Promote Your Hearing Loop During the Easter Season!

Draw Seasonal Visitors Back into the Flock

Churches can expect an influx of visitors, in addition to their regular attendees, during the Easter season. According to Senior Pastor Central, more than likely 25% of all visitors to a church annually will come for Easter services. This is an excellent opportunity to promote your church’s hearing loop, helping ensure regular attendees and guests with hearing loss enjoy your Easter services.

A hearing loop signifies to attendees that all are truly welcome in your church community. Make this message loud and clear by taking the following easy steps to promote your hearing loop during the Easter season:

  • Briefly explain hearing loop technology before the start of services and remind attendees to turn on their telecoil program.
  • Promote the presence of your hearing loop in your church bulletin.
  • Add a slide with hearing loop information to your PowerPoints (if used).
  • Assign a point person to help answer questions about the system and/or assist with loop receivers before the service.
  • Have extra receivers on hand. Assist2Hear is happy to help you with additional receiver purchase or rental if needed.

A hearing loop is a true blessing for people with hearing loss! It significantly enhances the church experience by providing clarity to every word spoken. Most notably, hearing loops filter out the echo, reverberation, and background noise that traditionally make it difficult to hear the sermon in church. Attendees with or without hearing aids can utilize the hearing loop system.

The Easter season is a prime opportunity to promote the hearing loop to your attendees and guests, offering them an enhanced worship experience. By actively promoting your hearing loop, you are also increasing the odds of turning an Easter visitor into a regular attendee!

Picture of stained glass window with a cross

New Hearing Loop in Fredericksburg Texas

Trinity Church in Fredericksburg, TX

Trinity Church in Fredericksburg Installs Hearing Loop

The charming town of Fredericksburg, TX is now even more lovely thanks to the addition of a new hearing loop within the community. The new Fredericksburg hearing loop is at Trinity Church,  located across from the Circle E Candle Factory, approximately 2 miles east of town, at 157 Schmidtzinsky Road. The town of Fredericksburg itself is located in the wine country just outside Austin.  Today, the town is known for both its wine production, as well its uniquely German flair, an homage to the town’s early settlers. The church, formerly known as Fredericksburg Fellowship Christian Church, chose Assist2Hear to install the hearing loop system.

Hearing Loop Installation Experience Counts

Dark brown wood and historic-looking white walls are the hallmarks of the sanctuary at Trinity Church. The architecture and décor of the sanctuary is, of course, very German – high-quality wood, well-constructed and traditional, with clean lines. Trinity’s flooring consists of beautiful dark brown wood planks that run perpendicular to the pews and the ceiling is cavernous. Installing a hearing loop in a distinctive location such as this requires a variety of different techniques to hide or disguise wiring.

In spaces with similar size and layout, a minimum of a figure-eight loop design is necessary to ensure the end product is IEC-compliant. Anything less in a space this wide will generally result in “dead” spots, highly variable, or low sound for the user. Unfortunately, in hearing loop land, it is extremely rare to be able to just “run a wire around a room” and have a street-legal hearing loop. To minimize the disturbance to the church’s decor during the installation, the many years of design and installation experience of Assist2Hear team paid off.

“Most installers would not have taken this job, simply because of the wood flooring,” said Richard, Assist2Hear lead installer. “We have worked with so many historical churches and buildings over the years now though that we can figure out how to install a hearing loop anywhere and make it hidden. The way the materials used on the floor blended with the wood floor in this job far kind of blew my mind though -– it looks phenomenol!”

Visiting Fredericksburg

Founded in 1946 by German settlers, today the town of Fredericksburg continues to embrace its historic German heritage. German restaurants, bed & breakfasts, and wineries abound. The town is also notably home to the National Museum of the Pacific War, named after Fredericksburg native, Chester A. Nimitz. The museum is a must-visit for history buffs!

