Phonak launches website for teens with hearing loss

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Recognizing that a teenager's world is a different one, Phonak has recently launched the first website tailored to the needs of teens with hearing loss. Through teen-specific hooks such as music and social life, the site offers teens all they want to know about hearing technology – and more importantly, what it can do to enhance their lives. The latest addition to the site is a sports section that offers inspiring examples of teen athletes with hearing loss using Phonak Sky Q and Phonak Roger. This new sports section answers questions that teens may have about participating in outdoor sports while wearing hearing devices and communicating with team mates on the field.

To learn more, visit www.bringsoundtolife.com.
Surveys have shown that hearing impaired teens perceive themselves as typical teenagers who happen to have hearing loss. They love to be active in sports, music, and other fun activities like any other teenager. They expect their hearing aids and wireless technology to allow them to do whatever they want to do without being limited by their hearing loss.

"Hearing impaired teens want to hear from their peers about how they succeeded in similar situations. This is why we have developed a site dedicated to teenagers, offering them all the information they seek and a platform for sharing their own challenges and accomplishments in everyday life with hearing devices," says Angela Pelosi, Head of Pediatrics at Phonak. "With sports as our latest experience, we want to encourage them to get out there and get active, without letting their hearing impairment limit them in any way."

Sports is one of the favorite pastimes of teens. Those with hearing loss often fear that they cannot participate or keep up with other teens because of hearing-related communication issues.

Bringsoundtolife.com shows teenagers that communication is possible on the field, on the court, and on the track with hearing solutions like Phonak Sky Q and Phonak Roger. Short, engaging videos show how Phonak hearing solutions have given teenagers the chance to live their dreams and succeed in their favorite sports – all heard and told from a teen's perspective.

BringSoundtoLife.com offers teens the opportunity to share their own experiences and stories using the latest Phonak technology with the community to encourage and inspire their peers. A Phonak Sky Q and Roger color customization tool, and an "Ask your audiologist" tool make sure teenagers get the most out of the site, whatever their individual preferences and needs.

Cochlear announces app to connect to smartphones

Cochlear Limited has announced the launch of the Cochlear™ Baha® Control App, Cochlear's first introduction of an app that connects the Baha 4 Sound Processor to the latest smartphone technology. The Baha Control App lets Baha® 4 Sound Processor recipients turn their iPhone® or Android™ smartphone into a cutting-edge remote control with the use of the Cochlear Wireless Phone Clip. By introducing an app of this nature to the world of hearing implants, Cochlear is continuing its commitment to innovation by bringing the most advanced wireless technology to its recipients.

"We now live in a mobile world where consumers are increasingly depending on their smartphones for health information and management," said Chris Smith, President of Cochlear Americas. "The new Cochlear Baha Control App simply meets users where they already are – on their phones – and allows them to adjust their Baha 4 Sound Processor in the palm of their hand. Building on our 30 year legacy of innovation, we are proud to offer a mobile device management app of this kind to our recipients."

 

Two-thirds of Americans use a smartphone on a daily basis and spend an average of 34 hours per month using mobile apps.¹ As demonstrated by the data, the majority of Americas are already familiar with the ins and outs of smartphone technology, making the Baha Control App a convenient, easy to use tool that can be seamlessly integrated into daily life. Adjusting the sound processor volume and program settings, or balancing background noise and streamed wireless sound, is simply done by clicking or swiping the phone's display.  

How the Baha Control App Works

Using the Cochlear Baha Control App requires: the Cochlear Baha 4 Sound Processor, the Cochlear Wireless Phone Clip and iPhone 6, iPhone 5/5S/5C, iPhone 4/4S, or iPhone 3GS running iOS 7 or later, or Android smartphones running version 2.3.5 or later (not all Android smartphones are compatible). The smartphone connects to the Phone Clip via Bluetooth, and the Phone Clip uses 2.4GHz wireless technology to communicate with the sound processor.

How to Download the Baha Control AppThe Cochlear Baha Control App is free to download on the App Store (iOS) and Google Play (Android).

For more information, visit www.Cochlear.com/US/Wireless.

About the Baha System Designed to help people with conductive hearing loss, mixed hearing loss and single-sided deafness, the Baha System utilizes the body's natural ability to conduct sound. By connecting to the bone behind the ear, the Baha System replaces the function of the outer or middle ear and sends sound directly to the healthy inner ear. In people with single-sided deafness, sound is sent through the bone to the hearing ear, bypassing the non-hearing side. A physician must determine if a patient meets the candidacy criteria for the Baha System and deems the solution medically necessary

Ontario Disabilities Act: It's so last century

At the end of this month, employers with more than 20 workers will be required to train their staff to better serve Ontarians with disabilities. These businesses will also be required to provide better services for them.
 

