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assistive listening devices (ALDs) for people with hearing loss

For general information about ALDs, this is the place to be! If you're interested in information about specific devices or where to buy one, please visit the ALD portion of our Resource Directory.

What is an assistive listening device?

What Kinds of ALDs Are There?

Who can benefit from an assistive listening device?

Where can I buy an assistive listening device?

Some people also include alerting devices in the ALD category. These are things like visual smoke alarms, alarm clocks, doorbells, etc. Click here if you're interested in one of those.

June 2002 - New to Assistive Listening Devices? Or maybe you know someone who could use a good introduction to the various devices on the market. Here's a great primer from the League for the Hard of Hearing. Note that they include alerting devices in their definition of ALDs.

July 2002 Hearing Assistive Technology Research

April 2003 - Did you know that many tourist attractions offer some sort of ALD for people with hearing loss? Here's a report by full-time RVer Jan Christensen.

July 2003 - Here's Cheryl Heppner's report covering an SHHH Convention workshop on how to overcome noise, reverberation, and distance by using directional microphones and ALDs.

December 2003 - Want to know how you can use ALDs to hear better in the presence of background noise? Here's Neil Bauman to tell you all about it!

August 2006 - Stethoscope Doubles as Emergency ALD

August 2006 - FM Made Friendly

October 2006 - IR Listening Systems

January 2007 - Recycle Your Assistive Technologies

January 2007 - Able Talker Personal Communicator

April 2007 - Concert Listening Technology for Deaf and Hard of Hearing

June 2007 - ALDs: It’s Not Just About the Hearing Aid

June 2007 - Some Religious Organizations Consider Assistive Technology

September 2007 - Hearing Assistance Technology: Integrating HATs into Clinical Practice

December 2007 - ALD Guide Available Free!

January 2008 - Assistive Listening Systems - Ensuring the audio experience for all

January 2008 - Comfort Audio Opens Doors in US

February 2008 - Requirements for Assistive Listening Systems in Conference Facilities

February 2008 - Choosing the ALD that's right for you!

March 2008 - House technology helps hearing-impaired lawmaker

May 2008 - Neckloops 101

June 2008 - Stylish Bracelet Serves as Ears for People with Hearing Loss

June 2008 - Bluetooth and You - everything you wanted to know about how Bluetooth can help you communicate!

January 2010 - Is your next hearing aid an iPhone or iPod?

January 2010 - Personal FM Systems for Adults

February 2010 - Check your wireless microphone!

February 2010 - A Survey of Awareness of ALDs and Hearing Difficulty in Places of Worship

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What is an assistive listening device?

Assistive listening devices (ALDs) include a large variety of devices designed to improve audibility in specific listening situations. Some are designed to be used with hearing aids or cochlear implants (CIs), while others are designed to be used alone. Many that are used in conjunction with hearing aids require a telecoil (T-switch).

While there are a bewildering variety of microphones, pickups, headphones, earphones, etc., that comprise assistive listening devices, they all have the same goal: to emphasize the ONE signal that you are interested in. That signal might be a faraway voice (e.g., a lecturer in an auditorium), or a relatively near signal that gets lost in other noise (e.g., listening to TV while others are talking nearby, or trying to converse in a restaurant).

Assistive listening devices can usually amplify a signal, but their primary purpose isn't to make a signal louder. Rather, they place a pickup (microphone) close to the sound source, so that it becomes louder compared to the other sounds in the environment. Assistive listening devices improve your ability to hear because they make the desired sound stand out from the background noise.

What Kinds of ALDs Are There?

There are two basic types of assistive listening devices; those intended for personal use and those intended for group use.

Who can benefit from an assistive listening device?

Anyone with some amount of residual hearing can benefit from an assistive listening device. A person who is able to converse one-on-one in a quiet room without lipreading would get a lot of benefit from assistive listening devices, because a properly used ALD can duplicate that quality of sound. People with less residual hearing will benefit from the use of an assistive listening device, because the device will provide extra lipreading clues.

