As part of our advocacy, #OneAccesibility, we will share information about differently able and profile one location with accessible trails. Look out every week for this enlightening post.
As September is a deafness awareness month , this month we are writing articles focused on spreading awareness about hearing aids and assistive devices. One of the hearing aids devices is the FM system which are also known as radio aids.
FM systems are wireless assistive hearing devices that enhance the use of hearing aids, cochlear implants and also assist people who are hard of hearing but do not wear hearing aids, in particular over distance and in noisy environments.They enable sound to be picked up closer to a speaker, sound source or connected directly to the sound source and transmitted to the individual providing greater clarity of speech/sound and a reduction in background noise.
FM system consists of two parts: a transmitter and a receiver. The transmitter picks up sounds from the speaker and converts them into wireless signals, which are sent to the receiver and on to the audio processor. The receiver is a small accessory that attaches directly to your audio processor when you use a battery pack with a 3-pin connection, like the FM Battery Pack.It’s called an “FM” system because it’s just that: a mini FM radio station. The transmitter and receiver each tune into a specific radio frequency so that they connect only with each other and aren’t affected by other wireless signals like telephone or WiFi networks. The receiver can be one with the BTE transducer or one with inductive neckloop or some even have the receiver headphones(specially kept at public places).
With an FM system, it can be a lot easier to hear the speaker. Because the sound is sent wirelessly, it doesn’t matter how far apart the speaker and listener are from each other—as long as the listener is within range of the FM system’s signals, he or she will hear the speaker as if they were standing right next to each other.The systems are often used in classrooms, where the instructor wears a small microphone connected to a transmitter and the student wears the receiver, which is tuned to a specific frequency or channel. FM systems can transmit signals up to 300 feet and are able to be used in many public places such as an auditorium ,banquet halls , etc.
As per the Equality Act 2010 in the UK , you can see either induction loops or FM devices available at most of the shops , hospitals, transport , etc to support the people requiring hearing aid. Is it the same in your country too ? If you see any place that has a hearing assistance device installed and have added or mentioned it on Maps or have seen any of these signs in your country , feel free to mention in the comments below.
If you have a question, suggestion, or contribution, feel free to comment below. You can read last week’s roundup article here and check the list of our other articles under “Accessibility Uncovered”.