The Ontario government has provided a helpful document for businesses, which can be found by following this link.

I decided to check it out to see what's in it for people with hearing loss.

Let's just say, I was not impressed. The suggestions are so last century.

Here, verbatim, are the suggestions....

People who have hearing loss

People who have hearing loss may be Deaf, oral deaf, deafened or hard of hearing. These are terms used to describe
different levels of hearing and/or the way a person’s hearing was diminished or lost.

Tips:

• Attract the customer’s attention before speaking. Try a gentle touch on the shoulder or wave
  of your hand.
• Make sure you are in a well-lit area where your customer can see your face and read your lips.
• If your customer uses a hearing aid, reduce background noise or move to a quieter area.
• If necessary, ask if another method of communicating would be easier (for example, using a pen and paper).

Oh, come on.
First of all, you can't assume someone who has hearing loss is going to come up to a bank teller or a triage nurse or a kiosk and volunteer the information that they are hard of hearing or wearing hearing aids. While people with hearing loss are becoming more vocal, thanks to the efforts of support organizations like the Canadian Hard of Hearing Association (CHHA), a lot of people are embarrassed because they can't hear, or they don't want to draw attention to themselves.
So having a person waving in their faces or taking them to what amounts to a "special room" isn't going to cut it.
It is true that, by reducing noise, a person with hearing aids will be able to hear someone. But the world simply doesn't work that way. Shutting down the Muzak isn't going to help. It will just leave you with grumpy employees.
Besides, in many work places or service areas, there are fans for air circulation. There are also a lot of people talking. Waving in a person's face or offering them a pen and paper (reminding me of a Dickens' novel) is just going to make a person with hearing loss mad.
Installing assistive devices will go a long way toward helping businesses better serve their customers with hearing loss. Hearing loops are inexpensive and can cut through the background noises that irritate people with hearing loss, and yet, they are only being used in churches and a few banks right now. Why is that?
A wheelchair ramp, larger spaces in restaurants, all of these things are now being demanded by people with disabilities. Why are people with hearing loss being forced to suffer in silence?
Because nobody is telling people with hearing loss that there are tools to help them, tools they should be demanding.
The government would do well to encourage businesses, hospitals and other institutions, as well as transportation services, to install hearing loops. At the same time, hearing professionals have a job to do in educating consumers with hearing loss about the kinds of tools that are available to help them hear better.
I heard of one situation this week of a man who was excited to learn that he could have a loop installed in his home so he could finally hear his television. Unfortunately, when he contacted his audiologist, he was told he'd bought a hearing aid without a T-Coil, the little device that, when turned on, will allow a person to hear with the benefit of a looping system.
He was never told when he bought the expensive hearing aids that, in effect, the audiologist had cut him off from an opportunity to hear better.
The man was in tears.
Frankly, I was appalled when I heard this story especially because the man said he would have bought a T-Coil equipped aid if he knew it existed.
It's important to start a real conversation on hearing loss. For five decades, Europeans have been able to take cabs, ride subways and go to museums because the governments had the forethought to encourage the use of hearing loops.
Unfortunately, they've never caught on in Canada or the United States.
Only in recent times have hearing advocates begun to demand help for the more than one in seven people with hearing loss.
We need to find ways to bring Canadians with hearing loss into the conversation.
Don't hand them a pen and paper, as the government document suggests.
It's just insulting.

A short demonstration in a library....

Rick Hansen's Challenge

Rick Hansen has issued a challenge to the business community, and Canadians to make a difference in the lives of persons with disabilities.

First, I challenge builders, decision makers, corporations and government leaders to join with the charitable and social sector to make accessibility a human right. Only by working together can we realize real change. Only by working together can we show the world that accessibility benefits people of all abilities. Ramps, as one example, aren’t just for people who use wheelchairs, they are for parents pushing strollers, or the elderly who find stairs a challenge. Furthermore, creating accessible infrastructure has no downside. “I sure wish this wheelchair ramp didn’t exist and this doorway wasn’t so wide,” said no one ever.

