We’ve had them for a while, but America finally embraces hearing loops

Posted on October 10, 2013 by


An interesting article came my way today about a New York composer who had tragically lost most of his hearing overnight. Since then, he had been unable to enjoy the Broadway performances he loved to watch and listen to, but it was the installation of a hearing loop in a theatre that made all the difference because he could once again enjoy musicals even with his hearing aids on.

The thing that struck me the most about the article was that until recently, apparently hearing loops just didn’t exist in America. For the uninitiated, hearing loops transmit a signal, like the soundtrack in a cinema, that can be detected by hearing aids, cutting out distracting background noise.

Now, the idea of hearing loops is catching on in America with loop installations finally underway in top Broadway theatres. People are clearly impressed with the quality of the sound from the ‘not so new’ and low cost technology.

Loops have existed in UK public places for years and their use increased with the introduction of the Disability Discrimination Act in 1995. Despite this, there are plenty of examples of loops not actually being switched on by untrained and clueless shop assistants.

So how did America go for so long without catching on? It’s apparently down to some key manufacturers finally embracing the technology causing demand for hearing aids with the ‘T’ setting to soar, and with it, the need for hearing loops.

Like most things that Americans get involved in, they end up doing it bigger and better. According to the article, they plan to loop entire train station concourses (how good is that?) and new Nissan taxis will have loops installed too.

Oh and if you do click on the link, you might notice that the ABC News website videos have subtitles too. Something which is a bit too tricky to achieve for the BBC. Uncle Sam got there first on that one!

By Andy Palmer, Deputy Editor

Andy volunteers for the Peterborough and District Deaf Children’s Society on their website, deaf football coaching and other events as well as working for a hearing loss charity. Contact him on twitter @LC_AndyP (all views expressed are his own).

The Limping Chicken’s supporters provide: sign language interpreting and communications support (Deaf Umbrella), captioning and speech-to-text services (121 Captions), online BSL learning and teaching materials (Signworld), theatre captioning (STAGETEXT), Remote Captioning (Bee Communications), visual theatre with BSL (Krazy Kat) , healthcare support for Deaf people (SignHealth), theatre from a Deaf perspective (Deafinitely Theatre ), specialist lipspeaking support (Lipspeaker UK), Deaf television programmes online (SDHH), language and learning (Sign Solutions), BSL interpreting and communication services (Lexicon Signstream), sign language and Red Dot online video interpreting (Action Deafness Communications) education for Deaf children (Hamilton Lodge School in Brighton), and legal advice for Deaf people (RAD Deaf Law Centre).


Enjoying our eggs? Support The Limping Chicken:



The Limping Chicken is the world's most popular Deaf blog, and is edited by Deaf  journalist,  screenwriter and director Charlie Swinbourne.

Our posts represent the opinions of blog authors, they do not represent the site's views or those of the site's editor. Posting a blog does not imply agreement with a blog's content. Read our disclaimer here and read our privacy policy here.

Find out how to write for us by clicking here, and how to follow us by clicking here.

The site exists thanks to our supporters. Check them out below:

Tagged: ,
Posted in: Andy Palmer