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Here’s a taste of what you can expect from the webinar series:

• June 28th, 9:00am EST: Join an expert session with a focus on hearing loop design using the Contacta 3D loop visualizer. Learn about fault finding in ALS and gain expert insights in a large area loop masterclass.
• Presenters include James Jardine, Technical Training Manager and Ran Meyrav, Head of New Business Development at Contacta
• Throughout July to October: Engineers can participate in sessions covering topics such as specifying and installing RF systems, ensuring comprehensive knowledge and practical guidance. The program focuses on an in-depth look at the window intercom masterclass.

Registration for these webinars is free, and all sessions will take place at 9:00am EST. Even if you cannot attend live, recordings with captions will be available for later viewing.

Don’t miss out on this valuable opportunity to expand your understanding of assistive listening technologies with Contacta. Mark your calendars and register today to secure your place in these informative sessions.

1. Friday, June 7^th– Assistive Listening Technologies in the 21st Century
2. Friday, June 28^th– Large Area Loop Masterclass
3. Friday, July 12^th– Loop Design with Contacta 3D Visualizer
4. Friday, July 26^th –Contacta V-Pro Masterclass
5. Friday, August 9th –Hearing Loop Fault Finding
6. Friday, August 30th –Integrated Hearing Loop Systems
7. Friday, September 20th –Hearing Loop Integration in Transport
8. Friday, October 4th –New Contacta RF System Masterclass
9. Friday, October 18th –Window Intercom Systems Masterclass

Register now to take part.

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The theater in the museum offers an immersive experience into the universe, and recently added a new hearing loop system, which provides an effective way to broadcast information to visitors who are hard of hearing.

Along with offering a variety of shows about space and the atomic world, the planetarium also features “Dark Side: The Light Show,” set to the Pink Floyd’s “The Dark of the Moon” at 4 p.m. every Saturday and Sunday.

Beyond the regular showings, the Grand Rapids Amateur Astronomical Association also hosts events with the planetarium. The two organizations also partnered for public observation nights that started in April and run through early November at the James C. Veen Observatory, 3308 Kissing Rock Ave. in Lowell Township.

Dates align with optimum moon phases and are posted on GRAAA.org but could be canceled if there is cloud cover. Updates will be posted at 6:30 p.m. the night of the event.

Staring into space – Grand Rapids Magazine (grmag.com)

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Apple

Apple will be coming out with Live Captions for iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch. This feature will be used for any audio content, such as audio-based text messages, FaceTime calls, streaming video, or in-person conversation. Transcriptions take place locally on the device, without transmitting information to iCloud or any other service, so conversation is private and secure. This feature will be rolled out later this year in software updates.

Last year, Apple launched SignTime on Global Accessibility Awareness Day. SignTime links customers with on-demand sign language interpreters directly from their web browsers. Customers can communicate with AppleCare and Retail Customer Care by using American Sign Language in the US, British Sign Language in the UK, or French Sign Language in France. This year for GAAD, SignTime is launching in Canada, with plans to expand to additional countries.

Apple is honoring GAAD all week. The Accessibility Assistant shortcut is coming to the Shortcuts app on Mac and Apple Watch later in the week to help recommend accessibility features based on user preferences. In addition, Apple Store locations around the world are offering live sessions to help customers discover accessibility features on iPhone, and Apple Support social channels are showcasing how-to content.

To learn more about additional features Apple is launching for Global Accessibility Awareness Day, click here.

Google

Google has an app called Live Transcribe that provides real time captions for the Android operating system. The app takes speech and captions it live using just the phone microphone. It is available in over 80 languages and dialects. Recently, they’ve launched Offline Mode, meaning you can use the app to transcribe even if you’re not connected to the internet. This feature is available in English, Japanese, German, French, Italian, and Spanish.

To learn more about Live Transcribe, click here.

Google’s Sound Notifications feature notifies you when there are important sounds around you (e.g. a doorbell ringing, a baby crying, fire/smoke alarms, etc.) through haptics, flashing lights, and phone notifications. They’ve come out with an update that allows you to customize personal sounds in your house like the microwave beeping versus the dishwasher beeping.

For Global Accessibility Day in 2020, Google Maps came out with a feature called Accessible Places, designed to more prominently display accessibility information about a location or business. For individuals with hearing loss, they can easily see if a venue has a hearing loop installed. This can be the deciding factor in whether or not a person goes to a restaurant, movie theater, store, etc.

To learn more about this feature, click here.

