Tall ceilings, large spaces, religious ornamentations, and intricate architectural geometries are features commonly found in many houses of worship like churches and synagogues. Combined, these characteristics result in acoustically imperfect environments that make audibility challenging for many. For congregants who are deaf or hard-of-hearing, trying to discern what’s being communicated during services within these houses of worship can be exponentially more difficult. As such, it is important for houses of worship to implement and enhance their audio accessibility to create a welcoming environment for all. This will help parishioners who are in need of hearing solutions stay connected and inspired during religious services.
Facts & Figures About Hearing Impairment and Assistive Listening Devices for Houses of Worship
Before diving into solutions that houses of worship can deploy to improve audio accessibility for deaf or hard-of-hearing people, let’s look at some relevant data:
According to statistics provided by the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders:
- 2 to 3 out of every 1,000 children in the United States are born with a detectable level of hearing loss in one or both ears.
- Approximately 15% of the U.S. population aged 18 and over, totaling roughly 37.5 million people, reports some level of hearing impairment as well.
- Roughly 28.8 million U.S. adults could benefit from using hearing aids.
According to the White House, provisions within President Biden’s proposed Build Back Better Act scheduled to take effect in 2023 would see an investment of $35 Billion from the US government in efforts to expand Medicare coverage to include hearing aids and services.
Although houses of worship are exempt from being required to provide assistive listening devices to those in need as outlined within the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), California and Texas are notable exceptions. State regulations for both California and Texas mandate that houses of worship provide assistive listening systems to their congregants.
Hearing Aids Alone Aren’t Enough
Although many congregants who are deaf or hard of hearing may already have hearing aids, they alone are often not sufficient. While hearing solutions and hearing aids are generally helpful, many tend to amplify all sound in the immediate vicinity. Since there can be significant amounts of background noise within many houses of worship, congregants can’t always rely on their hearing aids. By implementing modern hearing assistive solutions, houses of worship can create better listening experiences for their congregants afflicted with hearing loss.
Modern Assistive Hearing Solutions for Modern Houses of Worship
FM Radio-Based Solution
FM radio-based assistive listening solutions have been around for some time. A house of worship’s main mixer broadcast audio signals via an FM radio transmitter. Congregants with hearing impairments can tune in to the broadcast using radio receivers and headphones provided by their house of worship.
Although a tried-and-true solution, FM radio-based assistive listening systems aren’t without drawbacks. FM signals are prone to interference from other electronic equipment nearby. Additionally, their audio quality often leaves much to be desired by modern standards.
Houses of worship may not always have enough radio receivers available in the event that many hearing-impaired congregants are in attendance. Someone will also need to ensure that these radio receivers have a full charge or have fresh batteries prior to each service. Furthermore, you will need to sanitize after each use, a particularly important point in the age of COVID.
Wi-Fi or Hearing Loop-Based Solutions
The latest Wi-Fi or Hearing Loop-based assistive listening systems not only provide better audio fidelity but offer added sanitary benefits as well. With Wi-Fi-based assistive listening systems, congregants in attendance can tune into the religious service via an app from their own smartphones or tablets.
In addition to being much more cost effective, Wi-Fi-based assistive listening solutions are also easier to deploy and integrate seamlessly into Wi-Fi networks already in place. Unlike older radio-based solutions that have poor audio quality and are prone to signal interference, newer Wi-Fi-based solutions offer a much better listening experience for congregants with hearing impairments. Congregants also can easily adjust the volume of the religious broadcast to their liking from the palm of their hands.
Hearing Loop based assistive listening systems (sometimes referred to as induction loop systems or “telecoil”) are an alternative to Wi-Fi solutions with similar benefits. Instead of broadcasting from a house of worship’s Wi-Fi network, hearing loop systems transmit audio signals via a magnetic field. Congregants with telecoil-equipped hearing aids will automatically pick up the magnetic signal as they enter a hearing loop equipped house of worship. It doesn’t require additional receivers, which means less equipment to manage compared to older radio-based solutions. Similar to Wi-Fi-based systems, congregants can adjust the volume of the religious broadcast by simply adjusting the sensitivity on their hearing aids.
Learn more about assistive hearing and listening solutions by reaching out to Adorama Business Solutions.