A visit to Fredericksburg, TX is definitely worth one’s time. Take heed though – throngs of tourists and weekenders arrive toward the middle and end of the week. For a quieter and more navigable experience, visit earlier in the week. To quote the locals, “the weekend starts on Wednesday in Fredericksburg”.

Tourism being the primary industry, it is expected that both locals and visitors will benefit from the new Fredericksburg hearing loop at Trinity Church!

Various pictures of the sanctuary of Trinity Church in Fredericksburg, TX where the new hearing loop was installed.

Parker Evangelical Presbyterian Church Installs a Hearing Loop

Parker Presbyterian Church Now Has a Hearing Loop

People with hearing loss have the best sound in the house at Parker Presbyterian!

Parker Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Parker, Colorado recently installed a hearing loop, making it the most recent church in Colorado to “get in the loop”. Congregation members with hearing loss can now have the sermon broadcast directly to their ears via a hearing loop.  Parker Evangelical Presbyterian Church, located at 9030 Miller Road, Parker CO 80138, chose to install a hearing loop during a larger renovation of the sanctuary. The renovation included new carpet, a new seating arrangement, and a hearing loop. The hearing loop installation occurred immediately prior to the new carpet installation.

The Project

The idea for the hearing loop project initially came via a recommendation from a member of the congregation. It became evident to the building committee that many people in the congregation would benefit from a hearing loop. Moving forward, a member of the building project committee spearheaded the vendor search and selection process. The vetting process included speaking with other Presbyterian congregations that hearing loops. After speaking with several happy Assist2Hear customers, Assist2Hear was selected to design and install the hearing loop system at Parker Evangelical Presbyterian Church.

There are always many moving parts during a renovation project, Parker Presbyterian being no exception. In this example, the hearing loop installation was to occur immediately prior to the new flooring installation. Material delays caused the project to be pushed back by several months. Once the material arrived, the church Facilities Manager, Cliff, performed the demolition of the existing carpet in the sanctuary. The demo turned out to be quite a task, involving a significant amount of scraping, sanding, and even an ATV! Finally, a last-minute change in the flooring finish underneath the pews required a modified materials approach by Assist2Hear.

How Does a Hearing Loop Work?

Hearing loops transmit sound directly to a user’s hearing aid, without the use of additional receivers or other equipment. Hearing aid wearers simply change their hearing device to the telecoil (t-coil) or M-1 program in order to do so. The telecoil program is very common in hearing aids. The Hearing Loss Association of America cites that approximately 81% of hearing aids and 100% of Cochlear implants currently have the telecoil option available in them.

Each hearing loop system is designed specifically for the location in which it is to be installed. At Parker Presbyterian, a “phased array” design is being used to ensure a consistent sound for the user, regardless of their orientation in the sanctuary. A phased array design selection is also appropriate to limit the spill of the system onto the main worship platform, where a bevy of instrumentation is frequently used.

Other Parker Hearing Loops

Residents and visitors to Parker Colorado can enjoy hearing loops throughout Parker and the nearby South Denver communities. Most notably, the Parker Library, which has two hearing loops for public use in its upstairs community rooms. In fact, residents of Douglas County can enjoy hearing loops in every library within the Douglas County library system! Another nearby hearing loop is the Lone Tree Performing Arts Center, a state-of-the-art, 350-seat theater in nearby Lone Tree.

Assist2Hear is happy to help you learn more about the cost of a hearing loop installation in your church. Submit an inquiry online today at www.assist2hear.com

Norman City Council Installs Hearing Loop

Norman residents with hearing loss can now participate with ease in Norman City Council meetings

Norman City Council Chambers
Norman City Council Chambers, the location of a new hearing system.

Citizens with hearing loss in the city of Norman, Oklahoma can now hear better in city council meetings thanks to the installation of a hearing loop system!  The city of Norman chose to install the hearing loop during the recent remodel of the Norman City Council Chambers. The new hearing loop will allow citizens to hear every word of the city council meetings with ease and clarity. Attendees can bring the sound from the council person’s microphones directly to their ear using their hearing aid’s telecoil program. Assist2Hear, Inc., a leading national installer of hearing loop systems, installed the Norman City Council hearing loop.

