Re: [HLAAGITHL] HLAA Not Promoting Telecoil & Hearing Loops #advocacy #githl-toolkit #hearingloop
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Carol - you're absolutely right. Since March of 2012 any new or substantially upgraded PA system in a qualifying place of assembly is required under the ADA to have an assistive listening system - and it must be hearing aid compatible. That means it must be a hearing loop or it must have neckloops for 25% of the FM or IR or WiFi receivers. There must also be adequate signage to alert people to its presence. That being said, it's doubtful that many communities of any size are without some venue or venues that offer telecoil connectivity.
Though churches are not covered by the ADA mandate, they are the largest group of venues using either loops or neckloops for communication access. The hearing care providers are either poorly informed or disingenuous when they offer lack of loop availability as an excuse for not counseling clients on the technology. This also does not take into account the mobility of a large segment of the hard of hearing public that travels and has opportunities elsewhere in this country and abroad to connect to a hearing loop.
In my 7 years of service on the board that regulates hearing care providers in New Mexico I found that hearing aid dispensers were less supportive of the technology than audiologists but that both were opposed to being told they had to provide telecoils counseling. After the licensing board twice voted down a counseling requirement I had to take the matter to the state legislature to get such a mandate successfully enacted. We had support from AARP, various state agencies that deal with the HoH, church leaders, the NAD and others that convinced legislators who had no dog in this fight that they should support the needs of the hard of hearing over the objections from those who supposedly serve their needs.
As for loaner ALS receivers, they are likely always offered with earphones but very probably there are neckloops also available if requested.
If we, the hard of hearing public, want this technology we need to stand up and speak out - too few hearing care providers are going to do so.
Stephen O. Frazier, Hearing Loss Support Specialist
 Please support the
GET IN THE HEARING LOOP
campaign of the
Hearing Loss Association of America
---------- Original Message ---------- From: "Carol in Boston" <carolagate34@...> To: HLAATech@... Cc: HLAAGITHL@..., HLAA Tech <HLAATech@groups.io>, HLAAGITHL@groups.io Subject: Re: [HLAATech] [HLAAGITHL] HLAA Not Promoting Telecoil & Hearing Loops #Advocacy #GITHL-Toolkit #hearingloop Date: Mon, 5 Sep 2022 14:31:20 -0400 Too often audiologists use the chicken and egg argument, that there are too few places that are looped. But what they keep missing is that it’s not necessarily looped rooms that are the reason for telecoils. Public venues are supposed to at least have assistive listening devices. (Whether they are actually available and working is another matter.) ALDs usually come with headphones, sometimes earbuds, and less often neck loops. Headphones generally don’t work well with hearing aids and earbuds not at all. Since many places don’t have neck loops, it’s simple enough to bring your own. I’ve yet to hear of an audiologist who advocates neck loops as a reason to have telecoils. Carol Agate
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