Systems and the future
Induction loop
auditoriumclassroomchurchservice countermeeting room
A cable that surrounds a room or a counter and creates a magnetic field with the sound from a microphone. Hearing aids and implants with a telecoil pick it up directly.
What it solves
It allows people with hearing loss to hear the voice clearly, without the room’s echo or noise. It is very useful in spaces with rain on metal roofs or a lot of reverberation.
Today
Plan the cable and conduit from the design stage, in the floor or ceiling, away from large steel parts. Test the field with measurements at the end of construction and signpost the service at the entrance.
Common mistake
Installing the equipment without testing or signposting it, so no one knows it exists.
Tomorrow
Neighborhood halls, classrooms and service counters with a loop allow more older people to keep taking part in community life. Thinking about it together with the room’s acoustics, the same investment improves listening for everyone.
Fact By around 2004 more than 85% of hearing aid users in Europe wore behind-the-ear models with a loop-compatible telecoil.
Where it comes from
- 1British radio and telephony Great Britain, 1937 and 1938
The first magnetic loop system was patented, and the following year a London manufacturer made a hearing aid capable of picking it up. - 2Schools for deaf children United States, late 1960s
Loops spread in classrooms for deaf and hard-of-hearing children.
Appears in the routes
See also
Also in Systems and the future
Diagrams and texts by LDB Arquitectura. They are shared under the CC BY 4.0 license, which allows them to be used and adapted with credit to the source.