Search our site:
Join our mailing list:
Domestic room loop amplifiers - FAQ
I would appreciate your advice. I have a severe hearing loss and wear a BTE digital aid. In 1997 I purchased a loop system from another company, which is installed on my TV with a SCART connection. In fact it's been excellent and transformed my enjoyment of TV. However I have noticed recently "and after a hearing check up" that I really need to upgrade this loop with one that has a bit more amplification, I now find I have to strain to catch dialog. So, can you advise me, which one of the units you currently sell would you recommend, e.g. which is the most powerful?
All 3 of the room loop amplifiers that we sell have the same power (see notes below) but have different features - if you are seeking to get the best possible sound you would be wise to choose a loop amplifier with a tone control.
Note 1:
With an inductive loop amplifier the ‘volume’ comes from the strength of loop signal which is the magnetic field generated by the current flowing around the loop wire. The domestic loops we supply are specified for a room size up to 6 x 6 metres. If you were to try powering a loop larger than specified the signal strength reduces as an inverse square law. Thus just increasing the loop size by 1 metre gives a noticeable reduction in magnetic field strength and hence the volume heard. Conversely reducing the area looped will have a beneficial effect, so you may be able to increase the volume from your loop by covering a smaller area.
Note 2:
Many digital hearing aids have Wide Dynamic Range Compression (WDRC) which is the ability to compress/reduce loud sounds and with some models to amplify quiet sounds more than average sounds. When set up correctly, WDRC hearing aids give a greatly improved listening experience as they ‘funnel’ sound into the reduced ‘listening window’ of somebody with impaired hearing.
In the programming of the digital hearing aid, different configurations are entered by the audiologist for the different programme settings, including T’ pickup. So just because a hearing aid works well for microphone pickup it may not be correctly set for the ‘T’ setting.
A problem that we have seen is that when a loop amplifier is turned up the listening volume actually reduces! This can be caused by the ‘knee point’ of the WDRC volume reduction for the ‘T’ programme being set too low - you can check for this by slowly turning down the loop amplifier volume, you may find that the TV sound actually increases! Should you suspect that your hearing aid is not giving you the sound you require you will need to ask your hearing aid clinic to ‘tweak’ your hearing aid for you.
A feature comparison list of the domestic room loops that we supply can be found on page 173 of our 2007 catalogue or online here. Once you have made your choice you can make a purchase from www.DeafEquipment.co.uk our online shopping store - remember that you can make a declaration to not pay VAT if you are eligible due to deafness or being hard of hearing.
