I don’t know if you non-UK folk have Telecoil systems (known as loop systems) which allow some deaf people to click to the ‘T’ setting (a magnetic induction coil on a hearing aid designed to pick up stuff in the area that the induction loop is looped round) on the hearing aids and pickup whatever is being fed into them.
We have them in cinemas, some shops and places with desks amongst others.? Places which have them should display the deaf symbol which usually looks a bit like? (http://www.scod.org.uk/pictures/deaf-ear.gif.? Sometimes cinemas and theatres have infra-red systems, with portable telecoil neckloops to allow pickup without interference from powerful theatre lights/systems.
In my experience many places display the “deaf symbol” and state that they have a telecoil system. In reality less 50% of them work.? Until recently I couldn’t test for this because I didn’t have the Tcoil-plugin for my hearing aid (BAHAs work weirdly, due to needing the tcoil away from the transducer).? About 2 months ago, I got plugin, and have been making good use of it *bwahahaha*.
Today we were in ASDA (yes I know evil Wal*Mart) and happened to use the Tcoil advertised aisle and I happened to have my plugin in my pocket.? All I could hear through the plugin mode was the 50Hz mains hum which is usually in the background when I plug it in - nothing worked despite poking the mic and the checkout girl helplessly looking at possible turn-onable points and plugs.? We didn’t get it working, but the staff did report it, and they otherwise had excellent deaf awareness - looking directly at me, pointing, speaking slowly but not exaggeratedly.? We shall see if in 2 weeks or so it has been fixed - or if a note has been put on it saying “sorry out of order”. If it is not fixed then formal scary letter time.
I got a loop system fixed at uni by reporting it as ‘not on’.? The staff were really helpful and concerned to find that it wasn’t functioning as they had expected.? As it was in the union, and the official audiovisual people wouldn’t touch it I asked around until someone told me the name of the nice man who usually dealt with loops (not his official job).? He got it fixed within 2 weeks - someone (idiot, fool, numpty, twit)? had put some wooden coving in which blocked the mic-plug to the loop system which was behind some panelling.? When it worked I could not only tell that it was on, I could detect it from 10m away!? It was loud, and CLEAR with no distortion.? My evident pleasure at the obvious functioning pleased the staff who asked me lots of questions which I was happy to answer.? They didn’t know that all they had to do was talk into the mic which was in front of them, or use the mic in the small private room.? I said that I would test it for them whenever I had a chance - sadly my original loop plugin died and the replacement didn’t work with my hearing aid…? Next time I visit the uni I should test it and congratulate them if it still works as well as saying hi to the lovely staff.
So my question dear somewhat silent readers is this.? Do you have telecoil systems in public places where you live (if they have something different but similar in function, what is it?)?? Do the systems usually work?? What do you do when the systems don’t work? ?
May 9th, 2006 at 9:06 am
Hi Natalya,
I’m amazed at those hi-tech telecoil systems in UK. Really cool!
I come from the Philippines, a third world country where such things
are unheard of. We’re way, way behind in technolgy and even in health
insurance system for the disabled. Ours is just a small country with a
bursting 85 million population.Our government cant afford to take
care of its disabled citizens. Anyways, I’m happy for you for the
pleasure you gained using the telecoil system. I hope someday when
I’m old and gray, my country will finally catch up with first world
technology.
May 9th, 2006 at 7:13 pm
Athina: Thanks for that - definite perspective there. Do people who do not have access to hearing aid and other deafness related technologies have access to things like sign language or other non tech-reliant communication methods, or is that also difficult.
I guess coming from a first world country I don’t appreciate what we have - while also realising that we so-called first world countries should be setting an example to the rest of the world AND supporting others worldwide in achieving equality for everyone.
I lived in Romania for a few months in my late teens, ostensibly teaching English - which I hated. They were very interesting, an example of a country which in some ways was very modern, and in others was reminiscent of a world long gone in the West.
I knew a few hard of hearing Romanians who did not have hearing aids, because to have one would be to be ‘disabled’ which would have prevented them getting places far more than their fortunately moderate hearing losses did. I like to hope that I showed them by example that given opportunities, a bit of support and encouragement that disabled people can be equal and contribute a great deal to society. I challenged a few young people as their equal and learned a lot at the same time.
I’d still never teach schoolchildren again, I hated it. I would possibly consider teaching adults, who want to learn though - less chance of having chairs thrown at me!