One billion people worldwide have disabilities. Making your website and online resources easily accessible is so important and directly benefits you as well. It expands your potential audience exponentially since more users are able to use your site. It’s as simple as providing captions on videos, using organized headings, choosing colors mindfully, and overall, when creating content, always keeping accessibility in mind.

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Statistics:

According to the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics, more than 37 million individuals aged 18 and over report some trouble hearing. About 28.8 million U.S. adults could benefit from using hearing aids. Of the 26.7 million people over age 50 with a hearing impairment, only one in seven (14%), use a hearing aid. Experts say that overall, people struggle with hearing loss for an average of 10 years before seeking treatment. Whether it be due to the stigma around it, the cost, or oftentimes denial, there are many factors that play into why people avoid getting their ears checked; however, more and more studies are showing the consequences associated with untreated hearing loss.  The bottom line is, “If you are postponing treatment or refusing to acknowledge your hearing loss altogether, you are placing both your physical and mental health at risk,” (Soundrelief.com).

Consequences:

Refusing to get your hearing checked out can lead to isolation due to avoidance or withdrawal from social situations. As hearing loss gets worse and worse, the temptation to stay home with the TV turned all the way up sounds much more enticing than socializing in a room full of people and not being able to follow along in conversation. Pretty soon, tasks that you once enjoyed such as attending plays, going out to eat, and large gatherings become daunting and frustrating.

Trouble hearing or understanding isn’t the only result of untreated hearing loss. Since the ear plays a role in balance, mild hearing loss can triple the risk of falling. Some studies have even linked mild hearing loss to a doubling of dementia risk, and moderate hearing loss can triple it.

Take action:

Since the majority of hearing loss is gradual over time, it might not be immediately noticeable. According to the Mayo Clinic, here are some signs that you might have some degree of hearing loss:

• Muffling of speech and other sounds
• Difficulty understanding words, especially against background noise or in a crowd
• Trouble hearing consonants
• Frequently asking others to speak more slowly, clearly, or loudly
• Needing to turn up the volume of the TV or radio
• Withdrawal from conversations
• Avoidance of some social settings

If you suspect you might be struggling with hearing loss, the sooner you take action, the better. Having your ears regularly tested is the most effective way to be proactive in your hearing health. The stigma around hearing loss has caused people to be embarrassed of needing hearing aids as the devices have become associated with looking older, weaker, and less capable. The more people avoid using hearing aids, the more the stigma is perpetuated. Research has shown that wearing hearing aids reduce loneliness, delay dementia, lower the risk of falls, reduce the impact of anxiety and depression, and overall improve quality of life (Healthyhearing.com).

This new year, protect your ears, get your hearing tested, and advocate for your own hearing health and the hearing health of others. Here’s to a happy and healthy 2022!

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Travelers with hearing loss can breathe a sigh of relief knowing that more and more travel ports in the New York City area are becoming accessible to hearing aid wearers. In March of 2021, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) issued revised accessibility requirements, including requirements for hearing loops in new or significantly updated airports, bus, rail, and ferry facilities that PANYNJ operates.

Specifically, these revisions require that each individual departure gate in an airport is looped so that all audible announcements will be transmitted to passengers at that gate only. These loops must comply with IEC-60118-4. Those who wear hearing aids with a T-coil can access the loops.

Travelers with hearing loss know just how difficult it can be to navigate a busy airport with so much commotion and background noise. By installing loops at each gate, speech comprehension can be increased from zero percent or 10 percent to as much as 90 percent. This technology can eliminate the need for other types of accommodation, such as attendants having to alert passengers individually of flight delays, gate changes, or other important information.

The revised PANYNJ requirements also mandate that airports and other travel terminals provide signage to let travelers know there is a hearing loop available for their use.

It’s amazing to see more and more traveling facilities “get in the loop”. It might not be visible to everyone else, but traveling with hearing loss can be a miserable experience if not properly accommodated, especially during the busy holiday season. The updated revisions from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey are just the start to accessible and inclusive travel everywhere here in the U.S.

For more information on PANYNJ requirements and traveling ports “getting in the loop”, check out this article: http://www.sofnabq.com/SandC_PANYNJ.pdf

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The outcome of this project is to make rail travel accessible to all. To accomplish this, these trains will include accessible restrooms and vestibules, an accessible Food Service car, and lifts for customers with reduced mobility, including wheelchair users. The trains will also be equipped with inductive hearing loops for those with hearing loss.

Amtrak recognizes that the ability to hear clearly is not only important, but it’s a necessity while traveling.

