TravelAbility Insider

The Intersection of Travel and Disability

Hearing

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.  

Why Sundance 2020 Deserves A Standing Ovation for Accessibility

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sign that says Sundance Film Festival in white neon lights
Sundance upgrades their accessibility this year.

The Sundance Film Festival is making changes to improve accessibility for attendees with disabilities. The Ruderman Family Foundation on Wednesday announced a partnership with the Sundance Institute to provide more resources for attendees with disabilities and to include a greater amount of programming featuring people with disabilities, including an opening-weekend film, according to Hollywood Reporter.

Our take: Extending accessibility using assisted listening devices, among other resources, is becoming a selling point for attractions hoping to win over the one in five people in this country who have a disability. Successful initiatives happen when CVBs, attractions and local disability organizations work cooperatively to go beyond compliance. If you accessible-ize it, they will come. At Sundance, theaters have CC, AD and ALD devices that can be requested from theater staff at the start of an event and retrieved by them afterward. All theaters are additionally wheelchair-accessible and offer seating for attendees with disabilities and companions

 

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