Hearing Loops installed around Sun City Center to help individuals with hearing loss

Aug. 20, 2012 - PRLog -- HEARING LOOPS INSTALLED AROUND SUN CITY CENTER TO HELP INDIVIDUALS WITH HEARING LOSS IMPROVE UNDERSTANDING AND CLARITY IN MEETINGS AND WORSHIP SERVICES.

Hearing Loops help hearing aid and cochlear implant users hear in meetings by greatly improving clarity of speech and reducing background noise. Hearing Loops allow those with hearing loss to continue to wear their hearing aids or cochlear implants rather than removing them as is necessary with traditional FM or Infrared Systems (IR).

Sun City Center, August 20, 2012 – Several Hearing Loop systems have been installed throughout Sun City Center in recent weeks. The most recent locations are Beth Israel - The Jewish Congregation of Sun City Center, Freedom Plaza, and SCC Community Hall and Florida Room. A Hearing Loop transmits the sound from a microphone directly into a hearing aid or cochlear implant via a T-coil or Telecoil. T-coils are traditionally used as the telephone setting in a hearing aid or cochlear implant and most hearing devices have them. The T-coil setting also turns off the hearing instrument’s external microphones which blocks out any background noise present in the room. Background noise can dramatically decrease speech intelligibility.

A major advantage of a Hearing Loop over IR or FM systems that are typically found in houses of worship, meeting rooms, and theaters, is it allows the individual with a hearing loss to continue to wear their hearing devices. Hearing aids and cochlear implants have a prescriptive setting specific to their individual hearing loss. FM and IR system requires the user to remove their personal hearing devices and to put on headphones. It is much like substituting prescriptive eye glasses for $5 reading glasses purchased at the counter of a drug store.

People who utilized the Loop for the first time have been quoted as saying, “I could finally understand what the speech was about”, and “This is the best I have heard in many years.”

The installations of the Loops were provided by Complete Hearing Solutions of St. Petersburg. For more information about Loops, to schedule a presentation, or to receive a free estimate, visit the website at www.CompleteHearingSolutions.org, contact Jim at 727-260-3488, or email at Jim@CompleteHearingSolutions.org.