
Did you know assistive listening systems can replace an intercom in certain situations? They can be used for language interpretation, staff training, small group discussions, and more.
Does your church have an assistive listening system? Maybe you invested in one several years ago to meet the needs of congregants with hearing loss but haven’t thought much about it since then. Maybe you don’t have an assistive listening system and are considering investing in one but don’t know where to start. Regardless of where you are on this spectrum, it’s worth taking a moment to consider the full breadth of what assistive listening systems can do. Hint: It’s more than assistive listening.
...it’s worth considering the full breadth of what assistive listening systems can do. Hint: It’s more than assistive listening.
Applications for assistive listening systems in houses of worship
Different technologies and solutions mean churches have choices for assistive listening solutions. Which system(s) they select will depend on the space and how they intend to use the system(s) to meet their congregation’s unique needs. Here are a few examples of ways assistive listening systems can be applied in worship environments.
- Assistive listening. Worshippers with hearing loss and anyone who finds it challenging to hear in a church because of distance from the audio source, noise, acoustics, visual distractions, or language can use an assistive listening system to have clear audio delivered directly to their ears.
- Language interpretation. An assistive listening system can transmit church audio in a different language to end users. Walnut Street Baptist Church in Newark, New Jersey, uses a radio frequency-based assistive listening system to facilitate interpretation during services.
- Audio description. Worshippers with visual impairments can use an assistive listening system to hear live or recorded audio description during a church event such as a theater production. They can also use a system when they are navigating church interiors and spaces with low light or signage that is difficult to read.
- Audio from screens. Assistive listening systems can deliver audio to end users from silent screens in the sanctuary, fellowship hall, and elsewhere on the church campus.
- Tours, training, and small group discussion. Mobile, two-way assistive listening systems can be used to support assistive listening in small group discussions such as Bible studies and on field trips and tours. This type of system can also facilitate communication among church staff and volunteers working at events. Examples include directing performers in a Christmas production, managing servers and kitchen staff at a fundraising gala in the church hall, or facilitating traffic flow in the church parking lot on a busy holiday.
Assistive listening technologies
When you think of assistive listening technology, induction loop- or radio frequency (FM)- based systems may come to mind. Those are two great, tried-and-true technologies that deliver exceptional audio in houses of worship and other venues and environments. There are also other assistive listening technologies. These include infrared, portable two-way, audio over Wi-Fi, and Auracast™ broadcast audio. Here’s a quick primer on each of these technologies:
An induction-loop, or hearing loop, system features a copper wire loop around a space (often installed along the walls or under flooring). The loop creates an electromagnetic field that transmits audio from a sound source to tiny copper coils – telecoils – inside hearing aids that act as receivers.
A radio-frequency-based assistive listening system transmits audio from a source to an antenna and then to FM receivers.
An infrared-based assistive listening system transmits audio to receivers via infrared light. Receivers must be within line of sight of the infrared for end users to hear the audio. Since light cannot travel through walls, audio does not spill into adjacent spaces. This type of assistive listening system is ideal in meetings, confessions, and other instances where confidentiality is important.
A two-way, portable assistive listening system includes transceivers, or combination transmitters/receivers that transmit and receive audio. Transceivers can be grouped and a lead transceiver is assigned within the group. When an individual with a leader unit speaks, others in the group can hear her. A push-to-talk feature on transceivers lets participants respond to the leader or the entire group, depending on how the leader has configured communication. This type of system facilitates simultaneous interpretation and mobile group communication, such as during a tour or collaborative group work.
An audio over Wi-Fi-based assistive listening system lets end users stream live or recorded venue audio to their smartphone via an app or to a dedicated receiver they borrow from the venue. With this type of system, churches can offer multiple audio channels to congregants. Low latency audio extends beyond the sanctuary to as far as the church’s wireless network reaches. Listeners can hear sermons, songs, and other audio in cry rooms, the parking lot, parish hall, and classrooms. Audio over Wi-Fi systems featuring Beacon technology can be configured to begin streaming audio when listeners running the app on their smartphones or using borrowed receivers enter a space and stop streaming when they leave the space. Churches can share additional information – weekly bulletins, song lyrics, mass times – to end users through the app.
An Auracast™ broadcast audio-based assistive listening system is another BYOD (bring your own device) option. This type of system uses a new Bluetooth® technology, Auracast™ broadcast audio. This allows a one-to-many broadcast of public audio via an Auracast™ broadcast audio transmitter. Anyone with Auracast™ compatible devices, such as hearing aids, earbuds, and smartphones, or a dedicated Auracast™ receiver, within range of an Auracast™ transmitter can access public audio broadcasts from the transmitter and hear clear audio via their devices.
Installing or upgrading an assistive listening system
If your church already has an assistive listening system, consider ways to optimize its use.
If necessary, update the system with newer, compatible equipment. An older radio frequency-based system may have analog receivers that are conspicuous or don’t offer superior audio clarity. If the original transmitter is functioning well, swap out the receivers with new, sleek, digital receivers.
A portable two-way communication system sets up quickly (no wires) and offers a versatile and practical addition to an existing assistive listening system. For example, having this type of system readily available in church offices can facilitate communication with hard of hearing parishioners and visitors who drop by seeking information and support. Similarly, ministers who visit church members in hospitals and nursing homes can borrow the two-way system to support communication in those environments.
Maybe your house of worship has an induction loop in the sanctuary and you would like to extend the benefits of assistive listening to adjacent spaces but are unable to install more loops due to architectural constraints. Consider an audio over Wi-Fi-based assistive listening system. There is no installation downtime, it works on the church’s existing wireless network, and it offers congregants a choice on how they receive church audio (via their smartphone or a dedicated receiver).
Assistive listening systems benefit everyone, not just the hard of hearing. When accessing clear audio is as easy as downloading a free app on their smartphone and popping in their earbuds, more congregants might try assistive listening (regardless of whether they have hearing loss). They may find services more engaging and be more eager to return to church when they hear the powerful audio of sermons and songs, free of ambient noise, delivered directly to their ears.
As more Auracast™-compatible hearing aids, earbuds, and other consumer devices come to market, worshippers and guests will appreciate being able to tap into Auracast™ broadcast audio channels for assistive listening and interpretation at churches that offer this technology.
Churches looking to foster inclusive and accessible spaces, and offer worshippers inspiration, fellowship, and refuge, should consider the benefits and versatility of assistive listening systems. There are multiple, complementary technologies and systems to create bespoke solutions that are as unique as the houses of worship and congregations they support. It’s time to acknowledge all that assistive listening systems can do and optimize their use.
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Carrie Kaumans is channel marketing director at Listen Technologies, a leading provider of advanced wireless listening solutions for 26 years. Carrie works with channel partners and customers across vertical markets, including houses of worship. www.listentech.com
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