Health & Fitness
"Looping".....New Highland Park Center Showcases The Future of Hearing
A new Highland Park technology gives users the best hearing of their lives.
What do Congress, Yankee Stadium, Lincolnshire’s Marriott Theatre, and a new Highland Park office have in common?
They’re all “looped.”
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“It’s dramatically improved our hearing,” says Heather Norton. The Glen Ellyn resident and her husband Peter “looped” their three TV rooms six months ago. She says the $1,800 cost was well worth it. “The sound’s clearer now. There’s no background noise.”
“Looping” is both a growing worldwide movement,...and the future of hearing for millions of aging baby boomers. A loop is simply an electrified wire that circles a room, auditorium, theatre, place of worship, airport or any other public space. The loop connects directly to a user’s existing hearing aid. By eliminating both distance and ambient sound, in many cases it gives people with hearing aids better hearing than those without them.
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“This technology is inexpensive, works with existing hearing devices, and produces better hearing than anything patients have ever experienced,” says Dr Ronna Fisher, Au.D, founder of
Hearing Health Center in Chicago, Naperville, Oak Brook, and Highland Park.
“Looped” facilities are common in states like New York and Michigan, but are just starting to become adopted in Illinois. “What people really need,” says Ms. Norton “is a place where people can hear the difference for themselves.”
Hearing Health Center has installed just such a testing facility in its new Highland Park location. The wire loop will circle the facility’s waiting room and connect to a TV set. Patients can then be assisted to activate a telecoil (T-Coil) in their hearing aids that will pick up and process the wire’s signal. If their devices lack a T-Coil, the facility can provide a demo pair.
Dr. Fisher says, “Our patients will find the results are better than the most expensive hearing aid, often better than normal hearing. Some patients cry when they hear the results for the first time.”
Currently only about half of all hearing aids have telecoils, but the “looping” movement has lobbied state legislatures to increase that percentage. New York, Florida, and Arizona now require audiologists to inform patients about a telecoil’s benefits. In addition, “loops” are quickly becoming an integral part of the nation’s infrastructure. New York’s 450 subway booths now have loops as does the Michigan State Basketball Arena, and increasing numbers of churches and cinemas.
“We wish our cinema had a loop,” says Mr. Norton. “We don’t hear nearly as well. It makes more sense to stay home.”
Dr. Fisher says, “Loops will allow millions of baby boomers and anyone else who has difficulty distinguishing what a speaker is saying, to go to movies, church, restaurants, and other places they might otherwise avoid. That creates a strong financial incentive for public places to invest in the technology.”
The audiologist continues, “This is the technology of the future. But first more people with hearing loss have to know this technology exists…and listen to just how clear the world can be.”
*The Hearing Health Center facility opened on April 1, 2013. It is located in The Crossroads Shopping Center at 185 Skokie Valley Rd. Highland Park, IL 60035.
847-681-7000.
