- About a decade back I was writing embedded firmware for a telephone for the hard of hearing. We ran compliance tests to ensure the handset was compatible with T-coils. In the early days of say Bell 500 and Bell 2500 sets, the coil in the handset speaker was big, and naturally emitted enough for hearing aids to pick up. As speakers shrank, the size of the coils dropped, it takes active design analysis to make a handset that will work. IIRC, ANSI has a standard for this compliance, this link leads me to believe it was updated in 2019: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8906258
- Hearing aids are at a frustrating crossroads at the moment, IMO. In my experience, a lot of the recent hearing aids don't seem to support induction loops. It often seems to be a choice between that or Bluetooth... and Auracast isn't ready yet.
I've had Phonak bilateral hearing aids for 5 years, and Starkey unilateral for ~5 years before that. None of those have supported induction loops.
- I see them less and less.
Recently an acquaintance got hearing aids and when asked about the T functionality (to listen to induction loops) they didn't even know about it.
- You can use a 9V battery powered amplifier with a loop around your neck to make a tiny permanent magnet placed in your ear canal vibrate against your ear drum.
It doesn't generate hi-fi sound, but speech is remarkably clear. Great for magic tricks. Or cheating at exams I suppose.
- I appreciated them in earlier hearing aids. Back when the programming of them was still average (voice focus tech was still infancy) they were a godsend. When I was in primary school and HA tech was super average, I had a mini version where a teacher would wear a mic and I had a receiver that went directly to my hearing aids. It was amazing being able to hear the teacher clearly over even average background noise. As mentioned some have gone with BT over induction loops which I can understand. However, on my Phonak, they are super disappointing range wise. As an aside the integrated mic in my Phonak is practically useless. Very disappointing given their cost of nearly $10k AUD.
- Amateurs in USSR 50 years ago made wireless and powerless headphones, which use wire lay on perimeter of room to transfer sound and power.
In headphones there is tiny coil.
It really work and very reliable, but result coil (size of room) have very large reactive resistance, so it is nearly impossible to transfer even high frequencies, only low (bass) and medium, so it workable for speech but music is heavily distorted.
by onewheeltom
0 subcomment
- I use a neck loop plugged into a hearing assist receiver with my hearing aids set to Telecoil. This eliminates having to install a Telecoil in the venue, but they must have a hearing assist system. My experience at church services is that sound is substantially better than using the hearing aids by themselves.
- There is a reason most in the US are going to using a translation wireless system. Channel one is English, channel eight is Spanish (8-64 channels are available depending on the system you buy). Unlicensed FM transmitters also work well for this. You need to make sure you don't conflict with other nearby users, but that generally is easy (and if there is a possibility you should have an agreement to have your "Christmas pageant" on different days so you can borrow each others receivers for the busy time thus saving both of you money).
Auracast looks like the future of this, so make sure anything new you get supports that. Those so few systems support it don't expect much of it - you should demand this to ensure the manufactures know there is demand, long term it is better for everyone to use one standard.
- A 20 year old friend recently had a hearing aid fitted. Despite the aid, audio quality remains crappy in many of the places we gather.
Curious around the technology and value of Audio Induction Loops.
Would love to hear anyone’s experiences, insights and thoughts on the tech.
One of those niche technologies that you don’t use, unless you do use it.
- Wow the granddad of the chemistry professor of the Periodic Videos[0] youtube channel invented this? wild.
0: https://youtube.com/@periodicvideos
by ErroneousBosh
1 subcomments
- They are a pain in the arse to set up properly and you really need a (edit: very patient, thank you for putting up with all my sine tones, Tommy) deaf person with a suitable hearing aid to help you set it up. If the loop is the wrong length and has the wrong impedance you'll never get the amp balanced up properly, and you can't just take the installer's word for it.
Beyond that I have very little experience of them.
- From this article, it seems one can be made using only the right coil of wire and an ordinary audio amplifier:
https://spectrum.ieee.org/a-diy-audio-induction-loop-for-the...
- IIRC a lot of NYC Taxis have them? (or at least, a mark on the side saying "Induction Loop")
by burnt-resistor
0 subcomment
- This is a potential public good category that could be (mostly) provided at-cost or fixed profit by a multi-country non-profit consortia. Hearing aids and assistive devices are too damn expensive and proprietary, way too expensive for most poor, disabled, and elderly people worldwide.
Edit: I honestly don't know how I will function when I get older because I'm likely to be alone and blind from ARMD.
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