Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Soundfield systems/induction loops: easier listening

[Anne Geraghty (abgwalks]

A terrific TED talk on this topic by audiologist Dr. Juliëtte Sterkens is
here "What You Don't Know about Hearing Aids".  It's a great talk for all
to better understand what people with hearing loss are experiencing and
what can be done about it.

https://centerforhearingaccess.org/tedx/




On Wed, Mar 4, 2026 at 3:53 PM Anne Geraghty <abgwalks [at] gmail.com> wrote:

> Thank you Allison for bringing up this important topic!
>
> A terrific relatively new resource about hearing loops and other assisted
> listening systems can be found at the Center for Hearing Access at:
> https://centerforhearingaccess.org
>
> If you are able to travel to Eugene Oregon you can attend The Shedd
> Institute's monthly "Sound Advice" session  and find out just how clear and
> succinct listening with a hearing loop can be.  And for your friends who
> don't have a telecoil, they can have a telecoil receiver that can give them
> a sense of how it sounds.  Oregon webpage Sound Advice
> <https://www.theshedd.org/divp/series.aspx?event=7059>
>
> As you can see from our listserv discussion there are many opinions and
> much controversy.  And, each person's hearing challenges are different.
> What I've learned in my journey is that audiologists are not often helpful
> in this bigger picture.  They are focused on addressing your immediate
> needs for hearing aids but not necessarily on what is needed in the larger
> community.
>
> What I've gotten from this discussion is that in order for all our members
> to participate fully we need to address this critical issue.  The hearing
> loop would address our needs when sound is amplified and it is the clearest
> system currently available.  The Auracast system isn't available yet.  The
> other issue is the very flat hard surfaces that amplify all the
> sounds/voices in the room to the detriment of people with hearing loss.
> And this means sound dampening through wall and ceiling coverings, table
> coverings and even carpet.  Has anyone hired someone to do an acoustic plan
> for their common spaces?
>
> What hasn't been mentioned much is that as many as half of people over 60
> have some hearing loss.  Hearing loss is an invisible disability and, for
> some reason, there is a great deal of shame about it.  Many people, maybe
> most, would prefer to let it slide, not speak up, not speak to what their
> needs are.  This is a problem too as we want to include all in our decision
> making and our great conversations.
>
> What this has led me to realize is that in my community, we need to
> understand what exactly our hearing needs are.  Who is it that, like me, is
> very hard of hearing?  Who is it that has moderate hearing loss?  Both
> conditions hamper communication.  I plan to work with others to put
> together a community survey and then speak to the community about what we
> find.  I'll let you know what we find.
>
> Anne Geraghty
> Washington Commons
> West Sacramento, California
> abgwalks [at] gmail.com
>
> On Wed, Mar 4, 2026 at 2:54 PM Linda Hobbet <coho [at] lindahobbet.com> wrote:
>
>> It may not be ideal as comapred to in-aid sound, but maybe this is a
>> matter of tuning the system better?
>>
>> Linda Hobbet
>>
>> On 3/4/2026 10:32 AM, Elizabeth Magill via Cohousing-L wrote:
>> > The difficulty is that many sound systems are painful to people. It is
>> > easy to have too much gain and sharpness to the sound.
>> > And we rarely use the model of presenter and listeners--
>>
>> VillageHearthCohousing.com
>> 706-202-7178
>> coho [at] lindahobbet.com
>>
>> "When you plant a seed of love, it is you that blooms.”
>>                                                     Ma Jaya
>>
>>
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