Theatre Cedar Rapids expanded their accessibility options recently with the installation of a hearing induction loop in their auditorium. Hearing induction loops are a type of assistive hearing device that uses a copper wire installed around the perimeter of the auditorium to beam magnetic signals directly to patrons’ hearing aids. The installation was made possible by a donation from long-time supporters of Theatre Cedar Rapids, Myron and Ethel Wilson.
“It was actually pre-pandemic that we started working with the Wilsons, and they said that they would like to underwrite the system and we started gathering bids. And then the pandemic obviously shut down progress,” said Katie Hallman, Theatre Cedar Rapids’ executive director.
“In the fall of 2020, we were able to get our bearings back and revisit the bids with the companies that we had been visiting with and move the project forward,” Hallman continued. “So we were actually able to get everything done and installed while the building was closed to the public — so while being closed to the public was far from ideal, it allowed us to get this installed and so we were ready to go. And actually, folks have just started experiencing it with Cinderella.”
“I would say it’s significant,” said Catherine Johnson, executive director of Disability Rights Iowa. “There are a variety of different types of what are called ‘assistive listening devices’ — all of them have kind of their pros and their cons, and in my opinion the inductive loop that the theater just installed would be … the state of the art of what they could provide in terms of listening assistance.”
The hearing loop system is especially useful in a theater environment, where multiple sources of sound can overlap and interfere with each other. Telecoils, or T-coils — small coils of copper wire capable of receiving magnetic signals and broadcasting clear sound — are increasingly standard hearing-aid components that allow for a clear, crisp sound to be beamed directly from the magnetic field of the loop system in the space to the aid. In an auditorium setting, hearing aids can otherwise pick up echoes or other sources of interference, leading to a confusing auditory experience.
“Sometimes people will share stories about trying to eat in a crowded restaurant and that that is difficult with hearing aids because of all the background noise, so the assistive listening devices really do remove a lot of that,” Johnson said.
Theatre Cedar Rapids worked with Hearing Access Solutions, which has also installed T-coil systems in organizations such as the Des Moines Community Playhouse. Hallman said it was the Playhouse that influenced Theatre Cedar Rapids’ decision to work with Hearing Access Solutions.
Hallman also said they’re working with the same company on closed-captioning devices. “That’s something that’s a little trickier in our industry, but there’s been some updates even through the pandemic so we’re starting to look at what closed-captioning might look like.”
For people who are Deaf or hard of hearing, Theatre Cedar Rapids also offers select ASL-interpreted performances throughout their auditorium season.
Most hearing aids and implants are equipped with T-coil technology, but TCR also offers portable audio loop receivers and headsets to assist patrons who are hard of hearing or whose devices do not have the T-coil technology.
Hallman credits the installation of the system to donor interest. “The Wilsons certainly helped illuminate this barrier and say, ‘We’re really enjoying the performances but need more clarity in how we can hear them and how we’re experiencing them,’” Hallman said. “And once this conversation started, I felt like the anecdotes started coming in. … Once this opportunity arose and I started bringing it to the board and to the staff, we started getting that feedback that said ‘Oh, yeah, you know, I’ve wondered about this but I didn’t think there was anything you could do about it.’”
She feels confident that the T-coil system is the answer to those questions. “We wanted to make sure we were investing in a system that has longevity,” Hallman said. “The T-coil technology, by all accounts, is considered what is going to be the standard for several decades to come.”
