Ampetronic Listen to the difference
Hi I'm James from Ampetronic and I'm here to talk to you today about the continued relevance
of telecoils and hearing loops assistive listening systems have been widely available since the 1930s
the most successful of which has been the hearing loop and telecoil combination
this partnership has given hearing aid and cochlear implant users access to
audio in many areas which would normally be uncomfortably noisy or unintelligible
including theatres lecture halls places of worship retail and customer service counters help points
digital displays and even on mass transport systems there are a lot of misconceptions
about hearing loops to my mind never has a great piece of tech been so misunderstood
badly treated and wrongly dismissed a good hearing loop can make the listening experience so much
more restful and pleasant even if you've got great hearing aids it's especially effective if the t
setting is programmed fully to the hearing loop so you're protected from the scraping chairs and
other extraneous environmental noise and I've encouraged all sorts of people to try them
and find that they become fans quite easily when they experience a good one
and in some situations they are a bit of help but in others they are absolutely invaluable and the
positive experiences of why there are groups and individuals actively out there checking hearing
loops and making sure more good ones are available um yeah it would be terrific if audiologists could
tell people about hearing loops and probably more helpful still if more audiology clinics had
top-notch healing loops available so people had the chance to experience what they're like
there are some exciting developments in future assistive listening technology starting to emerge
however the significant confusion amongst hearing aid users and facility providers many of whom for
example expect current bluetooth technology to provide the same access to audio in venues and
public facilities as hearing loops which of course it doesn't let's remind ourselves of the unique
benefits which hearing loops offer I'm sanders I'm a hearing aid user and have been for pretty much
all my life and I'm here to say that I've used pretty much every assisted listening technology
that's around I love them all I love the fact that so much is being done in the technology
but when it comes down to it for social reasons for technological reasons um
simply sometimes just for share a lack of embarrassment loop systems are the things which
I default to pretty much every single time going to cinema or to a theatre and having to book out
equipment is difficult trying to wear pendants and whatever although they can provide good solutions
it's just something that's on your body all the time being able to walk into a church or theatre
and simply just tap a button on the aid and getting direct sound straight away that really
works every time in addition there appears to be a common misconception among both hearing aid
users and facility providers that relatively few hearing aids are now telecoil equipped
in fact a recent review of the connectivity of over 750 hearing aid model variants showed
the 38 how the telecoil fitted a standard and a further 42 percent had a telecoil as an option
furthermore the 2019 NHS supply chain framework agreement for hearing aids and customer moulds
states that a telecoil must be offered as standard on all behind the ear hearing aids it's fair to
say that the significant majority of UK dispensed hearing aids remain telecoil equipped however
hearing loops are certainly not a new invention so could loops and telecalls be replaced soon
to answer that question the international hearing access committee representing a number of leading
hearing organizations stated in June 2019 that it is reasonable to believe that telecoils hearing
loops and assistive listening solution usage will continue for the next 10 to 15 years and beyond
the key difficulty associated with replacing hearing loops is that the telecoil itself is hard
to replace telecoils are passive they consume no additional battery power they're very low
cost they're part of a non-proprietary open standard and they're easy to use
in addition they have no latency or delay issues and there's already a large install base of
telecoil equipped hearing aids before hearing loop technology can be replaced all the stakeholders
must agree on a new technology that could provide universal access it must meet most if not all
of the benefits offered by the telecoil this isn't easy both technically and with many stakeholders
having their own commercial interests once the standard is agreed and published the new
technology needs to be integrated into new hearing aids and these devices must become
commonplace there'll be a considerable crossover period during which the existing technology
loops will remain relevant because of the high volume of installed systems
and a significant proportion of hearing aids not yet having the new connectivity this whole
process is likely to be measured in years to set realistic expectations the international hearing
access committee powerfully stated hearing aid and cochlear implant users require continued
quality hearing access in public places which is currently and in the foreseeable future provided
by telecoils and hearing loop and assistive listening solutions the rights of users to access
must be continued and maintained during this period of technological change and shall not be
compromised by the promise and overly optimistic expectations of a future technology development
thousands of hearing loop systems are installed by UK businesses and service providers every year
as part of their legal obligations to provide fair access to audio for those with hearing issues
however a 2018 euro track study of the UK hearing aid sector reported that only 22
of recipients had been informed about hearing aid accessories by their healthcare provider therefore
on behalf of our customers who seek to provide access to their facilities to hearing aid users
we're seeking a renewed commitment from the hearing instrument manufacturing
and dispensing community to raise awareness and improve the quality of access to audio
for all hearing aid users so what can you as audiologists do to help
ensure that your patients customers and clients are aware of the benefits of telecoils and loops
tell them what to look out for that will signal that an assistive listening solution is available
show them how to use the t setting on their hearing aid
encourage them to complain when an assistive listening solution isn't available
and have your procurement teams demand telecoil enabled hearing aids from the manufacturers
thanks for listening today for an information pack
on hearing loops and other assistive listening technologies please visit www.ampetronic.com
Listen to the difference