Where can I buy an assistive listening device?

For additional information, or to purchase an assistive listening device, see:

bulletshopping for an assistive listening device
bulletgeneral stores for people with hearing loss

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Stethoscope Doubles as Emergency ALD

 

August 2006

 

This month's ACEP News has a "Tricks of the Trade" article on "The Multipurpose Stethoscope" that details some clever modifications to this time-honored tool of physicians, including the following:

 

Occasionally, hearing-impaired patients arrive in the emergency department without their hearing aid, making history-taking a challenge for the practitioner... The stethoscope works both ways. The physician can speak into the stethoscope's diaphragm piece, while the patient listens through the stethoscope's earpieces. This technique provides the patient with a temporary hearing aid while in the emergency department, minimizing the risk of potential miscommunication.

 

We've also seen the bell of the stethoscope used as a reflex hammer, a Child Distracter, and occasionally, as a device for detecting heart sounds.

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IR Listening Systems

October 2006

For infrared (IR) listening systems, all market indicators point skyward. Whether for assistive listening or language translation applications, sales prospects simply couldn't be rosier. The reasons? First, with populations aging, more people are developing hearing  impairments. In addition, with new legislation in some jurisdictions requiring audio description for the visually impaired, a single-channel system will no longer suffice. A third factor: Immigration patterns are creating more multilingual communities, which, in turn, boosts the need for second- (or even third-) language translations. Finally, post-9/11 security consciousness has prompted a move to keep all government proceedings strictly contained within four opaque walls.  Full Story

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ALDs: It’s Not Just About the Hearing Aid

June 2007

Assistive listening devices (ALDs) often provide a positive impact on people's lives, while also introducing them to the value of hearing care products or completing a hearing care package that improves the patient experience and increases satisfaction. "A model that incorporates communication technology besides just the hearing aid, and that considers a patient's lifestyle, can provide a complete package of solutions," says Michele Ahlman, president of ClearSounds® Communications, Burr Ridge, Ill.   Today, more than ever before, there are more ALDs available to meet users' specific needs and situations. "Hearing loss is often like a fingerprint," Ahlman says. As such, each user needs to find the product that works best for him or her—the one that fills their specific hearing gaps.  Full Story

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Hearing Assistance Technology: Integrating HATs into Clinical Practice

September 2007

Approximately 30 million people in the United States report having hearing difficulty (NIDCD, 2007), representing 10% of the current population of the United States (Kochkin, 1999). While amplification in the form of hearing instruments represents a viable option to individuals with hearing loss, a significant percentage of the population postpones using hearing instruments. Historically, the hearing instrument market penetration has been low, yielding approximately 22% (Kochkin, 2001). While the market penetration has remained relatively flat, first-time hearing-instrument-user purchase trends have significantly declined over the past several decades. For example, during the 1980s, 60% of the hearing instrument market was comprised of first-time buyers, whereas data in 2001 shows that the percentage of first-time buyers fell to 45% (Strom, 2002). Even with relatively flat market penetration, if first-time hearing instrument buyers comprise a smaller percentage of the current market as compared to the recent past, fewer consumers are actually pursing hearing instruments as an option for assistive technology . One approach to expanding the hearing instrument market involves offering communication solutions in the form of Hearing Assistance Technology (HAT). The purpose of this article is to address some of the barriers to HAT integration, to review current HAT dispensing trends, and to offer practice solutions on how to generate product awareness for a minimal investment of time and money 

Full Story

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ALD Guide Available Free!

December 2007

Demystifying Hearing Assistance Technology: A Guide For Service Providers and Consumers.

Are you looking for information on hearing loss and assistive technology delivered in a user-friendly format? Written by an experienced trainer on the use of hearing assistance technology and two audiologists (one of whom is a cochlear implant user himself), this book provides information on hearing loss; hearing aid and hearing testing terminology; and the range of assistive technology for face-to-face communication, telecommunication, and environmental alerts. An extensive resource section is included. The authors' goal is to help readers understand the functional impact of hearing loss and the range of communication access options that are available.