Second, and perhaps more importantly, I encourage every one of all abilities to challenge the way people with disabilities are perceived. Do you look at people in wheelchairs differently? Do you think someone with visibility issues would be less competent at their job? Do you focus on physical differences instead of the person inside?\

By reflecting on our own actions and beliefs, we can challenge existing standards and dream up new ones. If we can learn to perceive differently, we can learn new behaviours that benefit everyone. Together, we can change the world, but it starts with each and every one of us.

 

Portable hearing loop now available in Ottawa. Take it for a test drive!

It doesn't look like much, does it?
Kind of looks like a heating pad.
But my husband Scott Troyer and I are hoping this little gizmo will change a few lives.
It's a portable looping system that can be used in cars, boardrooms and living rooms. The pad fits under or on the seat of your chair and microphones are placed strategically so that a person who has hearing loss can actually understand what is going on around them -- instead of taking their hearing aids off because they are frustrated by all the noise around them.
So the driving snowbird can actually hear his partner on the long drive to Florida. Or a child with a cochlear implant sitting in the backseat can talk to her mom on the way to hockey practice.
It's not perfect and not for everybody but isn't it nice to know that those hearing aids you paid a few thousand bucks for will actually do you some good while driving around town, or watching the Superbowl on the big screen with your family cheering along?
This solution is now available in Canada and is reasonably priced.

We got the idea because Scott is a car salesman at Ogilvy Subaru in Ottawa and he has a good number of customers who wear hearing aids. The Bluetooth is fine for the phone, but it just doesn't cut it for the rest of the car. So we went looking for a solution and found it at Advanced Listening Systems out in Victoria. Company head Tim Archer, who installs looping systems for businesses, governments and churches, sent us our kit just this week and we will be testing it with Subaru customers. (The unit is also available in Ontario through Better Hearing Solutions.)
I will be sharing the results in an upcoming video blog.
Scott is hoping to lead by example to make Ogilvy the first hearing friendly car dealership in Canada, offering solutions for people who wear hearing aids. He will put up the T-coil sign at his desk identifying him as a hearing friendly car salesman. That's important because many people who wear hearing aids feel self-conscious. A lot of them don't like their hearing aids or simply don't want people to know they are wearing them.
We're hoping, in our own small way, to change that.
All they need is our little heating pad gizmo and an active T-Coil in their hearing aids.
So, Subaru drivers, Turn on the T-Coil.
You know you want to.

People with hearing loss should be loud and proud and stick up for their rights.
Starting in January, businesses and not-for-profits with more than 20 employees will be obligated under the Ontario Disabilities Act to better serve people with disabilities, and to ensure that their staff are sensitive to their needs.
Our little gizmo -- I haven't invented a name for it -- would work beautifully in all environments, not just cars. And people with hearing loss won't have to wear a loop around their necks advertising to the world that they can't hear as well as the rest of the population.
They won't feel frustrated sitting in a boardroom, and decide not to speak up.
Maybe they'll get out in the world a little more.
Maybe they'll stop falling asleep in church.
There is simply no reason that Canadians with hearing loss have to suffer in silence, while the rest of the world is able to walk around museums, take taxis, and do their grocery shopping with the benefit of hearing loops.
Let's get with the program, shall we?
You can demand to be served by your government in both official languages, but in the past,you had no right to be served in a hearing environment.
Until now.
It only took Ontario fifty years.
But it's here, so let's take advantage of the new laws.
So come out and support us.
If you're in Ottawa, look Scott up. He'll be in the Subaru with the gizmo.
Come take it for a spin.
You can contact Scott at 613-294-6217.

Hearing Loops: What consumers and professionals need to know

Hearing loops have been in use for more than five decades in Europe and are widely used in museums, transportation systems, even stadiums. Yet, North Americans have been reluctant to embrace this simple, cost-effective technology which provides an invisible, direct, wireless connection between hearing aids or cochlear devices and listening environments.

Recently, the Canadian Hard of Hearing Association began a discussion about how to promote looping technology to better serve the more than 3.1 million Canadians who suffer from hearing loss.

There’s just one problem: many consumers and installers complain that hearing professionals don’t activate their telecoils or T-coils, or even bother to tell their customers that the looping technology exists and is available for churches, businesses or public institutions.

“Unprogrammed T-coils virtually nullify usage - unless one wants to use a receiver and headphones which is nothing more than a "un-T-coil / loop" mentality,” says Bill Droogendyk, a loop installer and owner of Better Hearing Solutions. He reports a general lack of interest and awareness about the benefits to looping among hearing health care providers.

