Even with the most up-to-date technology, hearing aids and cochlear implants cannot completely separate important sounds from background noises.
Nor do they pick up all sounds from a distance such as those in a performance hall, a place of worship or even a home TV viewed from across the room. In such difficult listening settings, hearing (induction) loops are often a solution.
What Is A Hearing Loop System?
A hearing loop is a wire connected to an electronic sound source that transmits that sound to the telecoil in a hearing aid or cochlear implant. A hearing loop can discreetly surround a room, a chair in your home, or even be worn around the neck. Hearing loops can be connected to a public address system, a living room TV, a telephone (land line and cellular), or any source that produces sound electronically.
A hearing aid and most cochlear implants equipped with a manually controlled t-switch is needed to hear in a hearing loop. The telecoil, also called t-coil, receives the signal from the loop and turns it back into sound in the hearing aid, often eliminating much of the background noise. The listener then hears only the sounds they desire whether it is speech from a pulpit, a stage, a telephone conversation, or the television. Hearing loops can double hearing aid and cochlear implant functionality. Using the telecoil in conjunction with a hearing loop is a cost effective way to improve the usability of your hearing aid or cochlear implant. The telecoil can also be used in conjunction with a variety of wireless or hand held hearing assistive listening devices.
Major Advantage of a Hearing Loop System
One of the major advantages of a hearing loop is that it is truly universal technology. It does not matter what brand your hearing aid is. If you have a telecoil, you can use a hearing loop. This is why loops are so successful for public areas–because they work universally for all hearing aids with telecoils.
How do you know if a business, church or any other location has a hearing loop system?
This sign is the international symbol that a hearing loop is installed in the area for people with hearing loss. You might see this sign at an airport, a museum, a church, or a movie theater. This sign indicates that information is being broadcast through the loop for people to pick up with their hearing technology on the t-coil setting. A majority of hearing aids sold today have a telecoil installed in them. If you are not sure if your hearing aid has a telecoil, you can ask your provider and find out.
Hearing Loops Installations in The New York Metropolitan Area
New York City
- IDNYC: All IDNYC enrollment centers are equipped with hearing loops to ensure accessibility for hard of hearing applicants. View IDNYC locations
- MTA subway system station booths: All subway information booths in stations in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens are looped.Learn more about the subway system information booths.
- MTA subway system Help Points: All Help Points are installed with hearing loops; simply set your hearing aid to the t-coil setting, press the appropriate button on the Help Point and wait for the operator to speak to you.
Bronx
- Bronx Zoo
2300 Southern Blvd
Bronx, NY 10460 - The New York Botanical Garden
2900 Southern Boulevard
Bronx, NY 10458 - The New York Public Library – Bronx Library Center
310 East Kingsbridge Road (at Briggs Avenue)
Bronx, NY, 10458 - Yankee Stadium
East 161st Street and River Avenue
Bronx, NY 10452
Brooklyn
- Barclays Center Arena
620 Atlantic Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11217
Manhattan
- Amtrak, New York City Penn Station
234 West 31st Street
Eighth Avenue and West 31st to 33rd Streets - August Wilson Theatre
245 W 52nd St
New York, NY 10019 - Broadhurst Theatre
235 W 44th St
New York, NY 10036 - Carnegie Hall
881 7th Ave.
New York, NY 10019 - Children’s Museum of Manhattan (CMOM)
The Tisch Building
212 West 83rd Street - Cloisters Museum and Garden
99 Margaret Corbin Dr
New York, NY 10040 - David Rubenstein Atrium at Lincoln Center
Broadway between 62nd and 63rd
New York, NY 10023
- Ellis Island Museum
Ellis Island
New York, NY 10004-1467 - Bernard B. Jacobs Theater
242 W 45th St
New York, NY 10036 - The Frick Collection
1 East 70th Street
New York, NY 10021 - Gershwin Theater
222 West 51st Street, between Broadway and Eighth
New York, NY - Guggenheim Museum
1071 Fifth Avenue at 89th Street
New York, NY 10128-0173 - Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum
One Intrepid Square
Pier 86, Twelfth Avenue and West 46th Street
New York, NY 10036-4103 - Irish Repertory Theater
132 West 22nd Street
New York, NY 10011 - Jewish Museum
1109 Fifth Avenue at 92nd Street
New York, NY 10128 - Lincoln Center Vivian Beaumont Theater
150 W 65 Street
New York, NY 10023 - Lower East Side Tenement Museum
103 Orchard Street
New York, NY 10002 - Lunt-Fontanne Theatre
205 W 46th Street
New York, NY 10036 - Madison Square Garden
4 Pennsylvania Plaza
(Seventh Avenue between W 31st Street & W 33rd Street)
New York, NY 10001 - Main Street Theatre and Dance Alliance
548 Main St.
Roosevelt Island
New York, NY 10044 - Metropolitan Museum of Art
1000 Fifth Avenue at 82nd Street
New York, NY 10028-0198 - Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Cloisters Museum and Gardens
99 Margaret Corbin Drive
Fort Tryon Park
New York, NY 10040 - Minskoff Theater
200 West 45th Street
New York, NY 10036 - Morgan Library and Museum
225 Madison Avenue at 36th Street
New York, NY 10016 - Museum of Modern Art
11 West 53rd Street
New York, NY 10019
- National September 11 Memorial & Museum at the World Trade Center
200 Liberty Street, 16th Floor
New York, NY 10281 - New York Historical Society
170 Central Park West at Richard Gilder Way (77th Street)
New York, NY 10024 - The New York Public Library
Library for the Performing Arts
40 Lincoln Center Plaza
New York, NY, 10023 - The New York Public Library
Mid-Manhattan Library
455 Fifth Avenue (at 40th Street)
New York, NY, 10016 - The New York Public Library
Muhlenberg Library
209 West 23rd Street (near Seventh Avenue)
New York, NY 10011-2379 - New York Times Center
242 W 41st St.
New York, NY 10036 - Richard Rodgers Theater
226 West 46th Street
New York, NY - Shubert Theatre
225 W 44th St.
New York, NY 10036 - St. James Theatre
246 W 44th St.
New York, NY 10036 - Vivian Beaumont Theater
150 W 65th St.
New York, NY 10023 - Westside Theater
407 West 43rd Street
New York, NY 10036 - Whitney Museum of American Art
99 Gansevoort Street
New York, NY 10014
Queens
- Citifield Stadium
Willets Point
Flushing, NY 11368 - Queens Library
Fresh Meadows Community Library
193-20 Horace Harding Expressway
Fresh Meadows, NY 11365
Suffolk County
- Parrish Museum
279 Montauk Highway
Water Mill, NY 11976
Westchester County
- Jacob Burns Film Center
364 Manville Road
Pleasantville, NY 10570
Rockland County
- Elmwood Playhouse
10 Park Street
Nyack, NY 10960
New Haven County
- Long Wharf Theatre
222 Sargent Dr
New Haven, CT 06511
Please contact us if you have any questions about hearing loops or if you would be interested in learning how to get your business looped. For additional information on loops in other states please visit www.loopamerica.com