[Nfbv-announce] Assistive Listening Devices survey

[Michael Kasey]

At our November 2015 NFB of Virginia Board of Directors Meeting, we decided
to ask our NFBV State Convention Coordinator, Brian McCann, to research,
make a proposal, and purchase our own Audio and Visual (AV) equipment.  This
may include assistive listening devices. A study commissioned by the
Department of Education estimates that over 70,000 Americans are deaf-blind,
including about 8,000 right here in Virginia.

 

We want to hear from you if you or someone you might know would benefit from
an assistive listening device during our NFBV State Convention. We are
seeking input and feedback from our members/attendees to determine if such
devices are desired and which direction to go in to purchase the necessary
equipment.

 

A general definition of a system appears below.  If you would like to submit
feedback and/or suggestions to Brian McCann, please email him at
brnmccnn at gmail.com <mailto:brnmccnn at gmail.com> 

No later than January 15, 2016please.

 

What is an Assistive Listening Device?

  An Assistive listening device may expand the functionality of hearing aids
and cochlear implants.  The device may help separate the sounds you want to
hear from background noise or enable you to hear when a speaker is more than
a few feet away. The device works when a speaker talks into a microphone
sending the speech directly to your ear.  This may avoid the degrading
effects of noise and distance on speech intelligibility. It's really that
simple. An assistive listening device consists of a microphone to collect
sound, a transmitter to send the signal across a distance, a receiver to
intercept the signal, and any one of several different listening attachments
to send the sound from the receiver to the user's ear, hearing aid, or
cochlear implant.

 

Hearing aids and cochlear implants may work wonders to improve speech
understanding. Still, there are some situations that can be problematic such
as listening in groups, hearing in noisy backgrounds, hearing a speaker who
is more than a few feet away, and hearing in poor acoustical environments.
In these situations, turning up the volume can result in turning up the
background noise that you don't want to hear.  So in some cases, an
assistive listening device may help.

 

 

The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the
characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the
expectations of blind people, because low expectations create obstacles
between blind people and our dreams. You can live the life you want;
blindness is not what holds you back.