An Induction Hearing Loop Comes to Brooklyn

Last October, an audiologist and member of the First Unitarian Congregational Society in Brooklyn, Margaret Weber, read an inspiring article in the October 24, 2011 Science section of the NY Times on the Induction Hearing Loop called:  “A Hearing Aid that Cuts Out all the Clatter.”  She had been doing her own research on the loop and with this great exposure in the Times, Margaret felt that she was ready to discuss the technology with other members to see if they agreed that it might be the right time to bring the Loop to Brooklyn.  Enter members, Kay Corkett, who was serving on the Board of Trustees, and Kathy Ivans a school psychologist. They both became as enthusiastic about the Loop as Margaret and determined to write a proposal to the Board suggesting a special fundraiser to install the loop in the First U Sanctuary.

The major point made by the NY times article was that the Hearing Loop sends sound from a microphone directly into hearing aids equipped with a telecoil (a device originally developed years ago to enhance the sound from a telephone).  With the sound coming directly into the hearing aid, the surrounding noise in the room is eliminated. Without the Loop, hearing aids amplify everything, both what you want to hear and what you don’t want to hear.  So the sounds of creaking floor boards and pews, shuffling of feet and bodies and the reverberation of sound on surfaces interfere with hearing.  That’s also true for those with no hearing loss, but those folks are able to tune the background noise out while hearing aids amplify it.

The Induction Hearing Loop is literally a thin cable that runs invisibly from an amplifier around a room and back to the amplifier making a loop. The technology has been around for 70 years and is in wide use in Europe and parts of the US, and now it is becoming more widely used in other parts of the country in schools, churches, and concert halls.  For example, the New York City MTA has installed the Loop in 400 of the token booths that have clerks and microphones.

So, having met numerous times to discuss their research and proposal strategies, as well as obtaining bids from audio companies, Margaret, Kathy and Kay completed a five page proposal and took it to the Board.  They asked the Board to consider fundraising for the Hearing Loop in the annual end-of-year appeal letter to the congregation. The proposal was accepted.

First Unitarian is a 169 year old land-marked building, so research has shown that it is very difficult and extremely expensive to provide access for those members and visitors with mobility challenges.  But the installation of the Hearing Loop has at least been one step taken toward garnering the support of the congregation to put energy and money behind the goal of providing access for full participation to those members and visitors with hearing loss.