Hearing Loops

Tillamook Coast Visitors Association (TCVA) has funded the installation of hearing loops at two locations in Tillamook County: the visitors center desk at the Tillamook Creamery, and the front desk at the Tillamook Air Museum. Tillamook Creamery recently added an additional three hearing loops for their retail, ice cream, and café areas.

Hearing loops are an assistive technology that allows people with hearing aids and cochlear implants to better hear and understand one-on-one conversations and instructions. The technology has been used around Oregon at hotel front desks, performing arts centers, airports, and more.

A hearing loop helps people who use hearing aids that are equipped with T-coils to hear sound directly and clearly in their hearing aids, because it reduces or cuts out the background noise. It provides a magnetic wireless signal that is picked up by the hearing aid when it is set to the “T” (T-coil) setting. The loop system consists of a microphone to pick up the spoken word; an amplifier which processes the signal which is then sent through the final component; the loop cable, which is a wire placed around the perimeter of a room to act as an antenna that radiates the magnetic signal to the hearing aids.

Over the next few years, TCVA plans to add more hearing loops along the Tillamook Coast as funding becomes available.