In 1990, the US Congress passed a key piece of legislation called the “Americans with Disabilities Act” (ADA), and it was finally revised in 2010. The law prohibits discrimination and ensures equal opportunity for persons with disabilities in employment, State and local government services, public accommodations, commercial facilities, and transportation.

This piece of legislation is extremely important because Title III of the ADA enforces to meet a minimum of requirements for people with disabilities, to eliminate discrimination on the basis of disability in commercial facilities and by public accommodations. Assistive listening is one of those requirements, and we can appreciate how important is to overcome hearing loss for those who suffer from it.  

When hearing loss appears as a regular problem, not only you lose essential capabilities to develop certain activities properly, but also there is a great deal of feeling excluded and segregated from several places and events. And this is one the most problematic side effects of hearing impairment. Amanda Nichols [1] makes this state very clear:“hearing loss can lead to social isolation, stress, and functional problems, such as impaired balance and others.”

In the United States one in eight people (13 percent, or 30 million) aged 12 years or older has hearing loss in both ears, based on standard hearing examinations[2], makes this issue a major topic to be considered by institutions and people in charge of assuring a pleasant and adequate environment for everyone.

FM listening systems have been used in multiple settings for hearing-impaired people for over 25 years, making the most cost-efficient option for several venues. These consist basically on a transmitter sending a wireless signal to an FM receiver worn by the listener.Our Enersound 4-Person Assistive Listening System with Neckloops and ADA Plaque is a multichannel solution (in the 72-76 MHz band) to meet the needs of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards for accessible design, useful for venues up to 100 seats.

            ALS- 4TP Assistive Listening System

We feature systems for four listeners, ten listeners and twenty listeners.

The system can be used to improve comprehension by people who have difficulty hearing or understanding speech in various settings including meeting rooms, houses of worship, movie theatres, schools, public hearing rooms, and more.

PRIDE Industries, one of our clients and one of the nation's largest nonprofit employers of people with disabilities, is very satisfied with Enersound equipment. They provide support; training and opportunity to help people with disabilities find employment. As they explained to us, some of their employees have hearing disabilities, and the assistive listening system was indeed a great difference for them and for all the people involved with the organization.

And cases like Pride Industries can be identified all over the country, as educational and commercial organizations are making huge efforts improving their facilities to catch up with legislation. And this has become a trend that ultimately benefits them, as more and more people feel welcome and included, and they continue choosing these places over some others. Assistive Listening solutions may represent a big change for those in need, and we feel comforted when we are able to make a difference in people’s lives and their quality of life through innovation.

[1] AMANDA D. NICHOLS Hearing Loss: Perceptions and Solutions. http://www.ltlmagazine.com/article/hearing-loss-p...

[2] Lin FR, Niparko JK, Ferrucci L. Hearing loss prevalence in the United States. [Letter] Arch Intern Med. 2011 Nov 14; 171(20): 1851-1852.