We talked to Juliette Sterkens (AuD), an award-winning American advocate for hearing loops, about what hearing health professionals can do to promote the use of hearing loops, and about the challenges ahead.

 

Rose Simpson: Looping has been used extensively throughout Europe for decades, yet it has failed to catch on in North America. Why are professionals reluctant to embrace this as a tool for their patients?

Juliette Sterkens: What is needed is education of the audiologists and hearing healthcare providers. They put too much faith in the hearing aids and CIs, or too much faith in upgrading to more technologically “advanced” hearing aids.  But even the best of hearing aids cannot give a person with hearing loss normal hearing nor can hearing aids restore the users’ auditory processing issues (just like new running shoes don’t make you a marathon runner). Plus hearing aids cannot overcome poor acoustics, distance and background noise that occurs from all around. Yes, new directional microphones can make a difference if the noise is less than six feet away, if the noise is behind the person and if the person’s auditory processing issues are not too involved.  

(Background: In our case, in the United States at least, in the past, few hearing aids had the built in T-coil, unlike the European hearing aid users whose government (national health service) issued hearing aids that had built in T-coils. The focus (for years) has been on small (and hearing aids were made small by removing… you guessed it… the telecoil). Today, the availability of t-coils is on the rise because more hearing aid users are going to the BTE models and it is estimated that over 70% of the devices now have the telecoil built in or in a remote control or streamer.)

RS: What is being done to create greater awareness among the professional population about the advantages of turning on the T-coil?

This education is happening through articles in professional magazines, webinars,  letters on professional list serves and presentations at professional conferences – you can imagine that this was  s-l-o-w going when  only a few people like Dave Myers (from www.hearingloop.org) and I traveled the country to do this. The good news is looping is picking up speed thanks to hundreds of active Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA) members, who, having experienced loops at the last several HLAA annual conventions, are actively working to loop their communities.  

The reason hearing professionals are “in the dark” as you have indicated is because some may not keep up with the professional journals where there has been a lot published on looping in the last several years.  Some professionals  don’t attend professional meetings and  rely on the manufacturers for their continuing education or CEUs. And the hearing aid manufacturers don’t educate the AuDs and Hearing Health Care Providers (HHPs) about the telecoils – they’d rather talk about what is new, sexy such as Bluetooth, wireless microphones, streamers and Made for iPhone technology – so the professionals are not educated about the telecoil, how to program the telecoils and how to teach clients how to benefit from telecoils.

 

An example: Recently I heard of a professional who discouraged a minister of installing a loop claiming that loops don’t equally serve those not equipped with hearing devices and that FM systems are the preferred technology. This person is misinformed: Hearing loops can serve 100 percent of people, by direct connection to the telecoils in hearing aids and cochlear implants as well as through loop receivers and head sets, if need be. Plus, experienced users, as shown in a recent study (2) prefer loops 9 to 1 over FM or Infrared technology.

 

RS: Where does the patient fit in?

 

JS: Audiologists don’t educate clients on the benefits of telecoils, they do not tell them about their right to reasonable access under the ADA, they do not teach them to use assistive technology nor do they demonstrate the telecoil in the office (See 1,2)   Not even the most hard of hearing clients are taught – a disgrace in my opinion. When clients don’t know any better they don’t speak up – they stop attending and unfortunately few join HLAA or other support groups where they could learn from experienced peers. They also report reduced satisfaction with their hearing devices, which is not in the hearing industry’s best interest (see 3 and 4). 

 

RS: What do you think is needed in the future to encourage the public to embrace the T-coil?

 

JS: What is needed is:

 

·        Consumer education via – associations, articles in AARP, senior magazines, newspapers etc. Some of this is happening.  When newspapers pick up stories about loops; we have seen loops appear.

·        Parents of children with hearing aids and CIs need educating.(See 5)  

·        Audio visual engineers need educating and training on how to install hearing loops (as loops can be difficult to install and most engineers face somewhat of a learning curve) and they need to be educated why users prefer loops over FM or infrared technology as shown in a recent study published in the Hearing Review (See 2)

·        Ministers, theater operators, senior centre operators and business owners need to be educated about this technology and how it will greatly improve accessibility and may actually increase business (See 6).

·        Building/construction companies and architects need to be brought up to speed, on how to specify loops including with each building design.

RS: What role does the hearing aid industry need to play?