The book is available in pdf format from the PEPNet Dissemination Center at http://pdc.pepnet.org and click on Downloads (item # 1221). It is also available from the author for a limited time. Email davisc@wou.edu to request a free copy (be sure to include your mailing address). This product was developed with funds from the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.

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Assistive Listening Systems - Ensuring the audio experience for all

January 2008

Whenever assistive listening systems (ALS) are mentioned in the media, there is usually some reference to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 (see the sidebar "Systems Contractors and the ADA.") The ADA was passed to ensure equal access to public places where goods and services are offered, and its scope covers a variety of disabilities, including people with hearing loss. At that time, the majority of public users for ALS were in the motion picture and live theater markets, and in such places, the ADA laws are designed to work well. Interestingly, the house of worship market may have felt a greater impact from the use of ALS products, despite the fact that the ADA laws do not implicitly require the use of such equipment, as houses of worship are considered private spaces. The benefits of these systems are fairly obvious, and it's rather simple for contractors to add ALS in many different venues; however, ALS technology is often left out of the bid specification during the design process. These systems are not at all complex and are generally easy to install, yet more attention should be paid to ALS and the benefits they provide. The additional income from the installation and sale of ALS-related gear offers another excellent reason for contractors to keep these in mind for their next install.  Full Story

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Choosing the ALD that's right for you!

February 2008

We're fortunate to have a rapidly expanding inventory of assistive listening devices (ALDs) to help us hear in a variety of situations. But the downside of all this equipment is that it's becoming more difficult to select the best device(s) for a particular individual. Here's a tool that guides a person to the appropriate choice based on their use of CIs, hearing aids, or nothing, and some of the characteristics of the devices they wear. This tool was developed for the 2008 Audiology NOW conference, but is really useful for anyone struggling with ALD choices.

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Stylish Bracelet Serves as Ears for People with Hearing Loss

June 2008

The "Vibering" consist of two rings and a wristwatch. The two rings are worn on both hands. They are designed to act as the ears, by listening for sounds coming from behind, while at the same time determining the distance and position, and vibrate according to the source. While the wristwatch collect and identifies the sound wave and presents the info to the user, the watch surprisingly is also programmed to listen for specific phrases such as "excuse me", when the user's name is being called, and most importantly, a car's horn. It certainly helps the deaf to move around more easily and normally. By the way, the bracelets look stylish, too. Nobody would think it was a device for the deaf. However, the release date and price are yet to be known.   Full Story

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Check your wireless microphone!

February 2010

Under a new FCC rule, anyone who uses a wireless microphone that operates in  the 700 MHz Band must stop operating their wireless microphone no later than  June 12, 2010.  All users of 700 MHz Band wireless microphones (and similar  devices) - including theaters, churches, schools, conference centers, theme  parks, and musicians -- will need to retune (where possible) or replace  their wireless microphone equipment with other microphone devices no later  than June 12, 2010. This action helps complete an important component of the  DTV Transition by clearing the 700 MHz band to enable the rollout of  communications services for public safety and the deployment of next  generation 4G wireless devices for consumers. For further information, please visit the website

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A Survey of Awareness of ALDs and Hearing Difficulty in Places of Worship

February 2010

Large halls with soaring spaces help create a sense of the divine in places of worship. While acoustic reflections, scattering, and long reverberation times may benefit liturgical music, these features also pose significant challenges for listeners with hearing impairments. Primary among these challenges are difficulty understanding the speech of worship leaders and other congregants, hearing the music and lyrics clearly, and remaining connected to the worship experience. Church is one of the most commonly identified situations of concern for persons with hearing loss.1 Thus, places of worship would seem to be amenable environments to employ assistive listening devices (ALDs).  Full Story