Domestic Hearing Loops

So, what is a personal hearing loop?

A personal loop is a loop used by an individual to hear conversations or other sounds either in the home, work place, school or other social venue where a hearing system is not installed.

A hearing loop uses a magnetic field created from a loop of wire that transmits a signal to the hearing aid (digital or analogue.) The hearing aid user needs to switch their hearing aids to the T setting to pick up sound transmitted by the loop.

Fixed Loops

In a fixed loop the sound is transmitted directly to your hearing aids via a loop pad that you sit on or a room loop, a wire fitted around the room and connected to an amplifier.

The amplifier is then connected to a sound source directly via a scart or audio lead, alternatively microphones can be used to pick up sound from these sources or conversations.

Portable Systems

Alternatively you may prefer to have a more personal and portable solution such as the Phonak Roger System

These portable systems use radio signals to transmit sound to a receiver, this sound is then converted and transmitted via a neck loop (which is a loop of wire that goes around the neck) or by direct connection (Audio Shoes) on the hearing aid.

However non hearing aid users who require that little bit more sound clarity can use these systems through the use of either headphones or earphones.

The Solution

The choice of solution is wide and varied and as technology improves, the number of products on the market increases.