TravelAbility Insider

The Intersection of Travel and Disability

Hearing

More Hearing Loops Coming to an Airport Near You

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an airport looking at arrival departure screens in waiting areas

A new accessibility policy promulgated by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey will require the installation of hearing loops at all new and renovated airport terminals, as well as bus, train, and ferry stations.

Hearing loops are copper wires that transmit audio as electromagnetic signals, which are picked up by the telecoils or t-coils found in most hearing aids and cochlear implants. Using this technology, deaf and hard-of-hearing people can gain improved audio quality and speech recognition, ensuring they have access to import communications, including gate changes and boarding announcements in the airport environment.

Runway Girl Network reports that there are now 18 airports in the United States with some degree of hearing loop technology, including at the Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix.

In speaking to the new requirements, the Port Authority said that “Port Authority facilities will even better serve the diverse population of people with disabilities who rely on our services.”

OUR TAKE: Hearing loop technology dramatically improves the travel experience of many deaf and hard-of-hearing people, and we look forward to the installation of this feature in many more airports across the United States.

To read more about hearing loops and their availability in U.S. airports, see the article from Runway Girl Network.

Hearing Loops Explained

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As organizations looks to improve accessibility for disabled people, one option that is often overlooked is the installation of a hearing loop. Audio induction loop systems, more commonly referred to as hearing loops, are an assistive listening technology that broadcasts sound directly to hearing aids and cochlear implants through an invisible baseband audio frequency current. A loop of cable placed around the designated area sets the boundary for the accessible sound.

The following YouTube video, produced by the City of Eugene, Oregon’s Cultural Services division, explains how hearing loops have contributed to an improvement in accessibility at the John G. Shedd Institute for the Arts.

In the video, Alito Alessi, co-founder of DanceAbility International, says that “Hearing loops to hearing aids are like a ramp to a wheelchair – both provide total accessibility to the person either in the chair or with the loop and the hearing aids.”

Indeed, hearing loops are an accessibility feature that can dramatically improve the experiences of deaf and hard of hearing people, whether installed in a performance theater or in a restaurant or bar.

Blind Ambition: Helen Keller Joins Mattel’s Inspiring Women Line

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Helen Keller Barbie doll.

Popular children’s toy brand Mattel recently announced a new addition to its Inspiring Women line of Barbie brand dolls: Helen Keller.

The company says Helen Keller is an inspiring role model for children, and her lifetime achievements make her worthy of being honored alongside the other women who are memorialized in the Inspiring Women line of dolls. Those women include Dr. Maya Angelou, Susan B. Anthony, Amelia Earhart, Ella Fitzgerald, Katherine Johnson, Freda Kahlo, Billie Jean King, Florence Nightingale, Rosa Parks, Eleanor Roosevelt and Sally Ride.

Mattel partnered with the National Federation of the Blind to ensure accuracy and accessibility for the blind and low vision community.

To read more about the new Helen Keller Barbie doll, read this article on the ArkLaTex homepage.

AI-Powered Hearing Aid Raises $35 million by Eliminating Background Noise

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Whisper hearing aid system.

The Whisper Hearing System is a new hearing aid that relies on AI to adjust sound in real-time for the wearer’s environment.

Whisper’s built-in AI conducts sound processing to determine what is speech and what is background noise, allowing the hearing aid to present the sounds that are most important to the listener and in a clearer format.

Andrew Song, founder of the company, said that the large number of people who own, but do not use their hearing aids, revealed something about the quality of the products that currently exist.

To learn more about the start-up behind the Whisper Hearing System, click here.

Now You Can See What I’m Talking About, Right? Inclusivity!

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two women in t shirts in back of a sewing machine wearing masks they made with clear plastic near the mouth

These masks were made for “For anyone who uses speech reading, lip reading, anybody like that,” Ashley Lawrence a senior studying education for the deaf and hard of hearing said in a Lex18 news report. “Also these are for people who are profoundly deaf who use ASL as their primary mode of communication. She and her mom are now making variations for people with hearing aids and over-the-ear fit concerns. 

OUR TAKE: There are so many ways to be accessible and so much time. Making good use of your ‘pause’ can actually be a pleasure.