow the consumer to experience a (calibrated) loop in a waiting room. The latter option allows the partner to listen to the loop with a loop receiver – something that can sway both as to the need of obtaining hearing aids with telecoils and has turned many into fervent hearing loop advocates.
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As a hearing loop installer with nearly 10+ years under my belt in the Seattle area, may I make a recommendation?
Venues interested in a hearing loop for their facility should vet installers carefully. Obtain references and verify they are for venues of similar size and type, and be sure to check them out. If the vendor of your choice is quick to recommend an FM or IR solution, claiming a loop cannot be installed in your venue, obtain a second opinion. Or a third one. The installer may lack the necessary skill.
The more experienced and qualified the installer the more likely the installer can overcome difficult installation challenges. Bottom line is that hearing loops can nearly always be installed, but, in many large venues, they can be difficult. I refer readers to http://www.hearingloss.org/Best-Practices-Hearing-Loop-Procurement
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Spenser, you are absolutely correct about whom to select for a loop installation. While FM and IR are good systems there are so many things that can go wrong, not to mention the high cost of the equipment. All around, the Loop is by far the least problematic and in the long term the least expensive to maintain.
Home loops are a whole different topic. When a home loop is installed it’s usually for a single user. Initially the loop is calibrated but ultimately the volume is adjusted to a comfortable level for the user. Far too often I have found that the users telecoils were not properly calibrated by the provider. I explain this to the user and recommend returning to have them readjusted. Meanwhile, the loop is now at a comfortable level. I offer to return and re-calibrate the loop when the telecoils have been readjusted.
In today’s age of advancing technology, BlueTooth is becoming quite popular. I receive numerous requests from folks wanting a BlueTooth Streamer set up to use with their televisions. Next to the loop the sound quality is exceptional. Like with the loop, there may not be any additional devices to use. The single advantage over the loop is that the user can walk away from the room and continue to hear the TV sound. This is especially nice if listening to music since it goes with you from room to room.
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Thank you Juliette for a well written article that will be used to promote hearing loop installations in Canada.
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Bravo Juliette!
For what its worth, enlightened building management, system designers, installers and maintainers in Europe have access to world-class training in hearing loop design, installation and measurement/certification provided by the Institute of Sound & Communications Engineers. The ISCE also runs an accreditation scheme for hearing loop engineers.
http://www.isce.org.uk/ for more information.
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PS. My point is that anyone who serves the public, be it hearing professionals, churches or public places, should be required to have loops and telecoils properly adjusted. Without standards there will always be confusion, unhappiness and finger pointing. Many of our hearing professionals here in Tucson have “CALIBRATED” loops in their offices to insure that their patients have hearing aid telecoils properly set when they leave the office. “A country without laws is doomed!” I think this fits perfectly where telecoil and loop adjustments are concerned. This current state of hearing loop and telecoil “Lawlessness” should not be a “Turn a Deaf Ear” standard as it seems to be today.
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Great information and well put.
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