As Elphaba sings in the Broadway cult-classic musical Wicked, “Everyone deserves a chance to fly.”
Everyone also deserves a chance to experience the wonder of enjoying theater. This is the goal of Cottage Theatre in Cottage Grove, where a hearing loop system has been installed in the auditorium, providing patrons with hearing loss greater access to live stage performances.
“We want to make theatre-going as enjoyable as possible for all people for as long as possible,” says Susan Goes, Cottage Theatre’s executive director. “Our auditorium includes five wheelchair spaces with adjoining companion seats to serve those with mobility challenges,” Goes says. “The hearing loop was installed in 2022 as part of our $2.5 million ‘ACT III’ renovation.”
Donors for these renovations include the State of Oregon Cultural Resources Economic Fund, the Murdock Charitable Trust, the Ford Family Foundation, the Woodard Family Foundation, and numerous individual theater patrons.
Direct from source audio
Hearing loops, also known as telecoil loops or hearing induction loops, enable hearing aids equipped with telecoil programs to access sound from a microphone system. Denoted by a blue ear sign, hearing loop systems use a magnetic induction loop to conduct sound directly to a person’s hearing aid or cochlear implant processor.
Hearing loops provide access to hearing in a variety of contexts throughout Lane County. At the Eugene Airport ticket and car rental desks, travelers with hearing loss can communicate directly with agents through their hearing aids, without others overhearing. At many places of worship, congregants with hearing loss can hear services and speakers with more clarity.
The same is true at many live performance venues, such as Cottage Theatre, where patrons with hearing loss can hear the actors and music directly in their hearing aids from anywhere in the auditorium seating. Simply be “in the loop” and switch to the telecoil program.
Essentially, the microphones on stage become the hearing aid microphones.
“Before I had telecoils in my hearing aids … words were indistinguishable,” said Sue Prichard, a hearing-access advocate. “Standard microphones and a normal public address system may work for people who hear well. But for people with hearing loss, it is often not the volume, but the clarity that is lost. Hearing loops deliver a clear signal directly to one’s hearing devices.”
Prichard is a member of the Center for Hearing Access, a national hearing loop advocacy group based out of Eugene’s John G. Shedd Institute for the Arts. The Center for Hearing Access has been instrumental in the installation of hearing loop systems in its home of Lane County and around the nation, including Cottage Theatre.
Goes emphasized that “a hearing loop is only good if people know about it.” Informing the community about the importance of this hearing accessibility system ensures more people can enjoy theatre performances.
A new hearing accessibility system, Auracast, which utilizes Bluetooth connectivity for more recent hearing aid models, has the potential to revolutionize access to even more sound experiences in the future.
Just as Alexander Hamilton sings about influencing early American history in the hit musical Hamilton, “I am not throwing away my shot.” And thanks to hearing loops and future Auracast systems, people with hearing loss do not have to miss out on enjoying live-stage shows.
For tickets to Cottage Theatre productions and to try out the hearing loop, visit www.cottagetheatre.org. For more information about hearing loop systems and their locations, visit www.centerforhearingaccess.org. For more information about telecoil programs and if your hearing aids are compatible, reach out to your audiologist or hearing healthcare provider.
Reed Redding, AuD, is a clinical audiologist at Hearing Associates in Eugene. You can reach him at [email protected]
