Tag Archives: accessibility

So, Where’s the Loop? Help People Find Your Hearing Loops

Loop Minnesota Posted on by

Hearing Loops Help Everybody

Many businesses and venues have installed assistive listening hearing loops to accommodate those with hearing loss. However, these loops remain all too often unused because people do not know how or where to find them.

Do not make hearing loops a secret. Advertise them on social media and in ads. Tell people where they are. It is not only the right thing to do but it is also a wise business move. Become the hearing-friendly store or venue in your area and beyond. Don’t exclude the roughly 20% of adults with hearing loss. They could become potential clients, members, or sponsors.

There are 4 major issues that work against locating loops:

  • Once installed and certified according to IEC standards, the hearing loop is not reported to sites that list loops, such as Loop Locator, LoopFinder, Google Maps or the local loop advocacy sites, such Loop Minnesota in our State. But remember, these sites can only list what is reported to them. Also, many business and venue owners are unaware that they can list their assistive hearing loops under the “Accessibility” details on Google Maps.

 

  • There is no signage. Either none was ever posted at the looped location, or it might have fallen off. And so, although the loop is present, nobody knows. Check on the signage! See pictures above.

 

  • Lack of promotion. Businesses and venues do not mention listening assistance such as hearing loops on their websites or in their advertising materials.

 

  • Loop assistance is never mentioned to audiences or customers. Remind people before presentations, meetings, or worship services that a hearing loop is in place. Also, tell those who do not have telecoils in their hearing devices – as well as those who simply want to hear better in a large and noisy place – where they can get a loop receiver or listener.

 

If you know of hearing loops that are not advertised, not listed on Google Maps or that do not work properly, inform the business or venue owners. Or, if you do not want to do that, let us know at Loop Minnesota and we will contact them.

In the end…

Loops are meant to be used – not to be ignored or hidden. Be found. Make your hearing loops a standing feature of any promotional materials. After all, this is a matter of equitable access to communication so that all are included and nobody is left out. So, where’s that loop? Tell us. We all want and need to know.

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Join us as a member at loopminnesota.org. Contact us! Help us get Minnesotans in the hearing loop. Together we can do it!

Also, visit my website where I write blogs on all sorts of topics related to hearing and hearing loss  https://hearing-loss-talk.com/

Grocery Store Hearing Loops!

Loop Minnesota Posted on by

Contactainc.com: Grocery Outlet, Springfield, OR

Is my dream of Loops for Daily Living becoming a reality? Things are looking up!

Grocery store hearing loops are becoming increasingly popular across the United States. Even a single hearing-loop-enabled check-out counter is a valuable business investment. To customers with hearing loss, it means “Access.” It tells them that they too are recognized and appreciated.

Announce the presence of active, certified loops on your website! Tell Google Maps. Edit your organization/business “Accessibility” attributes to include Assistive Hearing Loop. How to edit or add: https://t.co/cxtvhWqh1E

In Springfield, Oregon, all checkout counters of the Grocery Outlet store now have hearing loops! Thanks to owners Tracy and Tom Hogan, customers can use the telecoils in their hearing aids and cochlear implants to help them understand speech so much better in the background noise of the store.

Checkout counters can be daunting. So many questions! Found everything OK? Do you want your receipt? Cash or credit? Got any coupons? All I usually hear is something like WhoaWhoa.  While trying to guess at body language, I run my credit card through the reader. Did they ask for my email to send me stuff? Very frustrating!

Tracy Hogan shares that she has bilateral hearing loss and so she can relate to the struggle of trying to hear in a sound-confused environment. Listen to her as she explains how the loop works in her store. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jI0vhf9HjqA

Then, along the East Coast Wegmans Food Markets, a company with over 100 stores across 7 States also has installed hearing loops  in their stores.

And of course, there are more grocery stores that have also been in the news for making the shopping experience for the hard-of-hearing easier with hearing loops. Check your local store. Encourage the owner/franchisee to consider a checkout loop.

The important thing for us to remember is that hearing loops are not dead, retro or antiquated. On the contrary, their popularity is on the rise. The travel industry is no longer the only major industry that recognizes the importance of communication access with loops.

As hearing loops spread in the communities, are you ready to use them? Do you recognize the blue-and-white sign with the T in the right-hand corner?  Do you have telecoils in your hearing aids? If so, are they activated? Do you know how to use them? There is no time like the present to ask your audiologist/hearing specialist for details.

In the end, hearing loops do not appear miraculously. For loops to happen we have to learn about them, ask for them and advocate for them. That’s what we do at Loop Minnesota. Join us!

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Also visit my website https://hearing-loss-talk.com/ where I post blogs on all sorts of issues concerning hearing loss.