“We are seeing a rise in hearing loss with school age children for the first time ever,” says Schaeffer. “At 85 decibels or louder, young people begin to get permanent hearing loss. This is a real problem because when they have this type of hearing loss, it cannot be medically or surgically corrected.”
Hearing loss can have a tremendous impact on a child’s education. According to information on the CDC web site, “even a small amount of hearing loss can have profound, negative effects on speech, language comprehension, communication, classroom learning, and social development.”
Fortunately, there are solutions already on the market that are designed to facilitate the specification and installation of assistive listening technology.
According to Marc D’Agostino a national AV / Technology / Security consultant with D’Agostino & Associates, the hardware available is not specifically designed to integrate with this type of technology so installations can be unwieldy and overly complex.
The majority of the projects D’Agostino & Associates creates are bid specification documents for classrooms and larger assembly areas.
“For schools, the goal is to incorporate technology that meets the ADA requirements while minimizing the hardware, space and installation requirements while staying within the budget,” says D’Agostino.
Although his company has no exclusive agreement with any specific manufacturer, D’Agostino often specifies a bundled speaker/Assistive Listening System from OWI Incorporated. The offering is the result of a partnership between OWI and listen technologies to reduce complexity and simplify installation.
OWI, a manufacturer of advanced audio equipment, offers ceiling and wall-mounted speakers for schools that have several key advantages when used in conjunction with Assistive Listening Systems.
To start, the speaker has its own built-in amplifier, so no external amplifier is required. Also, the unit is designed to provide the necessary power to the assisted listening system through the connection, eliminating the need for an additional power source. The ceiling speaker, the AMP-ER2S6, is also Energy Star compliant.
Perhaps most importantly, the OWI speakers are one of the few at an entry-level price point that already have the built-in line out required to interface with an assisted listening system using a simple, three-wire connection.
The assisted listening system hardware includes the OWI-KSTM-LT-84 transmitter-radiator from Listen Technologies, as well as the required receivers.
The receivers are designed to interface with the telecoil built into the majority of hearing aids and cochlear implants. The smallest device of its kind (about the size of key fob for a car) the OWI-KSTM-LR-5200 from Listen Technologies comes with an integrated neck loop/lanyard that transmits wirelessly to the telecoil.
Another key selling point of this bundled package from OWI for D’Agostino and his clients is the option to specify infrared (IR). Most schools opt for RF (radio frequency) for wireless because it costs less and is more readily available. However, RF covers wide areas and this can cause signal interference with nearby classrooms. A student, for example, may pick up what the teacher next door is saying or hear a movie that is playing nearby.
IR-based systems, on the other hand, transmit signals through direct line-of-sight only. This means that IR signals in one classroom will not interfere with the signal next door even if they are the same frequency.
With school security at top of mind across the nation, D’Agostino says the speaker can serve double-duty and eliminate the need for a separate, dedicated PA speaker.
To ensure that emergency announcements can be made even if electrical power is lost, PA systems are typically hard-wired to a dedicated speaker in each classroom used for only that purpose. The system is connected to an uninterruptible power supply (UPS battery backup) and a generator that turns on automatically during a power outage.
Because the OWI speakers are built with a multi-coil speaker and priority override features, they can serve double-duty and eliminate the need for the separate PA speaker. In the event of power loss, the speaker will still function.
“With priority override, if an emergency announcement, or even a general announcement, comes through the public address system, it cuts out all the local classroom sound on the OWI speakers instantly,” says D’Agostino.
“This means we can eliminate the dedicated classroom public address speakers and just connect directly to the OWI speakers from the head-end. So we’re putting half of the speakers in the classrooms now,” he adds.
Regardless of the technology or systems are installed, there are many incentives for schools to stay current with the ADA requirements for the hearing impaired in its classrooms and larger assembly areas.
Schools that fail to comply may receive complaints, which can now be filed online with the Department of Justice. In addition to remedying the situation, schools can incur fines from $55,000 to $150,000.
However, technology experts say that this is really about students and the quality of education they receive.
“As parents we want our young people to do well at school because we want them to have the best opportunities in life,” says Schaeffer. “The ADA requirements provide students that have hearing loss with the same advantages and opportunities as everyone else. It’s a win-win-win for the student, parents and the school.”
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