I
did a lot of looking on the Internet and contacted several installers
with the assistance of our business administrator. Les was clearly the
most responsive. He came to our facility to assess our needs, and he
made a subsequent visit to test several loop configurations. Our
sanctuary is a square building ninety feet on each side. Seating is
arranged as an amphitheater, with a raised chancel and altar centered on
one wall. The floor is smooth concrete with carpet glued to the floor
in the aisles and surrounding the chancel. The concrete has expansion
joints, and Les stated that the loop wire could be laid in the expansion
joints and covered with self-leveling caulk. The sanctuary is too
large for a single rectangular loop, but Les found in his testing that a
figure-8 loop would work fine. That configuration required that wire
be laid in expansion joints which cross under the glued carpet in
several places, and Les told us that we would need to have carpet
installers remove and re-lay the carpet (which is understandable). Our
carpet people could not guarantee that the existing carpet (which is
several years old) would not be damaged in the removal process, and new
carpet would cost about $10,000, including installation. I am a decent
handyman and like to tinker with mechanical things, so I gathered a few
like-minded church folks together, and we devised a way to thread and
pull the wire under the carpet without removing it. So, with the
support of Les in an advisory capacity (including several trips to check
on our progress and answer questions), we laid the wire (12-gauge
stranded) in the expansion joint groove. Developing the technique and
doing the work of laying the wire took us a couple of months, and we
spent about $50 for supplies (including a 20-foot threaded rod to use as
a tunneling drill bit). When we were done, Les came out to caulk the
expansion joints and complete the installation over a period of two
days. It has worked flawlessly ever since.
We
have had for some time an FM system in our sanctuary which broadcasts
sound to headsets worn by people with hearing difficulties. That system
often doesn't work for people with Cochlear implants, and doesn't work
well for many people with conventional hearing aids. A hearing loop
broadcasts sound directly to a telecoil (t-coil) in implants and many
hearing aids sold today. The difference in the two systems is
phenomenal. Speech heard through a t-coil in a hearing aid often is as
clear as if the speaker were standing directly in front of the listener.
At the first worship service in our sanctuary after the installation
of the hearing loop, one member with a Cochlear implant chose to turn on
her t-coil at the start of the sermon. Those around her heard a
distinct "Oh, my!" with the first words of the sermon. The response was
wonderful. We maintain both systems since some folks have hearing aids
without a t-coil.
Our
chapel is about 20 ft X 30 ft, and it seats about 50 people. In that
small room, there is no need for a speech amplification system for
people with normal hearing or with only moderate hearing loss. However,
people with severe hearing loss could not hear the speaker. With the
success of our hearing loop in the sanctuary, one member who has severe
hearing loss offered to pay for a system in the chapel. We contacted
Les, and he installed a loop around the perimeter of that room using
flat wire under new carpet in a couple of hours. It works perfectly.
Soon after that installation, I was fitted for hearing aids, and I can
state from personal experience that both loops indeed work.
About
a year ago, folks at another church in the area contacted me about
installing a loop in their sanctuary. I recommended Les, and he
installed it. Two weeks ago I was in that sanctuary for a meeting, and I
could hear every speaker perfectly. It was wonderful.
Obviously,
I am a strong supporter of hearing loops. I think that every church
and meeting room should have one, and some day in the future they
probably will.
D.
