WHY AN INDUCTION LOOP?

In a noisy environment, or one in which reverberations and echoes are noticeable, we all find it difficult at times to hear and understand a conversation. For a person who has a hearing impairment and wears a hearing aid, it can be almost impossible for them to hear and understand a conversation.
The great advantage for using an induction loop is that in such situations, the sound comes to the user in a pure, undistorted form, not affected by the distance the listener is from the sound source, or by any interfering background noises in the room.
Induction loop systems are now installed at the workplace, in schools, public halls, churches, buses, theatres and many other public places. Social, welfare and public health authorities also are increasingly aware of the need for induction loops in sheltered and residential accommodation.

WHAT IS AN INDUCTION LOOP SYSTEM?

Most hearing aids nowadays have a switch marked M and T. Some even have M, MT and T. The M (microphone) position is for “normal” listening, that is receiving airborne sound via the microphone built in the hearing aid. The T (telecoil) position is for receiving the sound via an induction coil which is built in to the hearing aid. For the induction coil to provide sound, a magnetic field is needed via which the sound is transmitted.
An induction loop system consists of an amplifier and a loop. The amplifier can be connected to a sound source such as a TV, radio, HiFi or PA system. It then amplifiers this sound signal and sends it out in the form of an alternating current, thorough the loop. The loop itself consists of an insulated wire, which is placed around the perimeter of the area to be looped.
When the alternating current from the amplifier flows through the loop, a magnetic field is created within the room. If a hearing aid user switches his or her hearing aid to the T position, the telecoil in the hearing aid picks up the fluctuations in the magnetic field and converts them into sound via the amplifier of the hearing aid thus providing a much improved sound signal.