JS: The hearing aid industry is not really fully supporting this movement. In fact, they recently announced that they are going to work to bring about a new digital wireless standard for hearing aids. That is nice but sounds somewhat disingenuous (what have they done to help with large area assistive listening technology in the past?) and the question is whether this will really happen very soon. Some experts predict it will take 5-10 years (see 7), some even suggest it may never happen. When the hearing industry makes such an announcement, they essentially discourage audiologists or consumers to bring about looping in their communities. After all, if a new wireless standard will happen “soon” – why would anyone bother with the hard wire installation of loops?

I say install loops now  to help today’s hearing device users , and when a new wireless standard does happen, be it 5, 7 or 10 years from now (imagine how long it will take for all current hearing aids to be replaced with instruments that offer this new wireless “chip”)  we will work just as hard  for places that have a loop installed to add a small wireless transmitter for the “new” hearing aids to work side-by-side with the loops for as long as people have telecoils:  make sense?  And if the new wireless standard does not happen – then we haven’t lost valuable time.  Just like my husband says: “I was promised a jetpack in the 1960’s and I still don’t have one.” What if this new digital wireless hearing device standard is all pie-in-the-sky for hearing aid users?

 RS: Do you have any advice for professionals who want to advocate on behalf of the use of hearing loops?

 

I recommend  that AuDs/HHPs start by educating themselves by reading some of the practical articles which  can be found on line (see 8, 9 and 10) and:

 

·        Install a hearing loop in their waiting and/or treatment rooms

·        Demonstrate the loop to each and every client as well as their significant others

·        Offer  clients materials to bring the technology to the attention of their churches (that is where loops can quickly gain momentum) (See http://www.loopwisconsin.com/PDFFiles/Card3.pdf and http://www.hearingloop.org/00TechWorship.pdf)

·        Donate funds towards loops or encourage their clients to make a difference

·        Educate their community on the benefits of loop  technology by public speaking and holding special “Hearing Loop Community Events” (See 11)

·        Reach out to AV engineers, refer them to articles in the professional audio magazines on looping and encourage them to attend training in the IEC Hearing Loop Standard (See 12 )

·        Invite speakers to their professional conferences to present on hearing loop technology

Yes this will take time – but most worthwhile things take time and are rarely easy. But to hear someone say they could hear every word at a wedding, a meeting or a play – makes this work very worthwhile.

(Dr. Juliëtte Sterkens recently retired from her private practice in Oshkosh, WI and travels to educate consumers and hearing care professionals as the HLAA National Hearing Loop Advocate thanks to a grant from the Carol and David Myers Family Foundation. She is the creator of www.loopwisconsin.com. Her efforts have led to well over 400 hearing loops in Wisconsin and many more beyond. She can be reached via jsterkens@hearingloss.org )

References:               

1.      http://www.hearingresearch.org/ross/hearing_aid_use/hearing_aid_services_and_satisfaction_the_consumer_viewpoint.php    

2.      http://www.hearingreview.com/2014/09/consumer-perceptions-impact-inductively-looped-venues-utility-hearing-devices/

3.      http://bhscouncil.org/pdfs/M8_Hearing_aid_satisfisfaction_2010.pdf

4.      https://www.phonakpro.com/content/dam/phonak/b2b/FM_eLibrary/Increasing_hearing_aid_adoption_through_multiple_environmental_listening_utility.pdf

5.      http://www.listeningandspokenlanguage.org/HearingLoops/

6.      http://www.marriotttheatre.com/listening-device  

7.      http://hearinghealthmatters.org/hearingnewswatch/2014/hearing-industry-seeks-new-wireless-standard-hearing-aids-t-coil-advocates-say-fast/

8.      A “How to Guide” for Practitioners at www.loopwisconsin.com/PDFFiles/ADA-invigoratepracticeLR.pdf  and “Telecoil Essentials” at www.loopwisconsin.com/PDFFiles/ADA-getinloopJS.pdf

9.      “Roadmap to a Looped Community” article (with permission from American Academy of Audiology): www.loopwisconsin.com/PDFFiles/SterkensATMayJun.pdf  

10.   “Hearing Loops: The WOW Factor—Hearing Beyond 8 Feet”, an AudiologyOnline webinar at: www.audiologyonline.com/audiology-ceus/course/hearing-loops-wow-factor-beyond-24045

11.    Tools and useful resources created by Academy of Audiology and Hearing Loss Association of America Get in the Loop Joint Task Force at: www.audiology.org/publications-resources/consumer-information/get-hearing-loop and http://www.hearingloss.org/content/get-hearing-loop

http://www.hearingloop.org/SoundCommunicationsArticle_2010.pdf

Ontario Disabilities Act: Are you being served?

