Information About: Effective Communications Access Presentation
Prepared by: the HLAA Get in the Hearing Loop Committee
Purpose: Enable HLAA Chapter leaders and members to present consistent and branded HLAA messaging to
local decision-makers responsible for ensuring communication access.
Audience: Organizations who are required or want to provide communication access. For example, State and
local government organizations and departments responsible for ensuring communications access, e.g. city
councils, hospitals, public-funded venues, museums, funeral homes, theaters and other organizations etc.
Presentation Guidelines:
• Suggested talking points are provided for each slide; these can and should be personalized for a more
impactful presentation
• Depending on the meeting size and venue, work with staff prior to meeting, to ensure projection capability
from your laptop or tablet
• If possible, use a venue with a hearing loop installed or use a mobile loop system
• Launch the presentation on slide 2, title slide.
• A pointer would be helpful to use with slide 13
• The materials to support this presentation can be found in the Get in the Hearing Loop Toolkit, available on
the HLAA website and also HLAALooper[email protected]. You can select materials to include for presentation
information packets.
Use:
• When giving a presentation with this PowerPoint hide slide 1. From the Slide Show tab select hide slide.
• The yellow highlighted areas of slides 2, 4, 6, 21 and 24 may be altered without permission.
All other slide content cannot be altered without permission. To request permission or for any
other questions, email GITHLinfo@hearingloss.org
Get in the Hearing Loop is a national communications access program of the Hearing Loss Association of America
© 2020, Hearing Loss Association of America. All Rights Reserved.
Presentation to Location
City, State
Date
Effective Communication
For People with Hearing Loss
Can You Hear?
Just because a person can hear someone
speaking, does not mean they can understand
the words.
Even with hearing aids or cochlear implants!
An estimated XXX (20% of
population of location) people in
XXX (location) have hearing loss
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders
Statistics
48 million Americans have some
degree of hearing loss.
• 2.7 million are veterans
• 12.5% are kids between the ages of 6
and 9.
HLAA Hearing Loss Facts and Statistics
Are people with hearing loss
able to participate in the
programs and services of the
city of XXX (location) and other
public venues?
Hearing Devices Aren’t Enough
• Most people with hearing loss say their
primary challenge is to improve
intelligibility in high noise areas.
• Very few people with hearing loss know
American Sign Language.
Obstacles to
Speech Comprehension
• distance from the source
• reverberation or echo
• competing background noise
In each assembly area where audible
communication is integral to the use of
the space and a public address system
is available an assistive listening system
shall be provided.
EXCEPTION: other than in courtrooms, assistive listening
systems shall not be required where audio amplification is not
provided.
Americans with Disabilities Act
Assistive listening systems
help people with hearing loss the
same way ramps help people with
mobility issues.
Assistive listening systems
help people with hearing loss
understand speech.
This can greatly increase their
ability to participate in the
programs and services of state
and local government and other
venues.
A hearing loop is the assistive
listening system of choice for
many people who have a
hearing loss.
Hearing Loop Installation
• use experienced and trained
hearing loop installers
• confirm installation to meet
the IEC Standard 60118-4
Who Can Use a Hearing Loop?
Everyone!
• hearing device + t-coil
• hearing device - t-coil *
• no hearing device *
✱ with a hearing loop receiver and headphone
“Hearing loops are used more
often by people with hearing
loss than any other system.”
Juliëtte Sterkens, Au.D.
HLAA Hearing Loop Advocate
Hearing Loops
• are seamless and user-friendly
• are inconspicuous
• do not visually announce
I have hearing loss
“your own hearing instrument into
a wireless loudspeaker that
broadcasts sound customized for
your own ears”
David Myers, Ph.D.
Hearing Review
February 2010
A hearing loop turns
Hearing Loops Require Less
Maintenance
• fewer receivers or headphones
for staff to distribute
• less staff maintenance
“Hearing loops are
more likely to be
used…and to be
increasingly used,
once installed!”
Juliëtte Sterkens, Au.D.
HLAA Hearing Loop Advocate
Make XXX (name of city or facility) a
hearing-friendly XXX (city or venue).
Install hearing loops!
QUESTIONS?
XXX, Presenter
Phone number: xxx.xxx.xxxx
Email address:
Hearing Loss Association of America
Chapter logo or advocacy group name
