Counter Hearing Loop Instructions for Staff

Overview

  • Audience: staff
  • Purpose: brief overview of operating and testing the counter hearing loop
  • Download this webpage as a pdf (tbd)

What do hearing loops sound like?

Clarity. Listen for yourself. For a person with hearing loss, a hearing loop makes a world of difference. A person directly hears the staff speaking into the microphone and has minimal background noise, which improves speech clarity. Simulations:

How do counter hearing loops work?

Portable counter hearing loops between two people sitting at a desk.
Counter hearing loop with staff member speaking into microphone. On the other side of the counter, with a plexiglass barrier, are two users: one with a cochlear implant (younger person) and one with a hearing aid (older person)

A hearing loop brings the sound from the microphone directly to the customer/patient’s ear.

How hearing loops work with hearing aids and implants (1 page, pdf)

Blue mist. The area where the hearing loop will work is the “blue mist.” The size of the blue mist depends on the hearing loop design and settings; a customer’s hearing instruments; and a customer’s hearing loss. Generally, a customer hears best if their ears are approximately 2-3 feet in front of the counter hearing loop, but transmission may sometimes be picked up approximately 4-5 feet away. The further away the person is, the softer the sound will be and audibility quickly drops off. Also the hearing loop also radiates out to the sides, approximately 2 feet. This blue mist creates a field of privacy.

Photos of permanent and portable counter hearing loops (3 pages, pdf)

How to connect

Using a hearing loop. Left side: Diagram showing the telecoil inside a hearing aid. Right side: A hearing loop receiver, a box about 3x5 inches and headphones plugged in.

Additional information on telecoils (this website)

For customer/patients: how to use telecoils in their

How to use a counter hearing loop

  1. Staff asks the customer/patient to:
    • Stand in front of the counter hearing loop, within 3-4 feet.
    • Switch their hearing aid or cochlear implant to Telecoil (T-coil) program, either by pressing a button on their device, or changing to the telecoil program on their smartphone. If they don’t have hearing aids or a telecoil, hand them a receiver and headphones (after you check that the batteries are good)
  2. Staff talks into microphone and sound is sent directly to the customer/patient’s hearing aids or cochlear implant. Speak normally and clearly. There’s no need to “eat” or put your mouth directly in front of the microphone.
  3. Adjustments. The customer/patient can adjust the volume on their hearing aids/cochlear implant or hearing loop receiver. In addition, if the customer/patient says that the volume is
    • Too quiet, ask the customer to stand a little closer to the hearing loop sign.
    • Too loud, ask the customer to step back slightly away from the sign.

Operating Instructions

The hearing loop system is always on, there’s nothing for you to turn on or off.

It should be tested weekly with 2 staff members: One staff member using the microphone and another staff person who is using the receiver and headphones. It’s also a fun way to experiment and learn the capabilities of the microphone and hearing loop! You need to know how far away you can stand from the:

  1. Microphone and still be clearly heard. Many external microphones can pick up your voice very well at a distance of about 2 feet or more from the microphone to where you are standing. An internal microphone for a portable counter hearing loop has a much smaller range.
  2. Hearing loop and still clearly understand the speaker.

If there are problems, please contact your hearing loop installer. National list of hearing loop installers (website).

How to use the hearing loop receiver & headphones

A receiver is sometimes called a ‘hearing loop listener’

Person wearing a receiver with lanyard around neck

Photo courtesy of Contacta.

  1. Put the lanyard/strap around your neck so the receiver hangs freely in front of you. The receiver needs to be vertical
  2. Put the headphones on your head and adjust the headband for a comfortable fit.
  3. Plug the headphones into the jack that is on top of the receiver and make sure the plug is inserted all the way down into the socket; it’s a snug fit and requires a firm push.
  4. Volume on. Turn the round on/off knob and volume control to approximately halfway and adjust the volume for your comfort level. Note: The closer you stand to the hearing loop sign, the louder the hearing loop volume. If you are standing too far away, the volume will be soft or non-existent when standing 3-4 feet or farther from the hearing loop sign.
  5. Volume off. It is important to turn the unit OFF when you are finished using it. The receiver runs on 2-AAA batteries. The batteries 100 hours or 4 days, if the unit is left on.

Many thanks to Alan Antilla, Hearing Support Solutions, for much of this information

For More Information on Assistive Listening Systems

About the Center for Hearing Access. Founded in 2024, the nonprofit Center for Hearing Access is a national advocacy and education initiative of The John G. Shedd Institute for the Arts in Eugene, OR. We champion and educate users, sites, hearing instrument specialists, and audiologists about all ADA-compliant assistive listening systems and other strategies to increase access to theaters, libraries, conferences, government offices, courtrooms, and other public and private spaces. Effective hearing access can be life-changing for people with hearing loss to maintain community engagement.

We create and provide advocacy materials, ADA information, a speaker’s bureau, videos, templates for users and owners/operators, articles, and vendor lists.

We believe that hearing loops are today’s gold standard for providing easy-to-use, universal hearing access.