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