May 10th, 2006 at 6:25 am
Yes I have recently aquired the T system with my new aids, and have tried to use them, we have T loop in Banks cinemas, shops supermarkets ect. but funnily enough none in my audiology center!! the only thing is, I have switched to ‘T’ in all of these places to find that Iv heard nothing, they dont work and I ust my T system every day with my MP3 player so my aids work fine, I dunno Id better ask, are they always on or when I go to a shop do I need to ask for them to turn it on??!!
May 10th, 2006 at 8:32 am
Hearing aids are available here but they cost so dear. I used
In my early forty’s
a behind the ear hearing aid during my early twenty’s but it gathered
so much background noise that it became a burden than an aid to me.
It worsened my hearing problem and the ringing sound in my left ear
so I threw it away in exasperation.:) I had to quit my teaching post
and had to be demoted to being a stay at home mum.
I bought an expensive pair of in the ear hearing aid. They’re a lot
better than my first hearing aid but it always breaks down and has
to be sent back to the manufacturers in Canada (STARKEY) for repairs.
Later on I decided I had enough of the trouble and stress these aids
bring so I discarded them also.
That was really my personal angst that I cant be equal with anybody
beacuse I’m disabled. It’s only lately, after reading Somewhat Silent
that I was somewhat enlightened and encouraged to face my disability
and buy me new aids. Phonak, perhaps.:)
It’s really hard to teach school kids. They drive you crazy.
May 10th, 2006 at 8:33 am
Hearing aids are available here but they cost so dear. I used
In my early forty’s
a behind the ear hearing aid during my early twenty’s but it gathered
so much background noise that it became a burden than an aid to me.
It worsened my hearing problem and the ringing sound in my left ear
so I threw it away in exasperation.:) I had to quit my teaching post
and had to be demoted to being a stay at home mum.
I bought an expensive pair of in the ear hearing aid. They’re a lot
better than my first hearing aid but it always breaks down and has
to be sent back to the manufacturers in Canada (STARKEY) for repairs.
Later on I decided I had enough of the trouble and stress these aids
bring so I discarded them also.
That was really my personal angst that I cant be equal with anybody
because I’m disabled. It’s only lately, after reading Somewhat Silent
that I was somewhat enlightened and encouraged to face my disability
and buy me new aids. Phonak, perhaps.:)
It’s really hard to teach school kids. They drive you crazy.
May 10th, 2006 at 8:40 am
Oh, sorry. How do I delete one these twin comments?
May 10th, 2006 at 12:42 pm
Lette: The Tcoil systems should just be on, if you hear nothing then it means that they are probably not working. If you feel like being assertive (I know I don’t feel like it) you can try asking the shop staff to turn them on. Often they are there, just not plugged in/on because staff don’t know how to use them. I will try and find the URL for an RNID leaflet which explains them for shop staff etc.
Athina: Hearing aids aren’t cheap. I know the average US resident pays 1-2,000 USD for them. I’ll have two next year and I’m really grateful for the UK’s national health service as that would come to about 3-4,000 USD in total.
Different people get different amounts of value from a hearing aid. I get a huge amount of benefit from mine, I hear effectively ‘nothing’ without it. With it I can hear people talking, and with lipreading and concentration follow speech easily. My hearing aid is unusual in that it is clipped into an abutment which is implanted into my skull, I can’t feel it when it is in, so I don’t have the ’sweaty ears’ effect that most hearing aid users get. I can switch mine off and it is as if it isn’t there - dangerous if I forget and have a shower!
Background noise differentiation is ALWAYS a problem for hearing aid users. I suspect it is much more difficult for people who have lost hearing later in life - I have always been deaf so it is all I have ever known. Hearing aids can only amplify sounds that they pick up within the 1-2m distance, so locating and pin-pointing the source of the sound is very difficult with all hearing aids. It is often the little things which make us deaf people stand out, the things that hearing people never have to think about, so don’t know about.
Hearing aids are also very difficult to keep functioning in a hot and I assume humid climate like the Phillipines. In the ear aids doubly so, as they are in the ear canal itself. If you do get more hearing aids then do definitely get a ‘dry-box’ for them. A ‘dry-box’ is a box which has silica gel in it, and will absorb any moisture from the aids say overnight when they are not in use. A lot of US folk on my mailing lists use them in the hotter/humid parts of the US.
As for twin comments, I’ve done that before. Sara usually kills them cos she’s nice like that.
May 11th, 2006 at 9:25 am
Natalya, you’re great! Thanks for the info about hearing aids. My
ears doc never bothered to explain such things to me. When once
I tried to complain to him about the performance of my aids, he
said I have high expectations and he is not God.:)All I wanted
was for him to explain things to me the way you did.
Thanks much, Natalya.