The hearing loop covers the entirety of the Norman City Council chambers, including all public seating and the dais. This means that both the public and the members of Norman City Council can benefit from the hearing loop system.

A hearing loop system is also present now in the small meeting room located at Norman City Hall. A phased array design in both spaces allows for meeting privacy, as well as ensures a uniform sound for users.

“Privacy and seating orientation are key considerations when designing a hearing loop system,” says Erin Nichols, the head loop engineer for Assist2Hear. “In this space, privacy was important. Both spaces have considerable seating around the perimeter, which was important to consider in the design phase. Less experienced installers might have chosen to just ‘run a wire around the room’ in the smaller meeting room. This might have been easier, but it would not have met the customer’s needs, and users seated along the edge of the room would have had poor signal, in addition to a huge amount of spill leaking through the walls!”

Most citizens who use the new Norman City Hall hearing loops will simply change to the “telecoil” program on their own hearing aid to use the system. According to the Hearing Loss Association of America, 81% of hearing aids on the market today have a telecoil in them or a telecoil option. 100% of implants such as Cochlears contain a telecoil. If someone does not have a hearing aid or does not know if their hearing aid has a telecoil in it, hearing loop receivers and headsets are available at the information desk located just outside the city council chambers. 

Residents of the city of Norman can also enjoy hearing loops at the following locations:

  • Norman Central Library
  • St. Thomas Moore Catholic Church
  • St. John’s Episcopal Church

Any venue looking to explore hearing loop technology can receive a free quote through Assist2Hear. To do so, a form is available on their website, www.Assist2Hear.com

Johnstown United Methodist Church Installs a Hearing Loop

Another Methodist Church Gets in the Loop!

United Methodist Church of Johnstown sanctuary

Assist2Hear is pleased to announce that yet another United Methodist church has chosen to install a hearing loop! This past Easter Sunday, congregation members with hearing loss at the United Methodist Church of Johnstown got to enjoy the Word clearly and easily via the new hearing loop system. The church is located at 108 King Avenue in Johnstown, Colorado.

The hearing loop installation was a stand-alone project for the church. This means the loop was installed as a retrofit, not during a time of new construction or a remodel. To install the hearing loop in the church, carpet modification and restoration were necessary. All installation services – hearing loop wiring and carpet work – are performed by Assist2Hear employees.  In doing so, Assist2Hear is able to make system installation affordable for customers.

How to Use the Hearing Loop

The hearing loop system is accessible for all worshippers, regardless of whether or not they use a hearing aid; however, the majority of hearing loop users will listen with their own telecoil-enabled hearing aid. To use the hearing loop, a user simply changes their hearing aid to the “telecoil” or “M1” program. Additionally, hearing loop receivers and headsets are available for use for those without hearing aids or telecoils. Attendees who need a receiver can pick one up at the audio booth, located in the rear of the church sanctuary. If someone is unsure if their hearing aid has a telecoil program, giving their audiologist a call can help clarify.

A Unique Church History

The United Methodist Church of Johnstown has a long and colorful history in Colorado.  In 1903, the church merged with a local Episcopal congregation to become the first United Methodist church west of the Mississippi!  Today, the engaged and friendly congregation is led by Pastor Jeremy Scott.  For more information on the United Methodist Church of Johnstown, its many methods of outreach to the community, and the schedule of services, please visit its website at www.johnstown.church.

Hearing Loops in the United Methodist Faith

The United Methodist faith is deeply committed to making worship accessible to congregation members with hearing loss. United Methodist churches with hearing loops can be found throughout the nation. Assist2Hear has installed many hearing loops within the faith. Some of these hearing loop installations include:

For a complete list of Assist2Hear loop installations, please visit our online hearing loop directory. For more information about a hearing loop installation for your church, send an inquiry to info@assist2hear.com or give Assist2Hear a call!



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