By January 1, 2015, businesses and not-for-profit organizations with more than 20 employees will be required by the Ontario government to provide accessible customer service and train their staff on how to serve people with disabilities.

That means that a dance studio must be able to provide information materials in an accessible format like a website, not just on paper, so that clients who have vision loss can read them with screen readers. It also means that a clothing store must either provide fitting rooms to accommodate wheelchairs, or provide an exemption to a no return policy if their wheelchair bound customers cannot try the clothes on beforehand.

It makes sense that, finally, in this modern age, businesses will be required to find better ways to serve the more than 1 in 7 persons with a disability in this province. It also makes sense from a business standpoint considering that ageing Ontarians and people with disabilities represent 40% of total income in Ontario. That's worth $536 billion to the Ontario economy, according to our government.

And yet, people who suffer from hearing loss continue to be the silent minority.

While the new government directive encourages the use of assistive devices -- pieces of equipment that a person with a disability can use to help them in their daily living -- it does not go far enough for people with hearing loss, many of whom have difficulty negotiating the world with hearing aids alone.

Assistive devices such as hearing loops are in use only in a small corner of our society, in churches mainly, but not in businesses, government service centres, hotels, transit or recreation facilities. (There are some exceptions, such as schools which utilize expensive FM systems which use microphones and transmitters to connect teacher and student.)

Nor are they in use in hospitals, conference rooms or many seniors' facilities. Nor are they offered as an "add-on" in new building construction.

And yet, hearing loops provide a cost-effective solution to many of the difficulties faced by people with hearing loss.

What are hearing loops?

Put simply, a hearing loop is a system of wires and microphones that are placed in a room or a designated area. People who wear hearing aids simply turn on a telecoil in their hearing aids or cochlear implants and can hear most of the sounds in the room just as a person with normal hearing does. (They don't work for everybody, but they do provide significant improvement in a person's hearing in a noise environment.)

Hearing loops are enormously popular in Europe where, for more than five decades, they have been installed in museums, taxicabs, even the London underground. And yet, they are rarely used in North America.

Recently, New York City has begun to encourage business to use hearing loops and now they are in all NYC taxi cabs. Even Yankee Stadium is looped!

If they are so effective, why aren't they becoming more available in Canada?

Part of the problem is that there is a general lack of awareness about hearing loops and what they can do to improve the quality of life and service for people with hearing loss. Right now, they are used only in churches and by some consumers who order them over the Internet from companies in Europe. There is also a lack of installers in Canada who are qualified and knowledgeable about microphone placement. Finally, there is a lack of buy-in from audiologists and hearing instruments professionals to promote their use. Some consumers report frustration that audiologists don't even bother to turn on the telecoil, which virtually renders hearing aids useless for use with hearing loops.

What is confounding is that hearing loops are very inexpensive, costing between $3,000 and $5,000 for a large conference room, as an example. Portable loops for use in homes, offices and cars cost less than $1,000 installed!

Those numbers are much cheaper than building wheelchair ramps and new dressing rooms.

And yet, such a simple fix is being ignored instead of being included in a business's accessibility plan.

There are a number of things that need to happen in Ontario in my opinion.

First, consumers must begin to demand these services from governments and businesses. They need to walk into their banks, hospitals, government kiosks and recreational facilities and ask why they are not being properly served. They need to stand up for their rights, under the Disabilities Act. Simply put, they need to start a dialogue.

As for businesses, they need to realize that installing hearing loops is good for business. In the U.S., where the Loop America campaign is in full swing, businesses are encouraged to become more hearing friendly and carry the sticker below, which indicates that their needs are being met.

If businesses, governments, hearing providers and consumers become engage, the change would be nothing short of miraculous.

It means a person with hearing loss could speak to the bank teller, ride public transit and hear the driver or hear their spouse while driving in a car equipped with a portable looping device. And it means that a person with hearing loss could talk to the nurse in emergency and save precious time.

Most importantly, if hearing loops were installed in more places, it would give people with hearing loss back a sense of normal.

If you would like to learn more about hearing loops, visit this site.

Remember, in Ontario, hearing loops are no longer a privilege, they are a right.