In response to the Covid-19 Pandemic, Amtrak will provide touchless restroom controls and automated steps. For a quality traveling experience, the trains will offer enhanced lighting and panoramic windows, larger vestibules, and a more contemporary food service experience with self-service options. And for an enjoyable ride, the trains will be equipped with comfortable seating, individual power outlets, USB ports and even onboard Wi-Fi.

The list is endless when it comes to the accommodations that the new trains will offer. They have all their boxes checked, from comfort to safety, and most importantly, accessibility. It’s great to see Amtrak get “in the loop”.

To learn more about the project, visit the article below:

Amtrak to Transform Rail Travel with $7.3 Billion Investment in State-of-the-Art Equipment

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In this past year, however, the concerns about maintaining good hygiene and its effect on the health of individuals have been highlighted by the coronavirus crisis. There is a greater awareness of space and sanitation considerations, meaning there is a shift towards environments that place the safety of staff and customers first.

People want to be protected, so partitions have begun reappearing at service counters and points of contact in every walk of life.

Is communication easy for your customers?

Screened barriers may provide security, but they can be a barrier to clear communication. Muffled voices make transactions frustrating for everyone involved.

Companies need to ensure that speech issues are being carefully considered, as communication through safety screens in banks, post offices, and other customer-facing organizations will not be easy for customers or staff without speech transfer systems to aid it.

Speech transfer systems ensure that customers and staff can converse freely and flawlessly.

Speech can be transferred effectively through obstacles using open duplex technology, which negates the use of ‘push to talk’ or voice switched operation. These speech transfer systems provide high quality, handsfree conversations to take place between staff and customers, providing the best communication experience possible.

Benefits

Contacta speech transfer systems allow hassle-free installation, and once installed, they enable staff to go about their duties with no disruptions.

• Provide crystal clear communication through screens and barriers
• Always on, meaning no button presses required to start communication
• Robust, long-lasting, and easy to clean
• A huge range of design options, available to meet every need
• All systems include an integrated hearing loop
• Unique optional features: headset connection output via a Break Out Box, LED Call alert function and call recording output

Accessibility

Inclusivity and accessibility are also key to engaging customers.

A hearing loop is therefore included with every Contacta speech transfer system, meaning customers with hearing loss who wear compatible hearing instruments (hearing aids, neck loops, etc.) will receive audio transmitted directly to their device.

Our speech transfer systems can be customized for a wide variety of applications and environments.

Get in touch today to allow free and flawless conversations during transactions.

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There is a growing awareness in the United States of the needs of air passengers with hearing loss. It has taken time for so-called ‘hidden disabilities’ to be included in accessibility strategies, which previously have focused heavily on those who have a physical disability or use a wheelchair.

Well-known travelers, such as the BBC’s Frank Gardiner or Paralympic athlete Hannah Cockcroft, make the news when they are left sitting on board an airplane or struggle to access the terminal’s toilets.

But the headlines rarely feature, if ever, a person who’s missed their flight or ended up in the wrong destination because they couldn’t hear the announcements.

Hearing loops have been in UK airports for many years. Maintenance of those hearing loops, their performance, signage and staff awareness have all come into much sharper focus in recent years because of the Civil Aviation guidelines for passengers with hidden disabilities.

While systems have also been installed in airports in central Europe, Far East, and Australia, it’s been a different story in the United States. As Stephen Frazier writes in this month’s Sound and Communications magazine, airports here have been slow to address the communication needs of passengers with hearing loss. But that is now changing, and it’s good to see that Contacta’s technology is a key part of that.

Both Greater Rochester International Airport in New York and Phoenix Sky Harbor international airport in Arizona have installed our HLD9 hearing loop drivers.

They power newly-installed hearing loops in key areas across the airport where it is imperative for passengers to hear the audio announcements.

At Greater Rochester Airport, 23 of the drivers help passengers to hear at the departure gates and two of the concourses.

The systems are connected to the airport’s PA system at Phoenix Sky Harbor and are arranged in a phased array configuration. This confines each gate’s loop signal within its borders and prevents overspill and the confusion that could arise from announcements being overheard.

Mr. Frazier estimates that of the 2.5 million passengers that travel through Greater Rochester alone, a fifth of them have a measurable hearing loss. The beauty of hearing loops is that they are universal and developed to international standards, so travelers from anywhere in the world with a telecoil in their hearing device can make use of them.

As Mr. Frazier points out, this isn’t the whole story, and support from staff, text services and other developing technologies will have a role to play in encouraging hearing-impaired passengers to take flight.

But we are delighted to know that Contacta has an essential role to play and that our state of the art products are giving people the freedom and confidence to travel. Let’s hope airports throughout the United States continue to take up loop technology.

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