SHERIDAN — New technology at the WYO Performing Arts and Education Center will allow many hearing aid users to connect directly to the theater’s sound system. The new system will provide clearer sound for hard of hearing theatergoers, WYO Technical Director Verl Averett explained.
The technology, installed at the WYO by hearing loss technology company Assist2Hear in February, involves two hearing loops, or circuits of copper wire, Assist2Hear CEO Erin Nichols explained. The hearing loops allow hearing aids outfitted with telecoils — technology that, according to Arizona State University’s Speech and Hearing Clinic, allows for hearing aid pairing with sound-producing devices like telephones — to connect directly to the WYO’s audio system.
People with telecoil-enabled hearing aids — which includes about 85% of the hearing aids currently on the market — can connect to the hearing loop at the press of a button or by changing the telecoil settings on their hearing aid smartphone app, Nichols explained.
Because hearing loops now snake through nearly every line of seats in the WYO’s mezzanine, Nichols said, “People with hearing loss in a venue like [the WYO] will have the best sound in the house.”
“It’s a lot cleaner of a sound,” Averett said of the system's transmission to telecoil enabled hearing aids. “They don’t have to struggle to hear anything.”
For visitors with non-telecoil-enabled hearing aids, the theater can provide independent receivers and headphones, connected to the theater’s sound system, to improve sound quality and volume during performances, Averett said.
The new assistive listening technology is part of a larger push by the WYO to make the theater as close to Americans with Disabilities Act compliant as possible while maintaining its historic structure, Averett said. For instance, the WYO recently removed part of the walls next to the theater’s sound board to provide space for wheelchair seating. The new spots will ensure wheelchair users can enjoy WYO productions while not blocking aisles and remaining part of the theater’s audience.
The installation of the hearing assistance technology furthers this mission, Averett said. The ADA’s 2010 Standards for Accessible Design recommends assistive listening systems be installed “in each assembly area where audible communication is integral to the use of the space.”
Although Nichols said the WYO’s new hearing loops mark the first such technology in Sheridan, several local gathering spaces are working to comply with this hearing assistance system recommendation. Similar to the WYO’s installation of assistive listening technology, planned upgrades to the Sheridan County Fulmer Public Library’s Inner Circle meeting room include audio-visual improvements, including equipment to assist hard of hearing folks, Library Director Cameron Duff explained at the library board of trustees’ most recent meeting.
Averett said the new technology ensures everyone has easy access to public spaces.
“No matter if you have hearing problems or are physically disabled, you are able to come and enjoy the show,” Averett said.
If you use hearing aids and would like to use the WYO’s new assistive listening system, Nichols recommended asking your audiologist whether your hearing aids include a telecoil.
If your hearing aids have a telecoil, you’ll be able to connect to the WYO’s hearing loops by altering your hearing aid settings via smartphone app or pressing a button on your hearing aid, Nichols said.
If your hearing aids do not have a telecoil, Averett recommended stopping by the WYO’s box office before the show to check out an independent receiver. Like the hearing loop technology, the receivers come with headphones and will transmit high quality sound to theatergoers.
Gloss